Going Dutch in Amsterdam

The Wanderer Returns

2010-02-04T18:45:00.001+01:00

REMBRANDT PLEIN FINALLY OPENED

Friends, Followers and Countrymen

Apologies that you have not had to “lend me your ears” for so long but it has been such an exciting two month’s since my last blog. After 8 weeks of sea, sun and sand not forgetting the new love of my life, my beautiful grandson I had to leave my tropical paradise and head home to Europe. Touching down over the snowy white landscape I felt cold and immediately donned my Mexican blanket. Where was the padded winter coat I had been carrying around for two months??? Stuffed in the holdall in the checked baggage along with the fleece. Why?? Being very smart and lugging two large bags/suitcases across the marble floors of Cancun Airport, in my wisdom and in the searing heat I decided rather than have them dragging along the floor and getting caught up in the wheels, to stuff them, temporarily of course, into one of the bags, with a view to pulling them out at check-in and taking them on-board ready for arriving in the freezing temperatures of Europe. So busy chatting with the friendly folk at check-in, and feeling pretty pleased with myself that I had managed to check-in online that morning from home, with only bag-drop between me and Passport Control, smug because the regular queue snaked back into infinity, I walked off leaving the much needed coat and fleece still inside my luggage. Too late when I realised my mistake, the bags had disappeared down the conveyor not to be seen again until Amsterdam. Well that’s great I thought standing there in a flimsy cotton shirt, I will be frozen on the plane and worse when we touch down in The Netherlands. That’s why I arrived back in my gaudy Mexican blanket, a last minute purchase from Cancun Airport Souvenir Shop. At least the people waiting in arrivals could see that our plane had landed as I marched out looking ridiculous – well at least I wasn’t tempted to buy the velvet and gold matching sombrero!

Flurries of snow have continued for the past two weeks and I haven’t ventured out on my bicycle at all. K has been far more adventurous and in my absence has even put a bike stand on his bike to improve stability when chaining up.
The roads have been very icy indeed and the bridges over the canals lethal, there are a lot of buckled wheeled bikes abandoned around the place. The hiking boots come in very useful. Not very elegant when going out for dinner, but at least they have some grip in these conditions. Actually The Swedes have got it right, ladies always carry their smart shoes in a shoebag when going out and most places have a boot rack where you can change instead of sitting in wet boots all night. Very sensible in arctic conditions
I am at least positive about Spring being just around the corner. As the days lengthen and when we do get a reasonable day with some sunshine, dusk starts after 5.00pm which is so much nicer than those December and January days when you wake up in the dark and it is dark again by teatime. Definitely leaving Europe for a couple of months in winter is an excellent idea although Christmas for me is never the same in the tropics.

The closest I got to a true Christmasy feeling was heading down to Playa del Carmen on the main “carretera” to visit my daughter and newborn grandson in the hospital, when in the distance, in the pitch black night, I could see fairy lights in the fast lane. What is that I thought, I must be going crazy and I hate night driving at the best of times and worse when you are alone in foreign parts surrounded by what you think are the worst drivers anywhere. Slowing down to get a better look, there was, I swear , Father Christmas in his open-topped sleigh, being pulled by two reindeer not exactly zooming along but certainly blocking the overtaking lane. Nowhere else but Mexico would you see that on the highway? Father Christmas was chatting to a friend in the passenger seat, red hat blowing in the night breeze, both munching on tacos, the open sleigh travelling about 15 miles an hour. Possibly being propelled by a lawnmower engine or similar! How dangerous apart from anything else. There were also processions and pilgrimages in the night on unlit roads to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. A big event in the Yucutan Peninsular, people on bicycles travelling from village to village carrying huge banners and flaming torches . With not even a hard shoulder on the motorway the procession just walked along the inside lane! The local taxis and trucks travel at breakneck speed. I can only think the pilgrims thought they were in such a state of grace they would go straight to heaven in the worst case scenario!

Now it’s all wonderful memories and time to look forward to Spring. Soon all the bulbs will be blooming. The daffodils are pushing through the snow already, there are hyacinths everywhere in the flower shops and soon it will be the spectacle of the greatest flowershow on earth(for tulips and bulbs anyway) ... The Keukenhoff... now I definitely don’t want to miss that.

Crossing Borders

2009-12-10T02:45:00.002+01:00

A long silence, but that is because I have been in 4 countries in as many weeks. When I finished off my last blog I went off to Spain for a long weekend. What glorious weather after the deluge we have been experiencing in Amsterdam, what bliss to have blue skies, sun and barmy nights after weeks of grey and rain. Future plans are to spend more time there if this dreary weather persists. Not only the dark skies but the 16^th century windows rattle in their casings when the wind blows across the flatlands.

What could be better than a stroll along the beach in the sunshine to enjoy a tapas lunch. An ice cold beer watching the sun set over Gibralter or dining al fresco in the old town.

Inspired, I decided to paint the hall wall a beautiful sunset orange. Mediterranean bold colours suit the light, now the hallway looks really fantastic. Sadly, we had to leave too soon but..

Where next? Then off to London. A great time there too. The APT tennis will now be played in London for the next 5 years. No self respecting tennis enthusiast should miss the opportunity to see the top 8 male tennis players battle it out over two weeks play. Very impressed with the venue at the 02 (ex millennium dome) great seating no bad views and very cheap into the bargain. Must make a mental note to go back next year.

But, the most exciting part of going back to London was that we had booked two plays, Lenny Henry in Othello and Kevin Spacey directing The Power of Yes. Both had good reviews so I was really looking forward to seeing them. On Saturday night, braving the underground, (were there always that many people travelling and pushing their way out of Leicester Square underground station), we arrived early at the Box Office to collect our tickets , only to discover the receptionist couldn’t find them.

A fuming K was not happy and after trying to locate them through his credit card whilst being jossled around by the incoming theatregoers, the receptionist announced that K had booked for the show the previous weekend but we had not showed up!! Of course not, we were not even in the UK. How annoying was that! Definitely not the moment for me to say too much. Luckily, returns were on hand, an American couple with two extra tickets saved the day and after K had raced around the corner to the nearest ATM to get enough cash to pay for the replacement tickets, we did see the show and well worth it too. But what about The Power of Yes the next day, yes you’ve got it K booked these tickets too for the wrong weekend so we never got to see the play. An expensive weekend . Oh well, c’est la vie there are more important things in life.

Christmas Lights in Utrechtsestraat - close to home.

Heading back to Amsterdam and the final Mexicaanase Griep Prik it was time to pack up for my long trip to Mexico. I left Amsterdam on the 5^th December arriving in Mexico to blue skies interspersed with a little warm rain, glorious white beaches and living in a jungle setting.

Great, apart from the mosquitos who love me.

I am about to become a grandmother, that is why I am here on the other side of the world. What excitement . It’s years since I was surrounded by all this baby stuff. Today’s baby has endless designer clothes, parents have his and her matching bags to hold all the baby needs, I don’t remember such smart accessories, not to mention all the equipment that are “must haves” for the new arrival ....but time moves on.

