Liberation Day is the newest national holiday in the Netherlands and one of the few that have nothing to do with religion, with New Year's Day and King's Day. Rather than celebrate their Fourth of July or Cinco de Mayo, they celebrate their more recent liberation from German occupation in World War II. May 4th is Remembrance Day, when people reflect on the sacrifices their countrymen made to free their people. May 5th is the day to party.
A popular event on Remembrance Day is to talk with survivors of the war. Watching how the people of the Netherlands treat their elderly is a beautiful thing. It is not simply respect for their elders. We have that in China. What I see in Amsterdam is a population that genuinely cares about what the oldest generation has to teach them. I could not help but imagine how much better off the United States would be if we followed this example, and how that is never going to happen. At least in my lifetime.
A lot of people also visit cemeteries. Someone told me that surviving members of military units go to the graves of their former brothers in arms. That sounds like a great tradition to me. Since World War II ended 74 years ago, there are still a few people around who remember it all in vivid detail. All too soon, we will only have what they told us.
At 20:00 on Remembrance Day, the entire country falls silent for two minutes of commemoration. It is a remarkable thing to witness. The people of Holland are not especially noisy. They can never compare to Chinese or Americans. But Amsterdam is a crowded city. It is never painfully loud, but I have never heard it as dead silent as those two minutes. As an American, I fully expected some smartass to make some smartass remark while everyone else was quiet. Americans are nothing if not attention whores. The people of Amsterdam were nothing but respectful of what those two minutes represent.
Liberation Day is less somber and a lot louder. Since the holiday is in spring, it looks a lot like Easter and King's Day, without all the eggs and orange. People go to free concerts and parades. There is a children's festival in Vondelpark. I have been to too few places where children are treated with the compassion and respect they need, and given the education they deserve. Israel and the Netherlands immediately come to mind. Nowhere else does.
Something Amsterdam did that I have never seen anywhere in the world is what they called open houses. It had nothing to do with real estate. On Remembrance Day and Liberation Day, people who live in houses where Jewish families lived or were hidden during the war open their homes to the public for short commemorations. Someone in each house, either a survivor, their descendant and/or the current occupant tells everyone the story of whoever lived in that house. Rather than a history of the entire war, it is a capsule history of a single family or a single person, and what they went through to survive, or in too many cases, not survive.
Each house was its own little temporary museum, but the procedure was mostly the same. The host read the names of everyone who was being remembered in that house, which is a very Jewish thing. If your name is read out loud, you are not forgotten. The best thing Steven Spielberg ever did as a filmmaker was have a lot of the actual names of the Schindler Jews read out loud. They were survivors, but it is the same principle.
Then someone tells the story of whoever lived in the house and, this is an important part, why they want to tell the story. None of this is a dry museum exhibit. These are all personal stories, mostly told by the people who lived them, or their children. Afterward was a short question and answer session that I wanted to last a lot longer. But no one had all day because we all went to multiple houses.
The first time I went to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, I heard a little old lady tell her story. She sat in a chair and talked about her life. It was heartbreaking, even though she was overwhelmingly optimistic. The open houses had too few people of her generation, but they augmented the first person accounts with photographs of everyone in happier times. People read poems and sang songs. Most surprising, several people read from diaries. Most of us probably only think of Anne Frank when you talk about diaries of people trying to escape the war, but there were countless diaries written in as many quiet rooms. Anne Frank was one of the more naturally talented writers, but all of those stories need to be told.
The emphasis is on personal history, but the entire event is educational for the community as a whole. Before this all started, thousands of people were living in houses that were owned by Jewish families before they were kidnapped and taken away to death camps. Many of the current residents had no idea about the history of their homes. When you buy a house, they tell you when it was built and the last time it was remodeled, but no one ever gets a full history of the past occupants. For most of us, World War II is an abstract event in the past. The open houses bring it all closer to home.
The open houses are mostly for the people who live in the neighborhoods, but outsiders like me were more than welcome. Several people happily switched from Nederlands to English when they realized I was a foreigner. In my experience, the people of Amsterdam, unlike a lot of other places, have absolutely no objection to using a foreign language. Most of them speak better English than most Americans.
Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Monday, May 13, 2019
Monday, May 6, 2019
Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants
Spring is a great time for Amsterdam, and Holland in general. Just the word Holland makes me think of flowers, and spring is the time to see them. Keukenhof is one of the largest flower gardens in the world, 79 acres with over 7 million flowers, and only open from late March to the middle of May. I knew this trip would be my best chance to go. Keukenhof is in Lisse, South Holland. Amsterdam is in North Holland. Fortunately, all of Holland is pretty small – less than 20% of the Netherlands. I took a bus from Europaplein, which is right next to Beatrixpark. The bus goes straight from the station to the garden in about an hour. Going from Schiphol is supposed to be faster, which makes sense. The train from Centraal to Schiphol takes about 15 minutes. Schiphol is roughly halfway between Centraal and Lisse. So instead of an hour bus ride, I could have taken a 45 minute train/bus. Maybe next time. Unfortunately, I missed the flower parade, which everyone says is impressive. That was on the Saturday before I arrived in Amsterdam. The end of April might be the best time to avoid crowds, but the beginning of April is probably more eventful.
Since Keukenhof is only open for two months, and more people go than ever before so they can put pictures online, I assumed it would be ridiculously crowded. It was not. I was far from the only other person there, but I saw more flowers than people staring at their phones. I was later told that I picked the best time to go. Weekends are always more crowded, and I went on a Tuesday. I went as early as I could and still get in because I am a morning person. By the time I left the garden, more and more people started flooding in.
I could have stayed longer and maybe waited until sunset to watch the flowers glow, but it was getting too crowded and I had other plans. Lisse just happens to be an excellent place to ride a bicycle. There are at least a dozen places downtown to rent a bike. The fields and canals are an easy ride away. Since Holland is flat and there are bike lanes all over the place, everywhere was an easy ride. Even downtown. Lisse is a tiny town that looks more like the residential suburbs of Amsterdam than the more famous and crowded Grachtengordel. What really struck me was how easy it was to ride around in the middle of the city.
I don't own a bicycle. I want to. I love to ride and it is great exercise. But the parts of Hong Kong with all the people are a very dangerous place to ride a bike. I don't live out in the middle of nowhere. I am surrounded by a few million people on a peninsula the size of JFK Airport. There are some nice spots in the country parks and around Lantau Island, but getting there from my apartment with a bicycle is nothing but trouble. It is almost always oppressively humid in Hong Kong and you can get stuck in a sudden downpour at any time. By contrast, Lisse was safe, clean and charming. April is never hot in Holland and the only rain we have had on this trip so far has been a few light morning or afternoon sprinkles here and there.
Just a few minutes outside of downtown Lisse was pastoral countryside, which is a little impressive when you know how densely packed Holland is. I was never far from a house or farm, but there was plenty of open road and a ridiculously long canal. I looked it up later on. It is about 15 miles long. I would imagine it is always a beautiful ride. I would love to see it covered in snow or even the greens of summer, but all the colors of spring flowers blooming is what I will always remember.
The houses along the canal reminded me of Normandy, north of Caen and Bayeux; quaint little cottages near the water with tiny gardens in the front yard and a small road to get you into town. Neither place is especially popular or on any lists of the great cities of the world, but I felt just as comfortable riding around Lisse as I did driving around Normandy. Though I have always lived in large cities, I could picture myself settling down in either of these beautiful village areas.
