Download limit? What's that?

In Australia, most internet plans (with the super expensive ones being the exception) have some sort of monthly download limit where any excess usage results in punishment, whether this be a per MB excess usage fee, or a shaped plan where the connection speed is capped at 1990's dial-up speed.

The Netherlands has no such concept- all internet is unlimited, and you pay for your speed.  I'm on the cheapest possible UPC plan (around 40 euro/month including cable TV and phone line rental) and it puts Australian ISPs to shame (yes, I know there are all sorts of socio-economic population-density based reasons for this, but I don't care- I just want my steam game faster than a carrier pigeon could bring it with a USB drive strapped to it's leg).   See the Speedtest results below- reaching speeds greater than 30Mbps, this is over 20 times faster than the connection Optus used to give me for my $80 per month.

There is lots of things I miss about Australia but the internet is not one of them.  

European Easter

Over Easter my (Sam's) family- Nana (92 years old- what a legend!), Jeannie (mother-in-law), Aunty Lynne, and cousin Renee - came to visit us.  After a week with all of us packed in to our little apartment here in Amsterdam, we started our European Easter roadtrip- Amsterdam, Brugge, Paris, Schwangau, Rothenburg ob de Tauber, Koln, Amsterdam.  

Part 1- Amsterdam to Brugge

Part 2- Paris

Part 3- Schwangau

Part 4- The Romantic Road

European Easter Part 2- Paris

See here for more on our European Easter

Paris- the setting for many movies and TV shows, the home of famous artists and artworks, the location of many of the world's most recognisable landmarks.  People talk and write about Paris as though it has some magical powers, where dreams come true and your life will be fulfilled.  In reality, for me at least, it is just another city. It is however a very beautiful city and it was great to see all the landmarks.

We arrived in the mid morning on Friday and left early on Sunday, so we had 2 days and 2 nights to explore.  We stayed at a Best Western near Opera, so we were quite near some major landmarks such as the Louvre, Lafayette and of course the opera house itself.  To get an idea of how the city works, we bought a 2 day pass for the hop on hop off bus, there was a few to choose from but our hotel lobby sold tickets for Les Cars Rouges so we went with that.  It was about 25 euro for the 2 day pass, but we used it many times so probably got value for our money.  We first went on a ride around the whole circuit, it took about 2 hours and we got to see most of the major landmarks- Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dam etc.  The second day we used the bus to get to the specific areas we wanted to spend more time at.   It has varying reviews, and while I was not blown away by the experience and would probably not do it again I thought it was a good way for a Paris newbie to see the city on a short stay.

On Saturday morning we went looking for a bakery (boulangerie) to find some croissants and bread sticks.  It was Easter Saturday so there was not alot open, but after a few minutes walking we found one and got some delicious fresh bread.  After a quick stop off at a small supermarket (I think it was a Monoprix) we had all the jam, cheese, and snacks we needed for the day.

We spent Saturday (and I mean all of Saturday) at the Eiffel Tower.  It is cliched, but I couldn't go to Paris and not go up the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately, thousands of other people felt the same way, and with one of the 2 lifts being out of order, we had a four hour wait before we could go up. I never tjough you could get sick of the Eiffel Tower but after standing in the cold, wind and sometimes rain for that long, we were all pretty sick of it.  Once we went up though, the past hours were forgotten as we realised we were actually doing the thing that is on the bucket list of so many people around the world.


On the way home we had a wander through the Galeries LaFayette, which was full of branc name and designer shops, out of price range but worth it to see the inside of the big domed glass ceiling.  The food hall was pretty neat and we picked up some bits and pieces for dinner, which we ate on the steps of the Opera house.  Not exactly a michelin rated restaurant, but it was nice to soak up the atmosphere of the city.

There was so much style in Paris- leather jackets, big sunglasses, guys sporting haircuts with shaved sides and long fringes.  But the number of tourists definitely seemed to outnumber the locals.  Everywhere you look are people with big cameras around their necks, maps or tourist books in hand, wandering the streets and flocking around the landmarks.  Hopefully next time we go we'll be able to get a little bit off the main tourist track and see a different side of Paris.

European Easter Part 1- Brugge

See here for more on our European Easter

After picking up the rental car, we had a bit of a bumpy start- first turn out of our street, we needed to turn left, so we just followed the car in front which was doing the same thing.  However it was a taxi so it went onto the tram tracks, and sped of.  Jeannie hesitated for a bit and then panicked when a tram started coming towards us- the tram thankfully stopped and waited as we did a 5 or so point turn to get off the tram tracks and back onto the road.  The next few hours were uneventful, and we were on the outskirts of Brugge when we went over an oddly shaped curb which tore a big hole in one tyre and put an egg in another.