A Cultural Weekend

2009-11-18T14:14:00.002+01:00

PICTURE OF THE WEEK - Rain doesn't stop play in Amsterdam.

The Swine flu vaccine arrived at the clinic last week, so via letter I was invited to participate in the vaccination programme between 15.30 and 18.30 to have my Mexicaanse Griep Prik (Swine flu or H1N1). I trundled along on my bike around 16.00 thinking I would just pop in on my way back from shopping.I couldn’t believe my eyes, it looked like the whole of Amsterdam was queuing for the jab, a line snaking down the canal and around the corner at least 100 people! What’s going on asked a passing antipodean cyclist doing the school run, Oh just the flu jab I responded, no worries, (as they say down under).

If you haven’t had it yet, the needle is big enough to inject a horse, so be warned. Actually the clinic did a terrific job of “priking” everyone. Seven staff on duty, all the practice Doctors along with a few others. There was a general feeling of jollity as everyone squashed around the tiny waiting room awaiting their turn. The vaccination comes in 2 parts, so after my second jab I should be ready for my imminent trip to Mexico, where, according to my source, there have been very few cases of the flu at all.

There has been so much rain lately in Amsterdam, it has been difficult to plan outside activities, but last Saturday was glorious. A last minute plan was decided, we would walk around the streets taking in Rembrandts' house en-route. We definitely want to get our money’s worth out of the Museum Card which is one of The Netherland’s best deals if you are spending time here. Two visits to any museum/gallery in the scheme and you have practically covered the original outlay for the card. Rembrandt’s house is well worth the visit, built in 1606, perfectly restored and laid out in exactly the way it would have looked in the 15^th century. Wood panelled rooms, walls covered with “The Masters” paintings along with those of his students, as well as other artists’ work he was selling at the time, you get a real feel for what life was like in those times.

The top floor of the house was HIS studio and there was a very interesting craftsman showing visitors how Rembrandt mixed his paint from powdered coloured stone and oil as well as another demonstrating the printing press showing how he prepared his etchings which were also very fashionable at the time.

On zondag (Sunday) Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) arrived in Amsterdam. It’s a wonderful old tradition especially for the children. Sinterklaas arrives with Swarte Piet (black Peter) and the parade goes through the city to the delight of all the children. Click on the links to get the full story particularly the Wikipedia as it appears that the Canadians changed the story slightly when helping with the celebrations after WW11. Unfortunately we missed this year’s parade because we had accepted an invitation by Dutch friends to drive to The Hague to see an Art Exhibition. As we left in the pouring rain on our bikes to meet up with our friends (and the car) the street and the canals were full of children dressed in the Swarte Piet beret (with feather) making their way to the parade. We must make a note to stay and watch it next year. The Exhibition in the Hague was paintings by Wouwerman, an Artist I don’t know but who became famous through his paintings of horses. Interesting enough, but the highlight of the visit, to the “Mauritshuis” as far as I was concerned was the wonderful Vermeer “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. She is really beautiful. Maurithuis is a stunning 17th century Palace, built on a lake in the old part of The Hague and home to some of many great artworks of Vermeer, Rembrandt, Holbein, Rubens and Van Dyck. I was amazed that you can get so close to these works of art, although rules (written on your ticket) apply: Visitors are not allowed to sit on the air conditioning grates or obstruct others from looking at the paintings, fair enough! Bags larger than A4/letter size not permitted, wet coats MUST go in the cloakroom and only small pocket sized umbrellas allowed in if you keep them in your pocket!. Visitors must maintain 50cms distance from a painting – well I saw people touching them! You must not point pens and pencils at the paintings (for obvious reasons I suppose) magnifying glasses are prohibited, and finally for my Tour Guide friends out there, you must not ask people to move away from a painting?? Having read the rules we could now enjoy the works of art. We definitely need to go back to The Hague and spend more time there. A longer visit will be included in the tour we are planning for 2010 when we hope to take some holiday discovering the rest of The Netherlands.

There has been so much rain recently that our bicycle seats are permanently saturated. Strange, because they are plastic but somehow the water seeps through to the middle so whenever you get off your bike you are soaked through to the skin, very uncomfortable, leaving you soggy in the nether regions. Now I know why the local bikes are all sporting interesting looking plastic seat covers which look something like shower caps, I think I will head off to market and buy one before the next downpour.

MEDICAL HELP//

2009-11-10T20:09:00.001+01:00

Photo of the week - Parakeets through the garden window, soon all the leaves will be gone and the splash of green in the trees is fantastic, who minds their squawking - not me!

Recently I had a recurrence of a niggling medical condition that returns from time to time. History told me I needed a course of antibiotics to clear it up. I registered with a Doctor some time ago so I checked the Practice card indicating the opening hours etc. Walk-ins are from 7.45 to 09.00 it says, so I thought I would pop by and pick up a prescription. I didn’t wait long, a Doctor came out to collect me from the waiting room, nice touch, unlike the Receptionist in London who calls across the entire waiting room “Mrs R to room 8 please”. Inside his office, before I could explain anything, the young Doctor went into a spiel to explain his Doctor position, which was basically he was qualified, but doing training to become a GP. This took a few minutes until he got to the end of his monologue and I agreed to be treated by him. Oh well, I thought, he at least will know all the latest medicines if he’s fresh out of Medical School.

As I don’t go to the Doctor very often I save up a few items that need dealing with while discussing the real reason for the visit, ie a strange looking mole or something like that. The, "while I’m here Doctor would you just take a look at this" sort of thing. The Doctor was quite put out with this approach, confirming I needed a further prescription. You should have told me about that before I made the first prescription he said, I’ve printed that off now. Oops! Off to a bad start. Right, I’ll remember that next time I responded, making a mental note to rattle off all my ailments at the same time in the future. I was just about to leave, when I was put further into my place, the Dutch way, which is always very direct and to the point. The next time you need to come, if you have more than one item to discuss you must make an appointment for the afternoon session. Ah, said I, sorry I thought that you could just turn-up for the morning Walk-in sessions. You can he replied, but only if you have one thing wrong with you because I cannot allow you too much time!!! Well that told me. I don’t know how you deal with that if you notice one ailment is causing another?? The prescribed antibiotics didn’t work anyway, so within a few days I was back at the Walk-in. I want you to have some tests done said the Doctor, me foolishly thinking they would do it at the clinic. No, you have to go to the hospital down the road. But, he informed me, you must take two pieces of identification. Here we go again I thought, more paperwork. I already have my Medical Insurance Card which I always carry, but this was not sufficient, so I had to return home to get my passport. Cycling at speed because I was late for another appointment, I chained up outside the hospital and rushed in. A lady on the stairs with the sole duty of directing people to the right place accompanied me to the laboratory where I met the two nurses in charge. Where is your hospital registration card one of them asked, are you registered with the hospital?? No, the Doctor sent me, here is the Form he completed. Well if you are not registered we cannot accept this. So how do I get registered I responded, now dear readers you know the answer.. go to the Registration Desk. The Registration Desk had at least 6 employees sitting there doing absolutely nothing as this is a small Cottage Hospital for outpatients and minor injuries only, but of course I had to chose the only person who was “in training” so to complete my Registration on the computers drop down menu took twice as long, with the finale being, sit on that chair as we need to take your photo. I now have another piece of plastic, photocard for the local hospital, valid for two hospitals only, the main hospital in Oosterpark(?) and the annex close to home. I dread to think what would happen if I got sick outside my zone.