It was such a simple day, but about as close to perfect as you can get. I spent almost no money, made no reservations and followed no schedule. I walked around a garden and rode a bicycle in the countryside. And it could not have been a better day. I could almost imagine the smell of all those flowers.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Day of Orange
For whatever reason, I have been going to Amsterdam during holidays. The reason I go is to work. That it is always a holiday is simply a coincidence. I was there during Christmas because it was a Christmas show. I was there during Valentine's Day, but I did not go for Valentine's Day. In fact, I spent most of the day at the airport and was only in Amsterdam for the last few hours of the fake holiday. Easter is a major holiday in the Netherlands, but that had nothing to do with my trip. I did not even know it was Koningsdag until after I got here. I will only be here on Liberation Day because I extended my trip to have some free time in the country. My next trip will be during Fourth of July, but that holiday means absolutely nothing in Amsterdam.
Koningsdag is King's Day, Willem-Alexander's birthday. It used to be called Queen's Day, until Beatrix abdicated and her son took over. It is a national holiday that the people take more seriously than I would expect in a country where the king has no real power. Then again, a lot of Brits, and even Americans, care more about the British royal family than I understand.
When I first heard about the holiday, I assumed it was always King's Day when there was a king and Queen's Day when there was a queen. But the current king is the first one to have a King's Day. The holiday started with Beatrix's grandmother, Wilhelmina. Willem-Alexander is the first king since his grandmother's grandfather and will be the last for the foreseeable future since he only has daughters. The Netherlands knew nothing but queens in the 20th century. Maybe that is why it is such an enlightened country.
Since the holiday celebrates someone's birthday, the exact date changes every generation. The first Queen's Days were in summer and spring. Beatrix was born in January, but kept her mother's birthday since April is a better time for flowers and parades. Coincidentally, Willem-Alexander's birthday is almost the same as his grandmother's. His oldest daughter was born in December, so we will have to wait and see what happens when she becomes queen. Not that it matters, but his youngest daughter was also born in April.
Markets are a big thing on King's Day since anyone can sell anything without permits and anyone can buy without having to pay taxes. There are always markets around the city, but on King's Day, people sell their used crap in parks, on the streets and in front of their houses. For one day, Amsterdam is a giant yard sale.
The main activity on King's Day is to wear orange, since the royal family is the House of Orange. There are free concerts, parties and the streets downtown are closed to cars, which is a strange sight. But what stood out more than anything else was how much orange everyone was wearing. Almost every single person wore an orange shirt. Most had orange pants/skirts and many wore orange hats or wigs. More than a few people even dyed their hair orange. There were orange drinks, orange food, orange balloons, orange flags and plenty of orange confetti for someone to clean up later. It went far beyond all the green on St Patrick's Day.
The entire city became one giant block party for the day. What really impressed me was how adult the party was. In my country, any party this big is going to have a lot of drunk and/or stoned people ruining it for everyone else as much as they can. There will probably be some looting and fires thrown in for good measure. In Amsterdam, it was all respectful. This was a day to celebrate their country, and the royal family. I cannot guarantee that everyone was on their best behavior, but I never saw anyone acting like an idiot. It was more like Fourth of July than St Patrick's Day. Even though there was orange alcohol, most of the people seemed more happy and proud than sloppy and drunk. I saw no orange vomit that day. If you are ever anywhere near Amsterdam on Koningsdag, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
I don't post pictures of people without their permission,
so I found a public domain shot on Google.
This is pretty much what it was like.
Koningsdag is King's Day, Willem-Alexander's birthday. It used to be called Queen's Day, until Beatrix abdicated and her son took over. It is a national holiday that the people take more seriously than I would expect in a country where the king has no real power. Then again, a lot of Brits, and even Americans, care more about the British royal family than I understand.
When I first heard about the holiday, I assumed it was always King's Day when there was a king and Queen's Day when there was a queen. But the current king is the first one to have a King's Day. The holiday started with Beatrix's grandmother, Wilhelmina. Willem-Alexander is the first king since his grandmother's grandfather and will be the last for the foreseeable future since he only has daughters. The Netherlands knew nothing but queens in the 20th century. Maybe that is why it is such an enlightened country.
Since the holiday celebrates someone's birthday, the exact date changes every generation. The first Queen's Days were in summer and spring. Beatrix was born in January, but kept her mother's birthday since April is a better time for flowers and parades. Coincidentally, Willem-Alexander's birthday is almost the same as his grandmother's. His oldest daughter was born in December, so we will have to wait and see what happens when she becomes queen. Not that it matters, but his youngest daughter was also born in April.
Markets are a big thing on King's Day since anyone can sell anything without permits and anyone can buy without having to pay taxes. There are always markets around the city, but on King's Day, people sell their used crap in parks, on the streets and in front of their houses. For one day, Amsterdam is a giant yard sale.
The main activity on King's Day is to wear orange, since the royal family is the House of Orange. There are free concerts, parties and the streets downtown are closed to cars, which is a strange sight. But what stood out more than anything else was how much orange everyone was wearing. Almost every single person wore an orange shirt. Most had orange pants/skirts and many wore orange hats or wigs. More than a few people even dyed their hair orange. There were orange drinks, orange food, orange balloons, orange flags and plenty of orange confetti for someone to clean up later. It went far beyond all the green on St Patrick's Day.
The entire city became one giant block party for the day. What really impressed me was how adult the party was. In my country, any party this big is going to have a lot of drunk and/or stoned people ruining it for everyone else as much as they can. There will probably be some looting and fires thrown in for good measure. In Amsterdam, it was all respectful. This was a day to celebrate their country, and the royal family. I cannot guarantee that everyone was on their best behavior, but I never saw anyone acting like an idiot. It was more like Fourth of July than St Patrick's Day. Even though there was orange alcohol, most of the people seemed more happy and proud than sloppy and drunk. I saw no orange vomit that day. If you are ever anywhere near Amsterdam on Koningsdag, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
so I found a public domain shot on Google.
This is pretty much what it was like.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Easter In Amsterdam
Easter in the Netherlands is pretty much the same as the United States. They have painted eggs, chocolate eggs, Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets, all courtesy of a giant egg-laying rabbit, Passhass. The biggest difference I noticed was how official everything is. Easter in the United States is not a public holiday, mostly because it always falls on a Sunday, when banks and government buildings are closed anyway. In the Netherlands, both Easter Sunday and Monday are national holidays.
I was warned that the big tourist sights would be too crowded during Easter. I have already been to most of them. This trip is about exploring new things. There was a special performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion at the Concertgebouw, but both shows were sold out before I knew about it.
I spent the day at the Rijksmuseum. That is nothing new, but the current exhibit is. Since 2019 is the “Year of Rembrandt”, the Rijksmuseum has a special exhibition of every Rembrandt piece in their collection, which is supposed to be the largest in the world. They usually only have a fraction of his work on display. Since Rembrandt is my favorite artist, this was a wonderful surprise. I have seen the museum's limited exhibits on previous visits, and the etchings at the Rembrandthuis, but this was more than 400 of his best paintings, drawings and prints.
When the exhibition is over, the museum will restore The Night Watch, but keep it on display at the same time. The plan is to surround the work area with a large glass cage so the public can watch the restoration in progress. I'm glad they are restoring the painting, but I am even happier that I got to see it without a glass cage. I don't know how long it will take to restore, but I am more than willing to come back when everything is done.