Busted tyre

So we were going nowhere.  After thoroughly searching the car and me trying to read the manual with my limited Dutch, we came tothe conclusion that there was no spare tyre, and with no phone service we were unsure about what to do next.  Fortunately there was a farm house a few hundred metres up the road, and the lovel lady let us use her phone, only for us to find that the 24 hour Eurocar emergency help line DID NOT WORK! 

Cow watched us freeze as we waited for a mechanic

The lady called her mechanic for us, who came out and had a look.  He spoke no English, and we spoke no Dutch, so through hand gestures and mimes we figured that there was nothing he could do because there was no spare tyre, he was going to call a tyre replacement workshop to come ang help us.  At least we think that's what he was going to do.Eventually after about an hour and a half of waiting, a tow truck came.  He pulled the car onto the back of the truck (while we were all still in it!) and we drove 20 minutes to the service station.  We waited there while they replaced the tyres (fortunately they had a free coffee machine, so they cheered us up a little), and we were back on the road an hour later and 600 euros poorer.

If you look closely you can see us sitting in the car

We did eventually reach Brugge that afternoon, and whatever we went through to get there, it was worth it.  It is, as the gangster in the move In Brugge says, like it's out of some kind of fairytale.  As we walked through the narrow cobblestone streets it really felt like we had been transported back in time.  There was 2 main squares, Markt and Burg, both which are surrounded by impressive buildings such as the city hall, the bell tower, the basilica.  There were also many restaurants nearby to choose from for dinner.

Markt Square, Brugge

That night we found a bright, busy little beer cafe hidden down an alleyway called 't Brugs Beertje.  This place has a serious beer menu- around 10 pages of just different kinds of beer- and they have many different kinds of white beer for which Belgium is famous for.  It was a really relaxing and fun atmosphere,  and cheap too (at least compared to Australian pubs). This place has many good reviews on the internet as I found out later.

Typical Brugge street

The next day we went for a morning walk to the Begijnhof (Beguinage) which is an small community like a nunnery.  It is a courtyard surrounded by lovely old houses, and the grassy area was filled with bright yellow flowers. There are signs everyone asking for silence, and silent it was- it was very peaceful and very beautiful.  The 10-15 minute walk from the centre to there took us close to an hour because there were so many beautiful canals, old churches and little laneways to take photos of.

Begijnhof 

We spent the rest of the morning trying the local goodies (the chocolates, waffles, hot chocolate are all delicious), looking through the teapot shop and walking around trying to see as much of this little town as we could.  Then, it was back into the car for the next leg of our trip- Paris.

Koninginnedag

Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) is the annual festival which produces the photos seen in many brochures and advertisements for Holland- the ones where there is a sea of people dressed in orange.  It is definitely a sight to see, and something that was very cool to be part of.  We joined in with everyone else, walking the packed Amsterdam streets with our orange hats and Heineken in hand (alcohol is allowed in public on queen's day), stopping every now and then to listen to the DJ's set up at stages throughout the city.

Video of one of the bigger party areas at Leidseplein

Another big tradition for the day is the vrijmarkts, literally 'free markets' because anyone can sell anything without being set up as a business or paying tax.  As a result, people set up on the side of the road with all the junk they have collected over the last year (probably also which they bought from other punters at last year's queen's day) and try to make a few euro.  The specially keen people could be seen up to a few days in advance reserving the best spots on the side of the road, marking out their territory with tape on the footpath.

We also had time to wander through the sarphatipark and the vondelpark which were full not only with markets, but people doing anything to make a few euro- kids playing musical instruments, singing, even some guys allowing people to throw eggs at them.  There was also plenty of people relaxing in the sun (it was a hot day- 20 degrees!) enjoying a beer and the company of friends.

I've been told that this queen's day was particularly quiet and that normally the crowds are much bigger and rowdier.  It seems that things got out of hand last year at the 2 main concert areas (Museumplein and Rembrandtplein) the council revoked the licences for these events until they can figure out a way to limit the crowds and damage caused by the crowds last year.

The highlight of the day was probably sitting on the edge of the Prinsengracht watching all the boats go past, with the drunk orange people listening to loud party music.  We saw some pretty funny and also disturbing things- guys peeing over the edge of the boat into the canal, guys wearing tight orange dresses, an old lady who looked like she was pole dancing... but it was fun to be part of such an important day on the Dutch calendar.

Video of the boats going along the Prinsengracht

No cars or trams in the city, but plenty of people and rubbish

Thousands of people in orange walking through niewendijk

The orange all comes from many stores like this

House on our street that even put up orange window shades

Practically Dutch- orange hat and heineken in hand in the Vondelpark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninginnedag

http://www.koninginnedagamsterdam.nl/queensday.html