First Visitors

2009-11-03T08:22:00.001+01:00

Photo of the week! Segway lessons in Prinsengracht!!!

Montelbaans Toren (Tower)

You will have noticed there’s been a break since the last blog. That’s because we have had a number of visitors in town. First a visit from my sister and brother-in-law, in fact our first visitors. This was great, because you have to save some nice things to enjoy together, otherwise you can get bored covering the same places of interest with all your visitors. It just happens that an amazing Exhibition at the Van Gogh museum has recently opened. This was top of the list as far as my sister was concerned and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Apparently, it has taken 14 years to put the Exhibition of van Gogh’s letters together with his works of art giving you a fantastic autobiography of the man and his life. He wrote something like 400 letters to his brother Theo, hundreds to his Doctor, Dr Gachet (famous portraits) as well as many of the great Impressionist Painters of his time. Most of the letters include sketches of the paintings he was working on at the time, with little notes on the colours he had used etc. The Exhibition is nothing short of brilliant finishing up with the 6 Volumes of photographs of his work and his letters. As we had a few days together, we also visited the Masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum which is currently under renovation, so the best pieces have been put together in a small collection. If you are into Art then a great opportunity to see Vermeer, Rembrandt and Avercamp, to name but a few, in a smaller gallery. Anne Franks house is possibly still the main attraction in Amsterdam and if you don’t mind queuing for an hour or so to get in, it is quite something to see what happened just down the road from where we live now. There are some great Museums in Amsterdam and when you are not visiting those, just wandering about the streets discovering the little nooks and crannies of the town is great fun. No visit is complete without a trip around the canals on a boat so we did that too. There is an amazing flea market on Waterlooplein which I want to browse more thoroughly when I’ve got the time. This leads round the corner to Rembrandts house built in the 1600s. We stopped for coffee opposite in the St Antoine Sluis house leaning at such an angle I’m sure it will fall into the canal one day. From my office window I can see the spire of Zuider Kerk. Brilliant at night when it’s alluminated. K and I visited the outside one Sunday assuming that it was still a Church, locked up after Sunday Service. On my sisters visit we discovered that it is no longer a church but the fantastic interior has been opened up and now exhibits all Amsterdam’s current and future planning, ie, roads, bridges, parks, waterways etc. All very hands on stuff with huge flat screen TVs with virtual tours around the various places. I think I should write an “Amsterdam for Free” book similar to the Harden’s London for Free, this is a great place to while away the time.
Making our way around a circular route via Nieuw Markt and China Town, we strolled into the Red Light District, but of course, no photos allowed. It’s amazing how many girls there are advertising their wares – young, old, black, white all shapes and sizes.

We had a wine tasting at home this week. I wasn’t officially part of the invitees but as I live here I suppose they couldn’t ask me to leave. I just played the role of waitress and handed out cheese and biscuits and water to clear the palate. There’s been a Communications Conference in Town, ECOMM Europe, so a number of people who know each other were able to enjoy this little diversion. It was organized by a friend from London attending the conference and staying with us. His brother being a wine expert in the UK talked to us on a laptop screen explaining about the various wines as we were tasting. It’s amazing where technology is going, we will all be chatting to each other across the world from our enormous TV screens in the not too distant future. Once again, having friends staying this weekend gave us a further opportunity to show off our “new” town to them and enjoy lots of eating out. It’s all rather quiet now everyone has gone...

Work In Progress

2009-10-23T17:15:00.002+02:00

For some months now, Amsterdam has had elephants parading all over the place. Sometimes in the shopping malls or like these on Museumplein or in our locals park. They have all been decorated by local artists and are in aid of "save the Elephant". Soon they will be auctioned off... shame, they have becoming a very colourful part of the Amsterdam scene.

Despite reporting all these outside activities, for the past week my main concern has been workmen in the house. Bob the Builder?? No, it’s Pavel and Karel our Polish builders who have been renovating our 17th Century Windows.

What a mess. I had hoped when I agreed with the landlord he could carry out the work, that it would only take a couple of days painting the front windows of the property, but it turned out to be an 8 day total renovation job of burning off, priming and almost rebuilding the frames. This with the inevitable cigarette breaks to get away from the lead paint!! Can you imagine renting out your every expensive property then expecting the tenants to eat dust and have most of the property out of bounds for a week. It seems to be quite normal here. One of my Mahjong friends was asked to leave her rental property with something like only 24 hours notice because asbestos had been found in the building. I think they will find more than asbestos or lead in this house. Actually, there is a great book we have just bought because we are living in one of the old canal properties, called Amsterdam Canal Guide which gives the history of all the houses along the main canals. It says about our house that it was built in 1695 and had the façade renewed in 1890, hence the 17th century windows. Richly ornamented compared to our neighbour the book says. I wondered why so many tourists were staring up at our windows with guidebook in hand, not because of the peeling paint clearly. There is a totally out of character little pavilion sticking out of the wall just below our windows held up with rope –hopefully not 17th century rope or the whole structure could finish up in the street!! Like anywhere else, when the builders are in, if I went out, then work slowed up and the workmen left early, so I have been at home supervising or at least being a presence and not allowing shoddy workmanship to pass unnoticed.
I did make a break for it last Thursday and went on a daytrip with Amsterdam-Accueil my French ladies group, we went to a unique place called Broekersveiling. It’s the area of 1000 islands dating back to the 12 century made up of tiny strips of land accessible only by boat where farmers cultivate their strip growing fruit or vegetables.

We sailed around these tiny strips of land after visiting the museum which incorporates the Auction room where boats would arrive floating into the room to sell their goods. The boat would enter and approach the auctioneer with the name of the farmer and a sample of his produce onboard, ie cabbage, carrots etc, this would then be auctioned off. The starting price starts high and the huge clock ticks down to the price someone is prepared to pay. Hence the saying a Dutch Auction. A buzzer placed in the seat of the person in front gives you the opportunity to join the auction – I managed to buy 3 oranges that didn’t even come from Holland by fiddling with the buzzer – noone else of course had made a bid and that caused a bit of hilarity. I also bid and won 3 tomatoes!! Others did rather better, one of the ladies managed to get heaps of different vegetables, she was clearly going to make a “pot-eau-feu” for dinner. Apparently, this Auction House was used until about 1973, but once the Supermarkets arrived with a vengeance, farmers grew and sold their entire produce mainly to one buyer so there wasn’t a lot of need for daily auctions.

The nice thing is that they have turned the whole area into a place of interest, with the auction house and boat area converted into the museum, followed by the boat trip. Brilliant for children and adults alike. It was nice getting out of town for the day which also gave me the opportunity to get back into “French Mode”, make new friends and pick up a lot of tips over lunch, particularly on good restaurants and places to shop in general. The French inevitably find all the best places. The weather is still holding up, although now winter draws on, definitely gloves and bonnet weather. Am I glad I brought that old cagoule I have been wearing for years – nothing like the discomfort of cold ears when you are speed cycling!!!!