Rijksmuseum from Museumplein
Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq
pre-restoration
I was warned that the big tourist sights would be too crowded during Easter. I have already been to most of them. This trip is about exploring new things. There was a special performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion at the Concertgebouw, but both shows were sold out before I knew about it.
I spent the day at the Rijksmuseum. That is nothing new, but the current exhibit is. Since 2019 is the “Year of Rembrandt”, the Rijksmuseum has a special exhibition of every Rembrandt piece in their collection, which is supposed to be the largest in the world. They usually only have a fraction of his work on display. Since Rembrandt is my favorite artist, this was a wonderful surprise. I have seen the museum's limited exhibits on previous visits, and the etchings at the Rembrandthuis, but this was more than 400 of his best paintings, drawings and prints.
When the exhibition is over, the museum will restore The Night Watch, but keep it on display at the same time. The plan is to surround the work area with a large glass cage so the public can watch the restoration in progress. I'm glad they are restoring the painting, but I am even happier that I got to see it without a glass cage. I don't know how long it will take to restore, but I am more than willing to come back when everything is done.
pre-restoration
Thursday, April 11, 2019
The Low Countries
I am going back to Amsterdam next week for a month. This will be my third trip to the city for work. Up until now, I have flown in, fulfilled my contractual obligations, and flown out. This trip will be a little different. I am going to stay longer than necessary and see more than the neighborhood around Vondelpark. Not that there is anything wrong with Vondelpark. It is a wonderful place for a leisurely stroll or a quick run, and I love the surrounding neighborhood. But if I have the opportunity to spend some extra time in a country with an excellent transportation system, and I don't even have to pay for a hotel, I'm taking it. Christmas would have been a great time to explore, but I had too much going on at home. Easter will have to do.
There is still much of Amsterdam to see, but my goal is to leave the city. I will have limited time on future trips, so this is my big chance to see other parts of Holland, or even the rest of the Netherlands. It is a tiny country, but when you just go to Amsterdam and then leave, you never get to see much of anything.
When most people go to Amsterdam, they stick around the Centrum borough. That is like going to New York and staying in Manhattan the entire time. Some will say that is all you need, but in both cities, there is so much more. Since my apartment is near Vondelpark, I am automatically in an outer borough. I am essentially in Brooklyn. They have all the big tourist sights, but we have the best parks.
There are plenty of things to see and do around the country, but sometimes it is a matter of timing. Leiden has a big fair in October that I can look into later this year. There is a carnival in Maastricht, but only for a weekend in November. I might never see that. There are all kinds of music festivals throughout the summer, but I'm coming back home in May. Maybe next time. Spring is a big time for flowers, so I'm sure I will find something flower related. Holland has a few tulips lying around.
If I had several years, I would take it slow and explore the country province by province. But I have absolutely no idea how long I will be working in Amsterdam. When I worked in Tel Aviv, I assumed I could make it last at least ten years. Circumstances beyond my control cut it down to one. Ten years is still not enough time to really get to know a place like Israel, but it is enough time to go to pretty much every district. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are both wonderful in their own ways, but no country is only two cities. It would be a shame if I only saw Amsterdam during whatever amount of time I have left.
My current goals are to see some of the bigger cities – Rotterdam, the Hague, Delft – but also get out of town. I would love to go down to Kinderdijk and check out the windmills. There are surprisingly few in Amsterdam. Ideally, I would go when the river is frozen enough to skate.
I have always wanted to go to Alkmaar during the cheese festival, but everyone tells me it is nothing like it used to be. What was once a great festival is now a show for the tourists, apparently. Either way, not far from Alkmaar is Edam, the capital of cheese and the old style villages of Zaanstreek-Waterland.
Across the sea from Amsterdam is Noordoostpolder, which is supposed to be the best place in the world to ride a bicycle. I will be the judge of that.
Just south of Amsterdam, I can see some ancient ruins in Utrecht, which is relatively close to Hoge Veluwe National Park and even closer to Gouda, the second capital of cheese.
Maastricht is about as far south as you can get, and also supposed to be a good looking city. From there, it should be easy to pop into Belgium and/or Germany as long as I'm in the neighborhood.
Most people don't think about islands and the Netherlands together, but the entire northern tip of the country is capped by an archipelago. The West Frisian Islands are supposed to be culturally unique, which often happens on islands.
How long will it take to see all of these places? I probably never will. Experience has shown that even if I make a list of places to go, something will come up that takes me somewhere else. Whether the detours are better than the route remains to be seen.
There is still much of Amsterdam to see, but my goal is to leave the city. I will have limited time on future trips, so this is my big chance to see other parts of Holland, or even the rest of the Netherlands. It is a tiny country, but when you just go to Amsterdam and then leave, you never get to see much of anything.
When most people go to Amsterdam, they stick around the Centrum borough. That is like going to New York and staying in Manhattan the entire time. Some will say that is all you need, but in both cities, there is so much more. Since my apartment is near Vondelpark, I am automatically in an outer borough. I am essentially in Brooklyn. They have all the big tourist sights, but we have the best parks.
There are plenty of things to see and do around the country, but sometimes it is a matter of timing. Leiden has a big fair in October that I can look into later this year. There is a carnival in Maastricht, but only for a weekend in November. I might never see that. There are all kinds of music festivals throughout the summer, but I'm coming back home in May. Maybe next time. Spring is a big time for flowers, so I'm sure I will find something flower related. Holland has a few tulips lying around.
If I had several years, I would take it slow and explore the country province by province. But I have absolutely no idea how long I will be working in Amsterdam. When I worked in Tel Aviv, I assumed I could make it last at least ten years. Circumstances beyond my control cut it down to one. Ten years is still not enough time to really get to know a place like Israel, but it is enough time to go to pretty much every district. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are both wonderful in their own ways, but no country is only two cities. It would be a shame if I only saw Amsterdam during whatever amount of time I have left.
My current goals are to see some of the bigger cities – Rotterdam, the Hague, Delft – but also get out of town. I would love to go down to Kinderdijk and check out the windmills. There are surprisingly few in Amsterdam. Ideally, I would go when the river is frozen enough to skate.
I have always wanted to go to Alkmaar during the cheese festival, but everyone tells me it is nothing like it used to be. What was once a great festival is now a show for the tourists, apparently. Either way, not far from Alkmaar is Edam, the capital of cheese and the old style villages of Zaanstreek-Waterland.
Across the sea from Amsterdam is Noordoostpolder, which is supposed to be the best place in the world to ride a bicycle. I will be the judge of that.
Just south of Amsterdam, I can see some ancient ruins in Utrecht, which is relatively close to Hoge Veluwe National Park and even closer to Gouda, the second capital of cheese.
Maastricht is about as far south as you can get, and also supposed to be a good looking city. From there, it should be easy to pop into Belgium and/or Germany as long as I'm in the neighborhood.
Most people don't think about islands and the Netherlands together, but the entire northern tip of the country is capped by an archipelago. The West Frisian Islands are supposed to be culturally unique, which often happens on islands.
How long will it take to see all of these places? I probably never will. Experience has shown that even if I make a list of places to go, something will come up that takes me somewhere else. Whether the detours are better than the route remains to be seen.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
The Amsterdam Apartment
I don't know how long I will be working in Amsterdam, but I hope I can stay in the same apartment the entire time. It is, without a doubt, the best apartment in which I have ever lived. Naturally, it is only part time and temporary. I seem to get lucky a lot, but it is always luck with conditions.
