Happy New Year!

Gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Having just arrived back in Amsterdam after 2 weeks travelling over Christmas, we were pretty tired but still excited to be spending new years (or Oud en Nieuw as it is called in Dutch) with our friends in Almere.  It was a really nice evening spent in their newly purchased and renovated house.

One of the highlights of the night was the fireworks.  In Australia it is illegal to have fireworks so it is not something I have grown up with, but in the Netherlands it is legal to buy them in the few days leading up to New Year's Eve, and to set them of from 2pm to 2am on New Year's itself.  We were on a flight back from Switzerland at around 4pm and as the plane was approaching Amsterdam, we could see flashes from the fireworks across the country.

The loud explosions grew increasingly close together as we approached midnight.  At around 11:30, we went outside to let a few of ourselves that Roeland had got for us.  We then went back up to the top floor of their house where we had an incredible view of the fireworks which were going off constantly in every direction, even from the street just a few metres below us.  While the display was much smaller and not choreographed like the major displays put on by Australian cities, it made up for this with sheer persistence as the fireworks continued well past 1am.

Aftermath of the fireworks on the street the next morning

Amstel Cycle

In the spirit of seeing and experiencing more of the area where we live, we decided to spend a weekend exploring in the most Dutch way possible- going for a cycle.  For quite some time we have been meaning to do a day cycling trip along the Amstel river, and finally we had a free, sunny weekend.  So, armed with a picnic lunch and a Lonely Planet Amsterdam guide, we cycled into the morning.

View Larger Map

From our house, we started with 3km cycle to the Amstelpark, where we cycled next to the river for about 7km until we reached the small town of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel.  There were many other cyclists, rowers and joggers out enjoying the sun. It was pretty incredible that just a few minutes cycle from the bustling city there was peace and quiet among kilometres of green farmland, and even more strange to see cows and sheep with tall skyscrapers in the background.

Just past the town we stopped off to rest our legs and for a quick snack on a small jetty over the river.  Despite the heat from the sun (one of the first really warm days of the entire year!) it was still quite windy- fortunately the wind was at our backs so cycling was easy.

By this time we were on the edge of the Rondehoep, a large polder (low-lying area of land surrounded by dykes) that covers all the way from Ouderkerk aan de Amstel down to the border of the Utrecht province.  We cycled around the whole polder, a distance of around 15km, with a quick stop for lunch half way around.  Cycling along the dyke, it was striking to see the water level on one side of the dyke being quite a bit higher than the land on the other side- just a foot or two rise of the water would result in the farmland, and in many places the front yards of family houses, being flooded.

At one point we crossed over the river on a small wooden hand operated bridge. As we were cycling away, a small boat was going past but was blocked by the bridge.  We watched as a guy climbed out of the boat onto the bank, unlatched some clips that were keeping the bridge secured and then pulled a rope which lifted the bridge enough for the boat to motor through.

As we cycled north towards home on the west side of the polder, the wind was now making it difficult for us.  We eventually made it back to Ouderkerk, where we stopped for a coffee and some cake at a little cafe right on the river with a nice view of the church from which the town gets its name.

The winter has been long, and it was a great relief to finally get some warm weather.  It's easy to forget that just a few months ago these same canals would have been frozen over, rather than reflecting sun from gentle ripples.

Beach Soccer

We went into the centre yesterday and were greeted with a very surprising sight- Dam Square had been transformed into a soccer field.  And not just any soccer field, it was a beach soccer field.  The whole square, which just a few months ago was under inches of snow and ice, was now under a foot of sand.  It was a nice warm day, perfect weather for the beach, but unfortunately the sand was for players only so we had to be content with watching for a few minutes.

Beach soccer field, with the royal palace and the Nieuwe Kerk  in the background

Nieuwendijk, the shopping street adjacent to DamSquare, is also soccer-crazed.  These decorations must be in preparation for Euro 2012 which starts next weekend.