A LEARNING CURVE

2009-10-19T12:47:00.002+02:00

THE SUNDAY MORNING BOAT - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PASSENGERS - A GOOD ADVERT FOR HEINEKEN!

OUR BEAUTIFUL LOCAL CINEMA - THE TUSCHINSKI BUILT BY A POLISH IMMIGRANT IN THE 1920's

Buying stamps. K asked me to post a letter to Canada while I was out and about yesterday. There are not too many Post Offices around in Amsterdam our closest being in Waterlooplein but as I was shopping around The Dam I made my way to the very impressive Central Post Office behind the Royal Palace, all sweeping marble balustrades leading to the front door. Once inside, I noticed the line-up of staff all with illuminated numbers above their heads. It wasn’t very busy so I made my way to a free counter. Can I buy a stamp here I said to Cashier No.5. No he replied, you have to go to Cashier No.1, she sells stamps. Now here we are with at least 10 cashiers waiting for a customer and only No.1 busy!!! I joined the line and as I approached the front of the queue, I spoke across to cashier No.2 who was clearly bored to death standing there doing nothing and asked the same question – can you sell me a stamp? Not unless you’ve got a number he replied. Ah, where are the numbers I said. In the machine at the back of the Post Office he responded. Well, there was no way I was giving up my spot in the queue now I had made it to the front, particularly as the man with the huge parcel had just about paid up. Now it’s my turn – can I have a stamp for Canada please. No, responded Cashier No.1, you have to buy a strip of 6 stamps at 95c per stamp or I have to charge you the minimum amount for a stamp transaction which is 1.12€. Being the economist I am, I quickly decided that K MIGHT in the future be sending further mail to Canada so plumped for the strip. The poor boy behind me from

Australia

trying to send a postcard to his Mum has probably used his backpackers weekly allowance on unusable Dutch stamps.

How not to use the tram. I raced after a tram the other day and just caught it by hurtling through the back door behind another latecomer. I used my ov-chipkaart – the latest technology, which all passengers using public transport will have to buy before the end of this year, when the Nationale Strippenkaart is phased out. It works similar to the Oyster Card in London. Out of breath I sat on the back seat. Suddenly I realized I was being summoned by the conductor from her goldfish bowl in the middle of the tram. You got in the wrong door she said. Did I, sorry, I replied I just followed someone else. Well you can’t get in that door, you have to get in this door. Does that mean my card hasn’t registered that I am on the tram because I did check in?? No, but you got in the wrong door she insisted!!! Being facetious and in a loud voice I thanked her profusely for taking the trouble of pointing out my error, how kind she was and how it was greatly appreciated. How stupid of me not to know which, out of a choice of at least 5 doors, is in and which is out. Irony wasted I fear… Actually, The Dutch don’t do irony or sarcasm at all so the British sense of humour is not effective. Everything is taken literally, no play on words. In general, the conductors on the trams are a miserable looking, unhelpful bunch, but the drivers on both trams and buses are delightful. They are always helpful if you are not sure where to get off, most have a little joke with you and some even chat or give you information over the microphone. Last week on my first trip to find my newfound tennis club I asked the bus driver if I could get off at La Verandah a café close to the courts. The driver went into real chatting mode telling me how they do a great cup of coffee etc. I didn’t have the heart to say I wasn’t actually going there, although the tennis racquet over my shoulder should have been a clue!

Back in Town

2009-10-12T10:48:00.006+02:00

I think he lost his way?

Another "Happening" - no idea what?

Weekends in Amsterdam - there always seems to be some “happening”, and this Saturday was no exception. There was a lot of shouting from the canal and a quick look out of the window revealed a Boat Race in progress. Not the smart Oxford & Cambridge annual event in London where K and I along with the rest of the world living on the boatrace stretch of the river, (pubs included) host a champagne party to celebrate the event. No, these were brightly coloured wooden tubs with 8 -10 oarsmen apiece, the cox STANDING in the rear, racing down the Prinsengracht. The words"hysterically funny" come to mind, there was no synchronization with the oars, some boats were crashing into the side of the houseboats moored alongside the canal and for some reason a rather large private boat had got itself tangled up in the race and couldn’t get out of the way. Oars a flaying the race continued although it did seem a bit unfair that one boat jammed between the rogue pleasure boat and a houseboat had to free itself by using it’s oars pushing against the sides of both vessels, (click on photo) it certainly lost a few precious seconds in getting to the finish line!

Fun over, then back on the bikes for Saturday shopping. There has been a lot of rain so I took the WD40 to oil the rusty parts if necessary. Having unlocked the bikes from the lamppost I took the lid off the can and it just happened that there was a motorbike with a cover on it next to the lamppost, where I put the lid of the can. Suddenly, a voice yells out “hey, zat ees my motorbike eet is not a table” – a harridan sitting in the top floor window had been watching my every move, clearly ready for a fight. I responded that I was awfully sorry and thanked her for her neighbourly introduction.... I think I should let her tyres down .... K suggested that after the deed I leave a note saying that this is a quaint old English custom we keep for "friendly" neighbours!! Actually, we have been reading “The UnDutchables” a very funny book with all the little foibles and habits of the Dutch and it is so true. One part of the book discusses neighbourliness and how they like to get into a debate. Complaining apparently being the national passion.

In earlier blogs, I mentioned “entitlements” and the reason we were heading off on our bikes was to find the nominated optician for K to get some new glasses. Instead of the buy-one-get-one-free approach to business, here it is the opposite, ie get one free and buy the second pair. An excellent idea. Of course you don’t have to buy the second pair. I am going to root out my old prescription and go and get some today. There is no time like the present.

I have been enjoying my cycling here, but on Saturday’s that is another story. It seems that Saturday cyclists behave rather like our weekend drivers. Bad tempered. I was almost knocked off my bike by some lout, arm waving, bell ringing and muttering abuse as he came whistling by me in the cycle lane at high speed, tree under his arm and nasty words coming out of his mouth. Clearly he thought I was hogging too much space in the cycle lane! I have this theory that the reason so many people are stressed out on Saturdays is because people who work all week have to get everything done by 5.00pm before everywhere closes, ie shopping, dry cleaning etc etc because the powers that be are still debating Sunday opening hours. There are a few shops who seem to flout the law about Sunday opening and someone turns a blind eye, but almost everything is closed on Sunday and Monday morning. A very strange business, as Amsterdam is very much a tourist place on weekends and they certainly could be making a lot more money from tourists. I read in Time Out this week that opinion was very much in favour of Sunday Opening not only shopkeepers but the public in general would like it, it’s mainly The Church objecting.

It’s Monday morning now and as most places are closed until lunchtime I think I will cycle over to the Town Hall and deliver more notarised documents – we are almost legal.

A Change of Scenery

2009-10-04T20:34:00.000+02:00

You must be wondering why the silence?? Well actually I sneaked away to the UK - not only to sort out a few things but also to enjoy a few days with friends and family. The Indian summer continued and playing lawn tennis in what must have been at least 25 degrees on a lazy Sunday afternoon with the sound of “leather on willow” (cricket) being played in the next field makes you remember why we love this green and pleasant land. Our apartment in London is located right on the river and to be able to watch the little sailing boats gliding by the window so late in the year is quite amazing.