My very first apartment as an adult was a tiny box in downtown Minneapolis. It was too small and in an older building that desperately needed to be updated, but it was connected to the Skyway. I could go to the bank, out to eat, pay the phone bill, go shopping, watch a Timberwolves game or see the Eagles, minus Don Felder, without ever stepping foot outdoors. That was convenient in the dead of winter and heat of summer. My school was not connected to the Skyway, but it was less than two miles away. Ironically, my dance school when I was in high school was practically connected to the Skyway, but I lived much farther south back then. The best thing about that apartment was the freedom. There were very few rooms, but my boyfriend at the time and I could do whatever we wanted in any of those rooms at any time.
My first Hong Kong apartment was a tiny box in Mong Kok. It was even smaller than my first Minneapolis apartment, though the rent was 40% higher, but it was an easy walk to Paisano's, the flower market, the ladies market and Langham Place. It was not connected to anything, and had nothing close to a kitchen, but it was close enough to the MTR, which is convenient on any of Hong Kong's 150 rainy days each year, and only four stops away from the Eagles concert the second time they came here. And if you really want freedom, move 8,000 miles away from your family. Of course, that also meant moving a world away from our friends.
The Amsterdam house is above average by Minneapolis standards and enormous by Hong Kong standards. Without roommates, I would say it is too big. Even with two other people, there is plenty of room. Like every other building on the street, it is four floors with a red brick exterior. Without a number on the wall, there would be no way to tell one building from the next. A few of the neighbors have unique doors, but mine is the same as 90% of every other door on the block.
The street itself is entirely residential, with similar residential streets in every direction. I like how quiet and removed it is from the hustle and bustle, while at the same time, some of my favorite parts of Amsterdam are an easy walk away. I can get to Vondelpark in a few minutes, the Leidseplein in 15 minutes and the Rijksmuseum in less than 20. The Cuypmarkt, Anne Frank House, Bloemenmarkt and Spui are 30 minutes away on foot. The rest of the city is easy to reach with two tram lines a block away and several more tram and bus lines a little farther out. My street, like every other street in the neighborhood, has far fewer parking spaces than cars. Fortunately, I don't have a car. Owning a car in Amsterdam would be counterproductive. The trams and buses go everywhere, and someone else has to park them. Better still, Amsterdam is a great city to walk or bike around and get some fresh air.
Where I come from, four floors would be a mansion, but this is a standard-size house. I call it an apartment out of habit. In China, we call apartments houses, for some reason. Even a tiny box in Mong Kok without a kitchen is called a house when it is obviously an apartment. Everyone in Hong Kong lives in a house even though almost everyone lives in an apartment. I make it a point to call every house an apartment. Now, that has carried over to Amsterdam, despite the fact that the Amsterdam apartment is clearly a house. It is pressed up against the two houses on either side, and all of the houses combined might look like a long apartment building from a distance, but each house is self contained. You could completely tear down one house and it would not affect the house next door. I think if you tore out an apartment, the neighbors might notice.
I don't know enough about architecture to say what style it is, but it looks like a canal house, only it is not on a canal and is far newer than the traditional canal houses. New being a relative term. This neighborhood was built in the middle and late 19th century. While the house is over 100 years old, there are plenty of canal houses from the 17th century in Amsterdam. Unlike the traditional canal houses that are each unique, these all look the same and were obviously built at the same time by the same people. If traditional canal houses were originally built for the wealthiest in the city, these houses were probably built for the middle class.
The ground floor of the apartment/house has two front doors, just like every other house in the neighborhood. I was told that the two different entrances are because most of the owners at the time were merchants who used the ground floor as storage and/or shops. That makes sense since every house on the street has a gable with that furniture hook just like a traditional canal house. One door was for customers and deliveries, which were always brought in the front door because houses on canals got their UPS from boats. The other door opens to the hallway/stairway that leads to what they would use as their private residence. Today, some of the houses are divided into apartments. One door leads to the ground floor apartment and the other to the upper apartment. The houses that are not divided simply have two front doors. I suppose it is convenient if you are rushing downstairs to catch the bus in seconds flat.
The main front door opens to a vestibule/hallway with plenty of room for all the coats, hats, boots and umbrellas you need when you live in Amsterdam. From the hallway, there are stairs, one of many closets and two doors. One door leads to a tiny bathroom. The other door leads to a long, open room that covers the entire ground floor. The space is divided into dining room, kitchen and living room, but there are no partitions. The furniture is the only indication that you have gone from one room to another. Had there been a wall between each room, they would all look cramped. The open space makes it look much larger.
The dining room table is next to the two front windows, with views of the houses across the street. The kitchen is essentially up against one wall, but it has every appliance I need and plenty of counter space. An island with a sink and cabinets is the only thing close to a dividing line that separates the rooms. Beyond the kitchen is a long living room. It is narrow, but spacious. Tall French doors open to the surprisingly large backyard. All of the glass on the doors and windows makes the living room look bigger. From the street, each house is narrow and crammed together, but most have long backyards with gardens and patios.
The backyard looks like someone came in and manicured it yesterday. I don't know who takes care of it or how often, but everything is clean and trimmed. The patio furniture is clearly not new, but cleaner than furniture that spends its days outdoors should be. There is another empty storage closet, for some reason, and a separate rack for firewood. There is a working fireplace in the living room, but I was not about to mess with it without any instructions. It is obviously wood burning, but I can't just look at it and tell what kind of ventilation it has or if the flue is clean and open. It was never that cold anyway.
The second floor, which is called the first floor in Amsterdam and most of Europe, can be reached by either the stairway at the front door or another stairway from the other front door. Once up the stairs, there is another hallway that separates the stairs from the rooms. Every floor in the house has walls and doors between hallways and stairs. I assume this is for heating during the winter. It probably also helps with air conditioning during the summer, but this house was built long before air conditioning existed. There are also plenty of walls and doors between all the rooms on every floor except the ground floor, but it looks like there used to be a wall between the kitchen and living room. Someone obviously remodeled the place in the last century.
The second and third floors – or first and second – have pretty much the same floor plan. Stairs/hallway, bedroom facing the back garden, office/extra room facing the street and a bathroom in between. Each of the rooms facing the street has a tiny balcony that can't really do much beyond hold a few potted plants. The bedroom balconies are large enough for a storage closet and small patio furniture. I have no idea why there are closets on the balconies, but this house has closets everywhere.
I chose the bedroom on the third floor because my only roommate, so far, had already chosen the second floor. They are both essentially the same, except my room has an extra flight of stairs to walk up. She turned her front room into a gym, with an exercise bike, all kinds of portable equipment and some kind of machine I have never seen before. I have not decided what to do with my room.
My bathroom is spacious. All of the bathrooms, except the one on the ground floor, were renovated sometime in the last ten years. I get the feeling there used to be more rooms on each floor, but then they knocked down a few walls and made everything bigger. They definitely went bigger with the bathrooms. I doubt they had whirlpool bathtubs, double vanity sinks and showers that could easily hold three or four people in 1880.
The fourth/third floor is smaller than the others. That is where the roof gables out, so there is only a bedroom and bathroom. That bedroom has a sloped ceiling, which is great for lighting, but I chose against it because it is noticeably smaller and does not have that extra room I don't know how to use. I suppose it does not really make any difference since I will only be in the house part time, but as long as I had the option, I went with the better of the two. If we eventually find a roommate who cannot stand the top floor, I will be perfectly happy to switch.