Beautiful Keukonhoff

When our family was visiting in April, we took them to Keukenhof, a large public garden full of beautifully landscaped gardens with all sorts of trees and flowers- and of course, many many tulips.  The gardens are about a 30 minute bus ride from Schipol airport, and it is possible to buy a Combiticket which includes the entrance fee and the bus ride to and from the airport.  They can be purchased at the tourist information centre at the airport.

The gardens are only open for about 2 months per year, between March and May.  We were there on the first weekend after opening, so there was quite a few displays which were not yet in full bloom, but it was far from disappointing.  We spent about 5 hours there and still didn't get to see everything.  It was a lot of walking and we were very ready to go home by the end of the day.  Fortunately for Nanna they provided wheel chairs so she didn't have to walk (although when she wanted to walk, the others were more than happy to have a turn it it!)

As well as the many outdoor landscapes, including the hedge maze and the windmill, there were a few themed indoor displays, such as the tulip house and the orchid house.  It was quite nice to get inside every now and then because it was a cold, windy day.

Video of the indoor tulip display

There was not as many people there as I expected, given the short duration which it is open.  It also was not just tourists, there were many Dutch people who had come to enjoy the flowers.  Regardless of nationality though, every person had a camera and was trying to perfectly capture the amazing colours of the flowers, some with little point and shoot cameras, other with foot-long lenses and tripods.  We also took many photos, it was hard to choose which ones were best but there is a selection of my favourites here.

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.  

Lost in De Jordaan

Today we folowed the Lonely Plant Amsterdam book on a walking tour through the Jordaan, in the west of Amsterdam Centruum.  It was about 15 minutes on the tram from near our place at Roelof Hartplein to the Willemsstraat station.  From there we zig-zagged our way through the Jordaan district, finishing near Dam Square.  The shopping areas were a highlight of the district with markets such as the Noordermarkt out the front of the Noorderkerk which had a variety of breads, cheeses, flowers and antiques, and the Lindengracht markets which is a 1km stretch of farmer's market stalls.  We also wandered through the Negenstraatjes (Nine Streets) area which hosts upmarket accessory stores and art galleries.

Herring Hot Dog

Noorderkerk

Noordermarkt

Mushroom Stall at the Noordermarkt

Cafe Chris, in the backstreets of de Jordaan

The other significant attractions of the area are the churches.  These include the cross-shaped Noorderkerk (with the markets out the front) and the Westerkerk, which is a an early1600's building topped with an intricately decorated blue and gold crown.  The melodic chiming of the bells was a highlight, and adds the the sense of history when reading how Anne Frank mentions this same chiming in her diaries (the Anne Frank house is nearby the church).

Westerkerk

The blue crown atop the tallest spire of the Westerkerk

Canal over the Prinsengracht next to the Westerkerk

After seeing the house where the bankrupt Rembrandt died (it now houses a Japanese souvenir shop...) we made our way up to Centraal Station so I could put some more credit on my OV-chipkaart, and we decided to go via the Oude Kerk.  The 'old church' is the oldest landmark in Amsterdam, dating back to 1306.  The magnificent pipe organ watches over the tomb-stone covered floor, under which thousands of Amsterdammers were buried up until the 1800's.  The renovation which the inside of the church is undergoing does detract a bit from immersion in the experience, but it is still pretty spectacular to be in such an old building.

Rembrandt's house

Oude Kerk

One of many several metre high stained glass windows in the Oude kerk

Oude kerk's pipe orgen

One of the many tombstones which tile the floor of the church

The area outside the church is basically the red light district and although there was not much to be seen from the main street we walked along, there was a definite feeling of seediness in the area.  It seems that this is the type of area from which Amsterdam gets much of its reputation, and it was full of tourists who looked as though they came here only to experience that reputation for themselves.  Having been here for almost 5 weeks now, I can definitely say that this type of area is the exception, not the rule when it comes to this beautiful city.

Centraal Station