But, so as not to forget that the bicycle is my new mode of transport I went with my sister on an amazing cycle ride through the Chiltern Hills on what used to be an old railway line now converted to a cycle trail. The end of the line (trail) is Thame a stunning little old market town all quaint houses, shops and pubs, not forgetting the Market Square building with the traditional Town Clock as the centrepiece.

A pub lunch was the order of the day – followed by a mooch around the village shops before cycling back to where we had left the car (with bike rack of course for the drive home - we were in VERY hilly country). Suddenly before us, one of the highlights of the day came into view, we were heading into a take off area for hot air balloons. With the sun just starting to go down we saw 8 of these huge brightly coloured hot air balloons lifting off and gliding up and over the the ridge into the distance. What a sight. I gave chase on my brother-in-law's super duper bike but to no avail, those things move very quickly so I couldn't quite get the photos I wanted – c'est la vie!

I was very busy partying with friends and family in the UK to continue blogging for a few days, but my other excuse is I was planning, a triangular trip via Spain. We bought an apartment on the Costa del Sol some years ago after spending so many cold and dark winters at home, now we have our own little place in the sun. We love it despite not being able to visit often enough. We had go to Spain to sort out some papers. What, more papers I hear you say after the recent spate of papers? Yes, unfortunately I have discovered, All countries love papers and more and more, what happened to that paperless society we were promised with the arrival of the computer!!! It didn't happen so now you know the real reason I left Amsterdam nearly two weeks ago. I just thought as I was travelling anyway, I might just slip in a visit to the “Old Country”before arriving in Spain. K has since joined me, and as I write this I am sitting on our terrace (in the shade) in about 30 degrees looking out across the sea towards the Rif Mountains in Africa. Glorious blue skies, but there is a heat haze at present so you can't see the mountains but sometimes at night you can see lights twinkling in the distance in some little village or other, and I am always amazed standing here in Europe enjoying a little sundowner, that I am actually looking at lights in Africa, another continent, but only about 25 miles across the straits of Gibraltar.

Too much eating and drinking going on at the moment. I cannot resist the great hams and cheeses available here and so inexpensive. We are eating far too much. There is a fantastic little restaurant in Marbella Old Town that we have been frequenting for some time now, in fact since they opened about 4 years ago. The little place is called Skina and we were so happy to hear that this year they have been awarded a Michelin star. The owners are two young men, one the Chef and the other front of the house. They use traditional Andalucian ingredients and recipes with a very modern twist and it is delicious fare ....so if you are in the area book a table it is one of my favourite places. There are only about 8 tables so if you want to eat Al Fresco they just carry a table into the street outside. The old town being typical as in many parts of Spain, extremely narrow tiled streets with tall buildings either side, wrought iron balconies covered with pots of flowers trailing down to the streets below, so picturesque. We went for dinner on Thursday and had food to die for and somewhere down the street there was traditional singing and music playing, obviously some celebration going on. Sitting there in the moonlight at midnight, in a sun dress, it's hard to believe you are only just over 2 hours away from London. As all towns in Spain there is a Central Plaza like the village square where people meet and pass the time of day, Marbella Old Town has Orange Square - which is delightful all year round but particularly beautiful when all the orange trees are covered in huge oranges or when the blossom is out, such a heady scent.

Yesterday we walked along our almost deserted beach to eat Tapas with friends on the Paseo Maritimo in Marbella. It takes about an hour to amble along the beach. After showing off the amazing avenue of Dali bronze statues to our friends and becoming tangled up in what looked like a street party at the fountain we made our way back to the seafront and found a table (barrel) at our favourite tapas place and once again enjoyed too much food and drink!!!! It's impossible not to relax in this place, to the point I have to prize K out of the sun bed to go anywhere – he just loves to chill. I am feeling holier than thou because I have just done 12 lengths in the pool albeit the first time I have used it for 2 years!!

I suspect with the dark nights closing in in Amsterdam I am going to be planning more trips to this little haven.... we do rent it out so if you need a getaway for a few days you can check out www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/6393

The kite surfers seem to have packed up – no doubt because the wind has completely dropped – the sea is as calm as a millpond, so I think on that note at 7.00pm still in glorious sunshine it must be time for that little aperitif I was mentioning earlier..............

FUN AND GAMES

2009-09-25T10:13:00.001+02:00

Apart from cycling around the streets taking photographs, shopping and getting in the way of trams, you must be wondering how I fill my day. Well, to start with there was (and still is) a fair bit of administration involved in becoming legal in The Netherlands. Luckily, I was born in the EU reducing the amount of paperwork required.

Having said that, The Town Hall, who issues your Tax Number still requires that your Birth Certificate and in our case our Marriage Certificate is Notarised. Rather strange, as these are very legal looking documents in themselves with stamps and signatures all over the originals, but we had to send them off to the UK to ensure our papers are in order and they have just been returned from Milton Keynes with an additional document glued to the backs of both, embossed with HM government stamp and more signatures.

K, on the other hand, a naturalised British Subject is not quite as legal as me and has to go back to his roots in Canada so that it is taking a little longer. American Colleagues who arrived in February are still going through the process.

What is all this about, well, you have to have a Tax Number to do anything, open a bank account etc., but the Banks waive this if you are in the process of getting your Tax number and you can open an account anyway. Having this number opens doors to all sorts of welfare – I am now registered and starting to accrue points already for my Dutch Pension, although I don’t actually earn any money here. Everyone is entitled to this if you live in the country and have a number. I won’t go into detail as it starts to get complicated, but we follow the rules and produce whatever documents are required as it all seems to be in our favour.

The Netherlanders speak fantastic English, therefore, to be honest you don’t have to learn Dutch but the problem is that EVERYTHING is written in Dutch so you have to at least know enough to read directions/packaging and most of all letters arriving from the various government departments or your Bank. We recently had one enclosing a brochure explaining what your Council Tax covered and at the very end a one-liner saying “if you want to read this in English” send off the attached coupon with your name and address…. And they did send us a copy in English. Likewise with internet banking, so we are getting by with a little help from BABELFISH the translation site… although some of the translations are hilarious and make no sense whatsoever.

Interspersed with dealing with the bureaucracy, it was time to get into some social life. It just happens to be that time of year when the Expats return from summer holidays and new people arrive, therefore I was just in time to join Amsterdam-Accuel the French Ladies Group (I also have French Nationality) and the International Women’s Group. I attended the Newcomers Coffee Mornings in both cases and started to make friends. There are the usual activities from Scrabble, Choral Group and Needlework, definitely not me, but also the ones I am most interested in which are Visits to various places in and around Amsterdam and of course tennis because you definitely need a group to get you involved in Club play. I have booked myself on some visits and will restart my tennis when the season starts in October.