One of my favorite parts of the house, aside from the kitchen, bathroom and backyard, is the roof. Even with the gables, all of the roofs in the neighborhood are flat. Some have nothing on top. A few have solar panels. And some roofs, like ours, have a terrace. Our terrace has a sofa, several tables and chairs, large plants and yet another storage closet. The closet is currently empty and I can't imagine what anyone would store in it. From the roof, we have views of all the other rooftops in the neighborhood. Since every building is the same height, we can see for miles and miles. Unfortunately, there is nothing like the Eiffel Tower in Amsterdam, and St Nicholas Basilica is too far away. If there were no backyard, the roof would be the perfect place to host a barbecue. Maybe some day I can be there on a day without too many clouds so I can watch the sunset.
I have lived in a few places over the years, but this is the first apartment/house I would ever want to buy. The houses where I grew up in Minneapolis were in nice neighborhoods, but too suburban for my tastes. The apartments were always too small, and only available to rent. My first Hong Kong apartment was tiny. The current one is bigger, but it feels more like a model house than a home. It does the job, but I would not want to live here forever. The apartment in Paris was beautiful, but too opulent, and probably far too expensive. Even if I could afford to buy it, I would never want to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods. I always stayed in a hotel in Tel Aviv, so ownership could never be an option. The Barcelona apartment was nice, and in a lovely neighborhood, but I hated the bathroom. I don't know where I'm going to settle down permanently, eventually, but I could see myself living in Amsterdam – or Paris, Tel Aviv, Minneapolis, or even Hong Kong. The Amsterdam house is the only building, so far, where I could picture raising a family and growing old.
All I need is a steady job, someone to start a family with, a way to convince my friends to move to Amsterdam and enough money to buy a house that is not for sale. I think I might be staying where I am for a while.
My very first apartment as an adult was a tiny box in downtown Minneapolis. It was too small and in an older building that desperately needed to be updated, but it was connected to the Skyway. I could go to the bank, out to eat, pay the phone bill, go shopping, watch a Timberwolves game or see the Eagles, minus Don Felder, without ever stepping foot outdoors. That was convenient in the dead of winter and heat of summer. My school was not connected to the Skyway, but it was less than two miles away. Ironically, my dance school when I was in high school was practically connected to the Skyway, but I lived much farther south back then. The best thing about that apartment was the freedom. There were very few rooms, but my boyfriend at the time and I could do whatever we wanted in any of those rooms at any time.
My first Hong Kong apartment was a tiny box in Mong Kok. It was even smaller than my first Minneapolis apartment, though the rent was 40% higher, but it was an easy walk to Paisano's, the flower market, the ladies market and Langham Place. It was not connected to anything, and had nothing close to a kitchen, but it was close enough to the MTR, which is convenient on any of Hong Kong's 150 rainy days each year, and only four stops away from the Eagles concert the second time they came here. And if you really want freedom, move 8,000 miles away from your family. Of course, that also meant moving a world away from our friends.
The Amsterdam house is above average by Minneapolis standards and enormous by Hong Kong standards. Without roommates, I would say it is too big. Even with two other people, there is plenty of room. Like every other building on the street, it is four floors with a red brick exterior. Without a number on the wall, there would be no way to tell one building from the next. A few of the neighbors have unique doors, but mine is the same as 90% of every other door on the block.
The street itself is entirely residential, with similar residential streets in every direction. I like how quiet and removed it is from the hustle and bustle, while at the same time, some of my favorite parts of Amsterdam are an easy walk away. I can get to Vondelpark in a few minutes, the Leidseplein in 15 minutes and the Rijksmuseum in less than 20. The Cuypmarkt, Anne Frank House, Bloemenmarkt and Spui are 30 minutes away on foot. The rest of the city is easy to reach with two tram lines a block away and several more tram and bus lines a little farther out. My street, like every other street in the neighborhood, has far fewer parking spaces than cars. Fortunately, I don't have a car. Owning a car in Amsterdam would be counterproductive. The trams and buses go everywhere, and someone else has to park them. Better still, Amsterdam is a great city to walk or bike around and get some fresh air.
Where I come from, four floors would be a mansion, but this is a standard-size house. I call it an apartment out of habit. In China, we call apartments houses, for some reason. Even a tiny box in Mong Kok without a kitchen is called a house when it is obviously an apartment. Everyone in Hong Kong lives in a house even though almost everyone lives in an apartment. I make it a point to call every house an apartment. Now, that has carried over to Amsterdam, despite the fact that the Amsterdam apartment is clearly a house. It is pressed up against the two houses on either side, and all of the houses combined might look like a long apartment building from a distance, but each house is self contained. You could completely tear down one house and it would not affect the house next door. I think if you tore out an apartment, the neighbors might notice.
I don't know enough about architecture to say what style it is, but it looks like a canal house, only it is not on a canal and is far newer than the traditional canal houses. New being a relative term. This neighborhood was built in the middle and late 19th century. While the house is over 100 years old, there are plenty of canal houses from the 17th century in Amsterdam. Unlike the traditional canal houses that are each unique, these all look the same and were obviously built at the same time by the same people. If traditional canal houses were originally built for the wealthiest in the city, these houses were probably built for the middle class.
The ground floor of the apartment/house has two front doors, just like every other house in the neighborhood. I was told that the two different entrances are because most of the owners at the time were merchants who used the ground floor as storage and/or shops. That makes sense since every house on the street has a gable with that furniture hook just like a traditional canal house. One door was for customers and deliveries, which were always brought in the front door because houses on canals got their UPS from boats. The other door opens to the hallway/stairway that leads to what they would use as their private residence. Today, some of the houses are divided into apartments. One door leads to the ground floor apartment and the other to the upper apartment. The houses that are not divided simply have two front doors. I suppose it is convenient if you are rushing downstairs to catch the bus in seconds flat.
The main front door opens to a vestibule/hallway with plenty of room for all the coats, hats, boots and umbrellas you need when you live in Amsterdam. From the hallway, there are stairs, one of many closets and two doors. One door leads to a tiny bathroom. The other door leads to a long, open room that covers the entire ground floor. The space is divided into dining room, kitchen and living room, but there are no partitions. The furniture is the only indication that you have gone from one room to another. Had there been a wall between each room, they would all look cramped. The open space makes it look much larger.
The dining room table is next to the two front windows, with views of the houses across the street. The kitchen is essentially up against one wall, but it has every appliance I need and plenty of counter space. An island with a sink and cabinets is the only thing close to a dividing line that separates the rooms. Beyond the kitchen is a long living room. It is narrow, but spacious. Tall French doors open to the surprisingly large backyard. All of the glass on the doors and windows makes the living room look bigger. From the street, each house is narrow and crammed together, but most have long backyards with gardens and patios.
The backyard looks like someone came in and manicured it yesterday. I don't know who takes care of it or how often, but everything is clean and trimmed. The patio furniture is clearly not new, but cleaner than furniture that spends its days outdoors should be. There is another empty storage closet, for some reason, and a separate rack for firewood. There is a working fireplace in the living room, but I was not about to mess with it without any instructions. It is obviously wood burning, but I can't just look at it and tell what kind of ventilation it has or if the flue is clean and open. It was never that cold anyway.
The second floor, which is called the first floor in Amsterdam and most of Europe, can be reached by either the stairway at the front door or another stairway from the other front door. Once up the stairs, there is another hallway that separates the stairs from the rooms. Every floor in the house has walls and doors between hallways and stairs. I assume this is for heating during the winter. It probably also helps with air conditioning during the summer, but this house was built long before air conditioning existed. There are also plenty of walls and doors between all the rooms on every floor except the ground floor, but it looks like there used to be a wall between the kitchen and living room. Someone obviously remodeled the place in the last century.
