The most remarkable thing about the Netherlands are the bicycles.

They're everywhere. It is not unusual to have 40 bicycles stopped at a single light on my ride home through town in the evening. It seems to be the dominant mode of transportation through the city.

Also the bike's have their own bicycle lane. A typical road that in the US would have a lane of car traffic going each direction in Holland has two large bike paths (wide enough for 2 or 3 bikes) as well as normal car traffic. The bike lane is ordinarily seperated from both the cars and the pedestrians by a curb.

Now those of you keeping count at home might wonder how a typical road that in the US would have only 2 lanes manages to have room for four here... For a while I was confused, smaller lanes and tiny sidewalks only account for so much, but then I realized: there's little to no street parking. Once I realized this I'm simply amazed at how much space is wasted by street parking. All the bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes and every other wonderful thing about the traffic patterns here is largely a function of lack of street parking.

The other great thing about everyone being on bikes all the times is the ridiculous things they manage to do on them:

Two children and an adult on one bike is not at all unusual (one on a seet on the handlebars, one on a seat on the back).

Two adults on one bike also happens. Typically the person starts moving slowly while the other person scurries next to them, and then jumps on the back rack sidesaddle.

I once saw a 6 foot tall dutchman standing on the rack in the back.

When it rains people use umbrellas. One hand on the handlebar, one hand holding the umbrella.

Obviously talking on cell phones or lighting cigarettes on bikes is frequent.

Carrying enormous things on the back racks is also completely out of control.

On the one hill (up to a bridge over the large canal) you see motorbikes with their hand in the back of a bicylcist to push them up the hill.

The same things happens all the time with parents of 6 year olds. They're moving along on their tiny bikes, and the parent next to them has a hand in their back to stabilize them.

Yesterday a couple went to the train station, the woman left on a train, the man biked home with two bikes.