In the meantime, I suggested to my new found friends an afternoon Film Club. There are great Cinemas here. One in particular The Tushinski is an Art Deco work of Art. Built in the 1920s by a Polish immigrant, it is a stunning building inside and out. All the cinemas show films in original version with Dutch subtitles and we get all the latest releases, sometimes a little late but including the more interesting low budget films that normally don’t go on general release as blockbusters but tend to win a lot of the Film Awards such as Cannes etc.

K and I tried out the rather smart Pathe Munt cinema last week. There are several theatres within this modern Cinema complex showing films all day and late into the evening. It has those nice comfortable armchair seats but surprisingly, considering the Dutch are giants, not much legroom. We settled down to watch the film and suddenly a rat/mouse ran across the back of the chair in front of me. Yikes I said giving K a nudge – did you see that… the response was I was imagining things, then it came again across the back of the chair… by this time I had decided to put my feet in the popcorn holder located on the back of the chair in front, about waist height, I didn’t want any of those things running up my trouser legs!!!!! K thought I was bats, but chatting to my mahjong group (yes that is another daytime activity – I haven’t played for 20 years so learning again) the ladies all confirmed that yes, the theatre is full of mice/rats and sometimes they run right across the screen in the middle of a film…. Where’s the Pied Piper when you need him!!!! OK wrong country – but not that far away.

Back to the ladies afternoon cinema Club. We are quite a motley group, a mix of Brits, American, Cuban, Mexican, definitely a fun club. The Film this week, My Sister’s Keeper – knowing it would be sad someone had the sense to bring along a box of tissues along with 2 bottles of wine, plastic cups and a whole selection of cheese and biscuit snacks… no wonder there are mice/rats in the cinema?? No, we were very clean and took away our empties although most people seem to throw their rubbish on the floor. We followed the film with a “discussion” at an openair café in Rembrandtplein – if I remember rightly it was Irish Coffee in the sunshine…. I think I am going to enjoy this Film Club!!

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY

2009-09-22T14:18:00.001+02:00

We are having an amazing Indian summer here, still T Shirt weather as we approach the end of September – long may it last. Because of the great weather on Sunday we decided to go further afield on our bikes, in fact get out of town. It just happened to be a “no cars Sunday” where cars are not allowed into the centre of town. Whether this coincides with the Dam to Dam bicycle race which was also taking place, I have no idea.

The Dam to Dam is in fact a circular cycling race, the Start being down on the waterfront. We didn’t really know what was happening when we left home at 11.0am. Firstly, there was a lot of noise and some music coming from the Magere Bridge on the Amstel very close to our house. As we cycled closer to the bridge we saw lots and lots of people involved in a “Yoga-In” in other words these people had just turned up with their yoga mats and with the help of an instructor and a few chanters they were following a synchronized session. There must have been a 100 people there on the bridge performing all the moves – very impressive. After shuffling by with our bikes and taking some video we headed off on our bike ride.

On reaching the waterfront we noticed all the roads were closed and the Dam to Dam race about to start. We didn’t know it was a bike race, I thought it was some sort of marathon but later, on our way out of Amsterdam we saw for the first time the serious bikers in lycra, helmets and the necessary racing gear. Considering in the City no-one wears any special biking clothes, in fact I have never seen a helmet worn here, this race looked pretty serious stuff. We caught up with them actually coming in the opposite direction, presumably finishing the race. I think we had chosen part of the same route because we had to share the same cycle path crossing one of the main bridges out of Amsterdam northwards. The waterways there are very wide and we ascended and descended not one but two very high bridges on the Zuiderzeeweg, the road across open water, scary, and those cyclists coming the other way do not leave you much room.

Soon we were out into the real flatlands. Waterways everywhere crisscrossed with cycling trails. We have finally succumbed to buying a cycle map and we are glad we did because the numbered cycling routes are easier to follow than the road signs. We are used to the windy days particularly on our terrace, and Sunday wasn’t one of them, but once you get out into the flat countryside the wind comes racing across from the sea and pedaling the bike seems twice as hard. It was so lovely and peaceful out there though, we hardly saw anyone. Farmlands have no need to be fenced in as the water makes for a natural land border. The animals were all mixed in together, cows, goats, sheep, horses and wildfowl all sharing the same fields. The birdlife is amazing, I rushed to photograph the first heron I saw standing on a 5 bar gate, then realized they were ten a penny!! The same with swans and geese and just about every other water bird.

We made our way on a wonderful cycle route passing pretty little farmhouses over bridges into the village of Ransdorp. The entire village were having a street party in aid of The Heart Foundation. There was enough food to feed the whole of Amsterdam spread out on trestle tables with a band playing music from the 70s (in English of course). We felt like joining in but decided we might not be welcome, so although there was one bar in town, we decided to ride on to Holysloot which we had fixed as our final destination hoping to stop for at least a drink. Actually in Holysloot there is a great little place to snack called the Old School House. There we had some great draft beer and a couple of paninis. The area is so flat, we could see sails in the distance floating passed the horizon so we decided to head for the coast. I’m glad we did because the cycle ride on the Uitdammerdijk is really pretty. The dike is quite raised from the fields on one side and the sea on the other so you get great views on both sides. One particular stretch you have the sea on one side and the Kinselmeer lake on the other, both dotted with sailing boats that must have been participating in a Sunday regatta. The whole way back sailing boats were moored on one side of the road and pretty little houses lined the other side.

Arriving back in Amsterdam, the roads were still closed . There was still an air of partying going on and as we reached a tunnel we realized why, there was a band playing and hundreds of young people dancing, smoking and having a good time. I thought there was a fire as so much smoke was coming out of the tunnel where this happening was taking place – but it was just heavy smoking!! A few people were being treated by the emergency services – they simply had just had too much of a good time!!!

I’ve got to say The Dutch know how to enjoy themselves. They certainly don’t take work more seriously than play – almost all the parks we passed coming home had been turned into a funfair of sorts for the “No car” day. Canal boats were still crammed with people enjoying themselves and lots of music and fun kept the noise levels up until dusk.

Food for thought

2009-09-19T17:48:00.000+02:00

Pics of the week - don't you love this little Clog Boat? ............and the tram that nearly ran me over!

For “Foodies” I haven’t said much so far about eating out. Interestingly enough we arrived during some sort of Restaurant Week organized by “DiningCity” which gives information on the lines of “Time Out” or “Harden’s Guide” on where to eat in The Netherlands. Many of the top restaurants participated in offering 2 or 3 course meals for 25€ pp and we helped the promotion by going out 3 times to different places deciding the deal was too good to pass over considering “The Week” happens only twice a year.

What we have discovered since then is this, it makes no sense in economizing or trying to find one of those nice local restaurants serving excellently prepared fresh food, as all places seem to charge almost the same price as the Top Table and Michelinguide Starred Restaurants. Even the ethnic restaurants charge way over the price we are used to paying in the UK. It’s quite normal to go out for Thai food and the bill is around 80/90 Euros for two. That is expensive in my book.