The second and third floors – or first and second – have pretty much the same floor plan. Stairs/hallway, bedroom facing the back garden, office/extra room facing the street and a bathroom in between. Each of the rooms facing the street has a tiny balcony that can't really do much beyond hold a few potted plants. The bedroom balconies are large enough for a storage closet and small patio furniture. I have no idea why there are closets on the balconies, but this house has closets everywhere.
I chose the bedroom on the third floor because my only roommate, so far, had already chosen the second floor. They are both essentially the same, except my room has an extra flight of stairs to walk up. She turned her front room into a gym, with an exercise bike, all kinds of portable equipment and some kind of machine I have never seen before. I have not decided what to do with my room.
My bathroom is spacious. All of the bathrooms, except the one on the ground floor, were renovated sometime in the last ten years. I get the feeling there used to be more rooms on each floor, but then they knocked down a few walls and made everything bigger. They definitely went bigger with the bathrooms. I doubt they had whirlpool bathtubs, double vanity sinks and showers that could easily hold three or four people in 1880.
The fourth/third floor is smaller than the others. That is where the roof gables out, so there is only a bedroom and bathroom. That bedroom has a sloped ceiling, which is great for lighting, but I chose against it because it is noticeably smaller and does not have that extra room I don't know how to use. I suppose it does not really make any difference since I will only be in the house part time, but as long as I had the option, I went with the better of the two. If we eventually find a roommate who cannot stand the top floor, I will be perfectly happy to switch.
One of my favorite parts of the house, aside from the kitchen, bathroom and backyard, is the roof. Even with the gables, all of the roofs in the neighborhood are flat. Some have nothing on top. A few have solar panels. And some roofs, like ours, have a terrace. Our terrace has a sofa, several tables and chairs, large plants and yet another storage closet. The closet is currently empty and I can't imagine what anyone would store in it. From the roof, we have views of all the other rooftops in the neighborhood. Since every building is the same height, we can see for miles and miles. Unfortunately, there is nothing like the Eiffel Tower in Amsterdam, and St Nicholas Basilica is too far away. If there were no backyard, the roof would be the perfect place to host a barbecue. Maybe some day I can be there on a day without too many clouds so I can watch the sunset.
I have lived in a few places over the years, but this is the first apartment/house I would ever want to buy. The houses where I grew up in Minneapolis were in nice neighborhoods, but too suburban for my tastes. The apartments were always too small, and only available to rent. My first Hong Kong apartment was tiny. The current one is bigger, but it feels more like a model house than a home. It does the job, but I would not want to live here forever. The apartment in Paris was beautiful, but too opulent, and probably far too expensive. Even if I could afford to buy it, I would never want to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods. I always stayed in a hotel in Tel Aviv, so ownership could never be an option. The Barcelona apartment was nice, and in a lovely neighborhood, but I hated the bathroom. I don't know where I'm going to settle down permanently, eventually, but I could see myself living in Amsterdam – or Paris, Tel Aviv, Minneapolis, or even Hong Kong. The Amsterdam house is the only building, so far, where I could picture raising a family and growing old.
All I need is a steady job, someone to start a family with, a way to convince my friends to move to Amsterdam and enough money to buy a house that is not for sale. I think I might be staying where I am for a while.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Christmas 2018
My first Christmas in Amsterdam started with work. That is the reason I'm here and that is what I have mostly been doing for the last two weeks. I'm staying in a wonderful house, but I really have not had much time to get to know it very well. I wake up, go to work, come home and go to sleep. I could easily go back to the house during meal breaks, but I spend most of that time with everyone else. I don't think any of them live a few blocks away, so we usually go to a food court right around the corner. It is indoors, as clean as can be, and best of all, away from any tourist attractions. If you are wandering around Dam Square, you will never accidentally walk into this place. As an international food court, the choices are pretty limited, but Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, China, Japan, Vietnam, India and Holland are well represented.
My time here might be all work and little play, but Christmas is Christmas. Amsterdammers celebrate it like there is no tomorrow. Museumplein is now Christmas Village, with a long, thin ice skating rink right in the middle. It is also a 15 minute walk from my house. Ice skating might not be the national sport of the Netherlands, but every single person in Amsterdam seems to know how to gracefully glide across the ice. I'm from Minnesota, so no slouch either, but it has been a while. We don't skate all that much in Hong Kong.
There are Christmas markets all over the place and the city is adorned from head to toe with festive lights and decorations. This is a beautiful city at any time of year, but the tasteful Christmas lights really add a special touch. They could have easily gotten carried away and put up everything but the kitchen sink. Someone in charge clearly understands that less is more. The lights are there to enhance the natural beauty of the city rather than drown it out. Amsterdam is nothing like Hong Kong.
Dam Square has a giant Christmas tree, similar to Rockefeller Center, but far less crowded and, in my opinion, more beautiful. Again, it is a case of understated elegance instead of garish excess. The RAI convention center is now Winter Paradise, with a large ice skating rink, Ferris wheel, toboggan slide, and cross country skiing. The Bloemenmarkt, which is one of the best places to buy flowers on this planet, now sells Christmas trees. Or at least it did at the beginning of the week. I found that interesting because I never saw any Christmas trees on previous trips to Amsterdam, so I don't associate the two, and we do not have Christmas tree lots in Hong Kong. It is like growing up with an animal that went extinct, but then you see a few again.
From what I can tell, Christmas in Amsterdam is not about buying cheap crap made in China. That is one thing the United States and Hong Kong have in common. For the people of Amsterdam, Christmas seems to be about spending time with family, eating festive food and enjoying a special time of the year. The Christmas markets sell small items you can buy as gifts, but they are unequivocally nothing like Walmart. Most people opt for the food and endless gallons of alcohol. One thing I noticed at every Christmas market I went to was oliebollen, a deep fried dough dessert, similar to a jelly donut without any filling. It looked like every stall had their own recipe and they all looked pretty good.
The absolute best thing about Christmas this year was not food or winter weather or tasteful holiday lighting. It was my present from Lily, my best friend, roommate (in Hong Kong) and sister from up north. When I moved in to the Amsterdam house, there were a few issues that needed to be addressed, but most of them were taken care of while I was away. One of the bathroom doors did not close properly. I came home from work one day and it was magically fixed. I don't really like the idea of people coming into the house while no one is home, but that is the only way anything is ever going to get done.
The very first time I heard the doorbell ring, I assumed it was someone coming to fix something. Instead, I opened the door to see Lily, in Amsterdam, standing on my stoep. It was the greatest present I could ever ask for. I love a good surprise, and this one was unbeatable. She managed to find out where I would be and when, and fly across the world without me suspecting a thing. In hindsight, I should have wondered why she wanted such detailed information about my schedule that week, but we always know each other's schedules in Hong Kong.
I might have mentioned this once or twice before, but I was in a bit of a car accident last year. Lily was my home nurse throughout a long and grueling recovery, and she never complained once. She probably complained every step of the way, but I chose not to hear it. The important thing is that she was there every day. I don't need her to keep an eye on me anymore physically, but she did not want me to spend Christmas alone. Kevin, my other best friend, roommate and brother from up north, could not come. He has a real job in a country that does not celebrate Christmas. He usually works during our most important holidays, but he gets plenty of Chinese days off.
