Amsterdam - Off the beaten path

• Java Island. For Java programmers, a must see, but only for the name. The island looks neat on the map, being 3-4 blocks wide (North-South) and 20+ blocks long (East-West). I biked here, taking the road behind Centraal Station. Just east of Centraal Station, the scenery changes. There are many run-down factories/warehouses in the process of being torn down. Continuing on, you start to get to the renovated section, coming to a large mall on the left. Just past the mall is the bridge to Java Island. The Island itself is in the process of renovation, making it look like a mixture of new, expensive apartment buildings, older apartment buildings, and rubble of things being torn up or down.
• Western Amsterdam. Mostly just housing, the area will be of interest to those who want to see the variety in the city. The streets are cleaner than in the central city, the housing a bit different, etc. Your milage on cleanliness may vary depending on where you go.
• West of Zaanse Schans. I thought you might get a good view of Zaanse Schans from across the water. Alas, you don't because of the buildings along the water, but the neighborhood looks like an extension of Zaanse Schans: lots of small, green wooden houses nestled next to brick waterfront buildings. When I went by, there was some sort of junk sale, with the street running closest to the water being filled with booths of vendors selling, well, junk.
• Bijlmermeer. I rode through here on one of my bike trips because the bike route I was following went through here. Whoops! This was the closest thing to a slum that I saw in Amsterdam. I was uncomfortable riding through here, although I didn't feel unsafe. Probably a place to avoid on your vacation, though.