At least during the Food Week we managed to try 3 of the top restaurants for 25€ plus wine and if the quality for the “sampler” food was anything to go by then we are in for a few treats – but, it is expensive to eat out in Amsterdam. Our Dutch friends confirmed this. Wine, even in the shops costs considerably more than we pay back in the UK but the killer is when you eat out, the mark up is ridiculous for a very ordinary bottle. We are toying with the idea of doing wine runs over the border into France once every couple of months or so. We will have to hire a van for the weekend (I always fancied myself as white van woman!) then we can head off to The Wine Society our tried and true normal suppliers who have a warehouse just outside Calais. We have to keep our stocks up, after all I spent hours the first week assembling wine racks and screwing them to the wall. Can’t have a dry house now can we?

I would give top marks to a little restaurant called BIHP on Keizergracht. Established by an Artist, the walls covered in modern works of art which I think you can buy – very buzzy, great food and funky clientele, part bar, part restaurant. Many restaurants are built on the lines of the houses ie not very wide but very deep, historically, something to do with a tax being imposed on the width of the property, but these properties are extremely deep - they go back for miles, sometimes into a garden at the back or a roof terrace above. It’s always a bit of a surprise when you go into what looks like something nondescript from the street and a real Aladdins cave emerges inside. Another place we liked was Claes Claesz in the Jordaan which we stumbled upon just wandering around, again they participated in the Food week and for the price it was great. So far the best Thai food and value for money is a place in Chinatown called “Bird”– it’s a lunchtime snackbar, unlicensed but excellent food and reasonably priced.

Cheese has always been my downfall and although most Dutch cheeses are hard or matured and normally I prefer soft cheese, but they do have an incredible selection in the good cheese shops and we just happen to live within minutes of one of the best in The Netherlands - TROMP, where we go cheese-tasting most Saturdays. Although for years “Oude Amsterdam” has been up there amongst the favourites of K, he has been cutting back on account of his high Cholesterol. The good news is that this week the Doctor confirmed that, after his year of using BENECOL taken in liquid or spread form it has come down to an acceptable level so I guess the cheese consumption will go up again.

Eating in the street is perfectly acceptable here. People go far and wide to buy a bag of chips (frites) served in cornet shaped paper and covered in mayonnaise. Everyone knows the best places for these and will queue for miles. The other delicacy is a sort of sweet pancake and again people will queue for ages to get their hands on these. Personally, I haven’t tried these yet but I have participated in eating “kip” in the street, these are boxes of pieces of spit roasted chicken. Kip (Chicken) is really cheap and excellent here our local market has the best and you get the full cross section from Corn Fed and Free range to “don’t ask”. Jamie Oliver would be pleased to know.

But, the piece de resistance in Dutch cuisine is the herring… There are kiosks and stalls all over Amsterdam selling this little delicacy. It is salted herring served on a little disposable plate covered in finely chopped onions and pickled gherkin. People just stop enroute to wherever they are going and eat this, either from plates or in a bread roll. Our man at the corner of the street is always busy and at 2.80€ a portion he has a nice little business going.

On that note I am off to make a nice cup of Yorkshire Tea………………

On your bike!

2009-09-11T18:56:00.000+02:00

Pics of the week - The School run and the office cycle park.

Before really getting to know my way around town on the bicycle, we were already heading off into the countryside, windmills and all. On a wet Saturday morning a group of us had decided to meet up at the famous Olympic Torch to cycle down the Amstel to the pretty village of Ouderkerk. Why famous? Apparently, the idea of the Olympic torch or Olympic Flame was first inaugurated at the 1928 Olympic Games here in Amsterdam. Remember that, it’s good for a Pub Night Trivia Quiz!

The rest of the team were already there when we arrived at the stadium, as we peddled faster across the impressive forecourt, waving and making a bit of an entrance only to turn into a laughing stock. After applying the brakes K went clean over the handlebars of his bike landing at the feet of the rest of the group who thought he was performing some sort of stunt. I almost did the same. It must be something to do with the bikes being left out in the elements chained to the railings at the front of the house. To date, they have been southern softie bikes living in a cycle shed at the back of our dry garage in the UK. I’ve noticed the rust spots already in several places so unless they’re stolen during our little sojourn here they might not stand the test of time!! Better buy some WD40!! Since the ride, my front brakes have seized up completely.

Yesterday I made another trip to Chinatown – not with the idea of the Red Light Area in mind, we are having our first dinner party on Saturday and thought I had better go and buy some herbs, spices and sesame oil. I wish I was not so hopeless at directions, I think someone should invent a GPS for cyclists. Standing what I thought was way back from the tramlines, trying to read my map (upside down of course to give true directions) I was tapped on the shoulder by someone who, with a flick of the head indicated that there was something behind me, I turned to find a tram, just waiting patiently for me to get out of the way. How embarrassing, astride my bicycle stopping all the traffic, map in hand. I thought I was well out of the way of the tramlines, but the swing of the front of the tram needs a lot more space than I thought as it rounds a bend. Lesson learned.

Talking of maps. On Sunday, the weather changed it was a glorious day so good for walking around town. We stopped at the main Tourist Office at Central Station to collect some literature, maybe cycling routes or ideas about good walks. The sort of stuff that you get in any Tourist Office. We know the Dutch have a reputation about being mean, a recent survey here in Holland took it to a new level ie revealing that 20% of campers interviewed (camping being the preferred cheap international holiday for many Nederlanders) admitted taking their own potatoes with them travelling to the South of France or other European destinations, but I have never seen a tourist office anywhere in the world, where you can’t get a map of the city, even if it’s a sheet torn off a pad of maps! There was absolutely no information in English even to buy. The only information was a cycling pack with individual maps selling at 17€ for the pack and written in Dutch? Well that’s not very useful for tourists I said to the unhelpful girl at the desk. She responded that the trails were easy to follow, but when I replied that it wasn’t very useful not knowing why you had arrived at a certain point or what you were looking at. She just shrugged! I got a similar response trying to get tube (metro) maps and bus routes – we finally found some information online.

After that little moan, I have to say there is a really generous offer on train travel. If you buy an annual Railcard you get 40% off most journeys within The Netherlands and you can take 4 people along with you and they get the same reduction. Now that IS a good deal. Similarly, the Museum pass gives you entrance to most museums and other places of interest all over The Netherlands either free after purchasing the pass or at a very reduced rate, all this for less than 40€pp. pa. We’ve ordered two online.

Time to go to market with my shopping trolley – now I wouldn’t be seen dead with such a thing back home, I thought those sorts of things were reserved for REAL old ladies in headscarves, but after overshopping in the supermarket or market on more than one occasion (bearing in mind I no longer have a car) and carrying heavy bags down the street putting out my back and shoulders, I’ve decided it’s the bike with saddle bags or the shopping trolley with wheels, incidentally it said on the packaging the trolley was designed to mount the stairs but I don’t know how that works as the wheels work like any others being pulled up a staircase…..bumpety bump!!

First Taste of Amsterdam

2009-09-05T19:44:00.001+02:00

Finally fingers to keyboard, what’s left of them after two weeks of hard slog packing and unpacking, cleaning, arranging, building and dismantling. Now looking for a local manicurist!!