The Amsterdam house has more than enough room for three people. I currently only have one roommate, and she is out of town. Lily staying at a hotel was never a consideration. It was a little sad that her boyfriend was alone at Christmas, but he was busy enough not to notice, and it was nice to have the house all to ourselves. And since I had to work, Lily had it all to herself much of the time. I only hope she closed the curtains. Amsterdam houses are nice, but the neighbors are entirely too close.
When I had some free time, we hit the town. As a Canadian, Lily felt right at home on ice skates. She spent more time at the Christmas markets than I did, and bought entirely too many unnecessary trinkets. There was no snow this Christmas. It never dipped below 5 degrees. It was overcast pretty much the entire time and there was a little rain here and there, but it was a very mild winter as far as we were concerned.
Lily loved the mulled wine, which was available practically everywhere. She thought the oliebollen were ok, but preferred the banketstaaf, a flaky pastry filled with almond paste, and appelflappen. When it comes to donuts, she thinks nothing in the world can compare with Tim Hortons. That sounds strange, but I generally feel the same way about Krispy Kreme. I went to Tim Hortons a few times when I was in Barcelona, which made Lily proud, but I always got the timbits, which she found sacrilegious.
I had to work during the two days of Christmas, so there was no official Christmas dinner, but we had a full kitchen and I made sure to do plenty of grocery shopping before everything closed. Few restaurants are open on the 25th and 26th, but home cooked meals are always better on holidays anyway. And, for some bizarre reason, there is no Krispy Kreme or Tim Hortons in Amsterdam. It's a great city otherwise.
One basic staple I never bothered to get was flour. I don't live here full time and I mostly use flour for breads and desserts. Amsterdam has some of the best bakeries in the world and, with all the Christmas markets, finding cookies and muffins was not difficult. Of course, without flour, I could not make pasta, pizza or pancakes, but we managed to survive. Lily especially missed my brownies, but she was more than satisfied when I told her that I could make peanut butter cookies. We only had peanut butter because I found an interesting looking bottle at Albert Heijn.
She said they were the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made, so we had to get a few more bottles to bring home. But for all we know, it could be the eggs. In Amsterdam, we got free range, organic, environmentally-approved eggs. In Hong Kong, packaging is not always trustworthy. In fact, earlier this year, millions of eggs imported from the United States were recalled because of a salmonella contamination. Last year, European eggs were recalled after they were tested for pesticides. Ironically, most of those eggs came from the Netherlands. Even more ironically, Hong Kong imports eggs from Europe and the United States out of fear that eggs from Mainland China are less clean.
Regardless of whatever made them the best ever, Lily said the entire house smelled like peanut butter cookies. I have no problem with that.
For me, this was the best Christmas in a long time. Christmas in Hong Kong is mostly about shopping and over the top decorations. The Chinese are never subtle when it comes to lights and colored paper. Christmas in Amsterdam reminded me more of my childhood, when spending time with family and friends was more important than going to the mall. There is never anything magical in the air in Hong Kong. Christmas is just another day, albeit with more Christmas music than usual. Amsterdam felt like Christmas. Best of all, I got to spend it with my sister.
Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
My time here might be all work and little play, but Christmas is Christmas. Amsterdammers celebrate it like there is no tomorrow. Museumplein is now Christmas Village, with a long, thin ice skating rink right in the middle. It is also a 15 minute walk from my house. Ice skating might not be the national sport of the Netherlands, but every single person in Amsterdam seems to know how to gracefully glide across the ice. I'm from Minnesota, so no slouch either, but it has been a while. We don't skate all that much in Hong Kong.
There are Christmas markets all over the place and the city is adorned from head to toe with festive lights and decorations. This is a beautiful city at any time of year, but the tasteful Christmas lights really add a special touch. They could have easily gotten carried away and put up everything but the kitchen sink. Someone in charge clearly understands that less is more. The lights are there to enhance the natural beauty of the city rather than drown it out. Amsterdam is nothing like Hong Kong.
Dam Square has a giant Christmas tree, similar to Rockefeller Center, but far less crowded and, in my opinion, more beautiful. Again, it is a case of understated elegance instead of garish excess. The RAI convention center is now Winter Paradise, with a large ice skating rink, Ferris wheel, toboggan slide, and cross country skiing. The Bloemenmarkt, which is one of the best places to buy flowers on this planet, now sells Christmas trees. Or at least it did at the beginning of the week. I found that interesting because I never saw any Christmas trees on previous trips to Amsterdam, so I don't associate the two, and we do not have Christmas tree lots in Hong Kong. It is like growing up with an animal that went extinct, but then you see a few again.
From what I can tell, Christmas in Amsterdam is not about buying cheap crap made in China. That is one thing the United States and Hong Kong have in common. For the people of Amsterdam, Christmas seems to be about spending time with family, eating festive food and enjoying a special time of the year. The Christmas markets sell small items you can buy as gifts, but they are unequivocally nothing like Walmart. Most people opt for the food and endless gallons of alcohol. One thing I noticed at every Christmas market I went to was oliebollen, a deep fried dough dessert, similar to a jelly donut without any filling. It looked like every stall had their own recipe and they all looked pretty good.
The absolute best thing about Christmas this year was not food or winter weather or tasteful holiday lighting. It was my present from Lily, my best friend, roommate (in Hong Kong) and sister from up north. When I moved in to the Amsterdam house, there were a few issues that needed to be addressed, but most of them were taken care of while I was away. One of the bathroom doors did not close properly. I came home from work one day and it was magically fixed. I don't really like the idea of people coming into the house while no one is home, but that is the only way anything is ever going to get done.
The very first time I heard the doorbell ring, I assumed it was someone coming to fix something. Instead, I opened the door to see Lily, in Amsterdam, standing on my stoep. It was the greatest present I could ever ask for. I love a good surprise, and this one was unbeatable. She managed to find out where I would be and when, and fly across the world without me suspecting a thing. In hindsight, I should have wondered why she wanted such detailed information about my schedule that week, but we always know each other's schedules in Hong Kong.
I might have mentioned this once or twice before, but I was in a bit of a car accident last year. Lily was my home nurse throughout a long and grueling recovery, and she never complained once. She probably complained every step of the way, but I chose not to hear it. The important thing is that she was there every day. I don't need her to keep an eye on me anymore physically, but she did not want me to spend Christmas alone. Kevin, my other best friend, roommate and brother from up north, could not come. He has a real job in a country that does not celebrate Christmas. He usually works during our most important holidays, but he gets plenty of Chinese days off.
The Amsterdam house has more than enough room for three people. I currently only have one roommate, and she is out of town. Lily staying at a hotel was never a consideration. It was a little sad that her boyfriend was alone at Christmas, but he was busy enough not to notice, and it was nice to have the house all to ourselves. And since I had to work, Lily had it all to herself much of the time. I only hope she closed the curtains. Amsterdam houses are nice, but the neighbors are entirely too close.
When I had some free time, we hit the town. As a Canadian, Lily felt right at home on ice skates. She spent more time at the Christmas markets than I did, and bought entirely too many unnecessary trinkets. There was no snow this Christmas. It never dipped below 5 degrees. It was overcast pretty much the entire time and there was a little rain here and there, but it was a very mild winter as far as we were concerned.