The move from the UK went relatively smoothly. It’s a wonderful thing when everything is arranged through “The Company”. Professionals arrive and pack your possessions and head off down the road with them within a few hours. A far cry from my usual “Man with a van” who expects you to stagger around helping out, and it’s you mostly taking the strain. The never ending cups of tea, then you run out of milk and they down tools (or boxes in this case).

Our packing was only a part load otherwise it would have arrived in Amsterdam the next day, so we had to wait a few days for the Packers to say when it would arrive.

We live in one of the beautiful old canal houses on the tree lined Prinsengracht. The only downside for delivering is that the road is a very narrow one way street, therefore you do have to get permission from the Town Hall to block the road with your packers van. This takes 5 days to get the permit.

I shouldn’t have packed all the plants on the balcony but I did – I didn’t have the heart to throw them out after all these years, considering they have given such pleasure through all seasons. Talk about taking coals to Newcastle – everyone thought I was totally barmy taking plants to The Netherlands. (We don’t say Holland here the Dutch find it offensive and the word “Dutch” even worse). Back to the plants, of course they are quite right as you can buy armfuls of flowers and plants for next to nothing. I painstakingly spent the first weekend out on the roof terrace looking after my half dead plants that had sat in sweltering heat in a warehouse for a week because of the part load and permit – some are still in the plant hospital ie, hidden behind a wall of healthy plants actually, and you will be pleased to know they are making a steady recovery after a lot of TLC.

As far as getting the furniture up to our 3^rd and 4^th floor apartment - now the Dutch know a thing or two on how it’s done. It goes like this – Permit from the Town Hall allows the road to be closed. The crew arrives to assemble the outside lift at 8.30am (road still open until your container truck arrives which will not be until the lift is in place). All the canalside properties have huge hooks hanging from their gables dating back to the time they were warehouses, but the modern way is to have your packing zooming up what looks like a Stannah Chairlift and through the open window, the team leader having previously removed the metal Juliette type balcony, which all the windows seem to have here. Furniture goes in through the window, the lift truck leaves and the road re-opens, furniture re-assembled, boxes unpacked, a smaller van arrives to collect all the used packing… and they are gone. No more than two hours from start to finish. Incredible organisation.

Having organised the packing out of London, K saw it delivered into our flat this end. I arrived a day later to reorganize, build flat packs etc and put everything into it’s proper place. Fantastic, we were all done in less than a week.

I arrived in perfect weather so getting out and about was a pleasure. Clearly the locals thought the weather was exceptional too. Early evening would find boat jams on the canal outside our window, boatloads of revelers enjoying the evening sunshine, crates of beer on board, music and singing, with some of Britains best also in the fray from the sound of things. The canals are quite magical all year round but when the weather is nice thousands of little boats come out to play.

By the second week it was high time I got into cycling I thought. Everyone cycles here. It would look really strange in London to see a beautiful woman in stilettos, short skirt and designer coat pedaling at full speed, handbag in a huge basket at the front of the bike but here it’s the norm. It’s almost impossible to get parking permits for a car – something like a 4 year waiting list and the few metered spaces cost a fortune. Even if you do have a car, people tend to do all their short journeys booted and suited.

My first trip down the street was pathetic – not nearly aggressive enough. I waited at junctions and only crossed with the others. Even then, with the trams and pedestrians to negotiate I wasn’t fast enough off the mark. I now know the rule – BICYCLES RULE OK! I am still not sure which side give way, there is just a lot of weaving about… and on those really heavy 1930s sit-up-and-beg type bicycles that’s no mean feat. They are very heavy and unmanageable – the only concession that has been given to their design change over the past 70 years is that they are not all black now. A few crazy colours have been introduced ie bright yellow, turquoise and coral colour often with baskets – mostly old milk crates by the looks of them covered in plastic flowers!!! My theory is that this is a woman thing to stop all the thieves from choosing their bike…. What self-respecting thief would be seen dead cycling off on a canary coloured, flower strewn bike.

Bike stealing is by far the biggest problem here. I had to go to market to get an additional chain for mine, rather like those that chain up motorbikes in the UK. I was advised by my bikeman to buy the stronger local chain (which cost three times the price) instead of a “made-in-China” type because the local one is far more likely to deter thieves…maybe, maybe not. All I know is that the chain is so heavy when I put it in my basket and cycle off, the weight causes the handlebars to wobble uncontrollably, I’ll just have to build up some new muscles. Talking of wobbling, the paved roads around my area are so narrow and allow traffic in one direction only, ie one way on each side of the canal. Bikes go where they like of course although they aren’t supposed to. I try to be a little more law abiding, basically because we live right next to a Police station and the PCs and WPCs are always hanging about in the road smoking a fag.

It can be terrifying being overtaken on these very narrow roads by a car, 4 wheel drives particularly and that’s when you start to wobble, they literally scrape passed you - I’ve just got to get the hang of holding the middle line and not being bullied. After all motorized vehicles have no rights over bicycles (except trams of course which I will come onto later) and cars mostly don’t overtake unless you stop. So there you are leading the traffic down the road on your bike. It is truly bizarre.

The adventure doesn’t stop there. I cycled to almost Schipol airport to the only covered tennis courts only to find that they are basically used like an Academy. Apparently there are people who contract an indoor court for the season, there are two seasons Autumn and Winter and these few contracted out courts are used by a sub group. I have written to the organizer to see if I can play with them – probably another 4 year waiting list. Otherwise there is another club with outdoor courts who have a Thursday morning mix-in so I might try that. It’s rained all day today (Thursday) Maybe cycling will be my sport from now on!!!

When it rains it’s safer and dryer to take the tram or the bus. The system works very well and I managed to get something similar to an Oyster Card which has just arrived in Amsterdam soon to replace the Strippencart – a card strip allowing travel for a number of journeys/zones. I haven’t tried a bus yet, that is an excitement to come, but most of the trams have a miserable person in a kiosk to stamp your strippencart and to ensure that it is valid. The deal is you can travel around on transport for a couple of hours before you have to pay again – quite clever really.

There is also a decent metro should you want to go further afield – I made one of my obligatory visits to IKEA out of town – most of the stuff I could have got in the Albert Cuyp Street Market round the corner. Now that is a market, everything imaginable is sold there.

Talking about Streets – A small group of us ladies decided to “do” Chinatown followed by lunch. Smaller than London’s Chinatown but on the edge of the Red Light District which we strayed into. Our Leader explained that you are not allowed to photograph the girls in the windows although she did quite a lot of shots of the rest of us hoping to get a little background too. I don’t think the “girls” were fooled – I think she will find a lot of shots with a single middle finger showing from behind closed curtains!! Amazing stuff there, apart from the girls – the “toy” shops certainly are something else!! I also learned from our “Leader” that blue lights indicate transvestites – they looked more attractive than the women!

My starter blog is longer than intended but I was a bit slow getting up and running, a torrential downpour all day has forced me to catch up. For the weekend a surprise birthday lunch has been planned at Ouderkerk situated way down the Amstel… its about 20Kms each way and we are going on our bikes. Mmm! The outward bound journey is do-able but wobbling back along the canal on the return after a glass or two over lunch…. Maybe we should consider returning by train or our bikes (along with us) could end up rusting on the bottom of the canal. More to follow……………..