Lily loved the mulled wine, which was available practically everywhere. She thought the oliebollen were ok, but preferred the banketstaaf, a flaky pastry filled with almond paste, and appelflappen. When it comes to donuts, she thinks nothing in the world can compare with Tim Hortons. That sounds strange, but I generally feel the same way about Krispy Kreme. I went to Tim Hortons a few times when I was in Barcelona, which made Lily proud, but I always got the timbits, which she found sacrilegious.
I had to work during the two days of Christmas, so there was no official Christmas dinner, but we had a full kitchen and I made sure to do plenty of grocery shopping before everything closed. Few restaurants are open on the 25th and 26th, but home cooked meals are always better on holidays anyway. And, for some bizarre reason, there is no Krispy Kreme or Tim Hortons in Amsterdam. It's a great city otherwise.
One basic staple I never bothered to get was flour. I don't live here full time and I mostly use flour for breads and desserts. Amsterdam has some of the best bakeries in the world and, with all the Christmas markets, finding cookies and muffins was not difficult. Of course, without flour, I could not make pasta, pizza or pancakes, but we managed to survive. Lily especially missed my brownies, but she was more than satisfied when I told her that I could make peanut butter cookies. We only had peanut butter because I found an interesting looking bottle at Albert Heijn.
She said they were the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made, so we had to get a few more bottles to bring home. But for all we know, it could be the eggs. In Amsterdam, we got free range, organic, environmentally-approved eggs. In Hong Kong, packaging is not always trustworthy. In fact, earlier this year, millions of eggs imported from the United States were recalled because of a salmonella contamination. Last year, European eggs were recalled after they were tested for pesticides. Ironically, most of those eggs came from the Netherlands. Even more ironically, Hong Kong imports eggs from Europe and the United States out of fear that eggs from Mainland China are less clean.
Regardless of whatever made them the best ever, Lily said the entire house smelled like peanut butter cookies. I have no problem with that.
For me, this was the best Christmas in a long time. Christmas in Hong Kong is mostly about shopping and over the top decorations. The Chinese are never subtle when it comes to lights and colored paper. Christmas in Amsterdam reminded me more of my childhood, when spending time with family and friends was more important than going to the mall. There is never anything magical in the air in Hong Kong. Christmas is just another day, albeit with more Christmas music than usual. Amsterdam felt like Christmas. Best of all, I got to spend it with my sister.
Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Christmas in Amsterdam
I will be in Amsterdam this Christmas. I have been out of the country for a couple of Thanksgivings, and I spent a Halloween in Tel Aviv, but this will be my first Christmas outside of China since I moved here. I have what might be high expectations.
Tokyo and Barcelona are not the ideal cities for Thanksgiving. They are far from the worst places, but neither country cares about the holiday. Halloween night in Tel Aviv was just like any other night. Fridays and Saturdays always get interesting in Tel Aviv, but I think Halloween that year was on a Monday.
In contrast, Christmas in Amsterdam just feels right. Not only is it a country that actually celebrates the holiday, but they have snow. I have not seen snow on Christmas in a long time. Christmas in Hong Kong is hot and humid. Some people wear coats and scarves because it is December, but it never comes close to freezing. You can't make a snowman out of warm rain. I suppose you could make a snow angel in the dirt and garbage on the street, but that might be dangerous.
The obvious downside to Christmas in Amsterdam is that I will have absolutely no one with me. I am going there to work, so it is not like I will be locked in a room and staring at the wall all day, but I don't know any of the people I will be working with yet. I would not be at all surprised if I make some genuine friends before it all ends, but probably not in a week. I think I'm pretty easy to get to know, but I rarely trust someone right away. I assume there will be some kind of Christmas party at some point in time. No one has told me anything so far, but it is almost inevitable. I have mixed feeling about office Christmas parties, but obviously I will go if I'm alone in a city I don't really know as well as I think I do.
Tokyo and Barcelona are not the ideal cities for Thanksgiving. They are far from the worst places, but neither country cares about the holiday. Halloween night in Tel Aviv was just like any other night. Fridays and Saturdays always get interesting in Tel Aviv, but I think Halloween that year was on a Monday.
In contrast, Christmas in Amsterdam just feels right. Not only is it a country that actually celebrates the holiday, but they have snow. I have not seen snow on Christmas in a long time. Christmas in Hong Kong is hot and humid. Some people wear coats and scarves because it is December, but it never comes close to freezing. You can't make a snowman out of warm rain. I suppose you could make a snow angel in the dirt and garbage on the street, but that might be dangerous.
The obvious downside to Christmas in Amsterdam is that I will have absolutely no one with me. I am going there to work, so it is not like I will be locked in a room and staring at the wall all day, but I don't know any of the people I will be working with yet. I would not be at all surprised if I make some genuine friends before it all ends, but probably not in a week. I think I'm pretty easy to get to know, but I rarely trust someone right away. I assume there will be some kind of Christmas party at some point in time. No one has told me anything so far, but it is almost inevitable. I have mixed feeling about office Christmas parties, but obviously I will go if I'm alone in a city I don't really know as well as I think I do.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Back in the Zadel
After a year of working on the sidelines, I am now partially employed in my chosen profession. I have been teaching ballet to little girls since March, but now I am finally back on stage. It is only a part-time job and 6,000 miles from home, but it's a lot better than nothing.
Before I went to Barcelona, I considered that they might offer me a more permanent job. It was certainly never guaranteed, but stranger things have happened. Instead, I was asked by a visiting choreographer to audition for a company he worked with in Amsterdam. I went to Amsterdam on vacation a few years ago. It is a great city, but nowhere near Barcelona. Fortunately, KLM has several flights every day. Unfortunately, I would have to pay for it. Once you have the job, plane tickets flow like wine, usually in business class. Before you get the job, no one wants to pay for anything.
Having already flown from Hong Kong to Doha, Doha to Barcelona, Barcelona to Porto and Porto to Barcelona, a quick flight to Amsterdam was practically routine. One of the great things about Europe, at least the EU parts, is that it is easy to fly or take a train from here to there. The bad news for people who like to collect stamps in their passport is that none of the airports ever stamp anything. They put an exit stamp when I flew out of Barcelona back to Doha, since I was leaving the EU, but there are no entrance stamps anywhere. I went to five different airports and took eight flights on this trip and my passport was only stamped once.
The detour in Amsterdam meant that I would lose two free days in Barcelona. Instead of seeing the sights, I went to another country. It was far from a waste of time. The choreographer told me who to talk to. I would love to say that I gave a spectacular audition because of my natural talent and grace. The truth is, I had been working practically every day for almost two months just before the audition. When you dance with people who are better than you are, it only makes you better. Had I auditioned straight from my dormant year in Hong Kong, the outcome might have been less exciting.
Much like I did with Tel Aviv, I will be commuting back and forth between Hong Kong and Amsterdam. I will never be in Holland long enough to have any kind of residency status, just like Israel, but that usually means lower taxes. I will have to look into EU tax laws. Israel was surprisingly accommodating to foreign workers. Americans love to complain about taxes, even though we pay less than most of the world, but I am already paying in two different countries. Holland will be number three, so the less they gouge me, the better.
One of the biggest differences between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv will be the living arrangements. In Tel Aviv, they put me up at the Melody Hotel, across the street from Independence Park, which is a short cliff away from the beach and Mediterranean Sea. This was a charming little boutique hotel with bicycles that I rode to work and the best hotel breakfast I have ever had anywhere in the world. I'm sure there are plenty of nice hotels in Tel Aviv, but this one will always be my first choice whenever I go back.
In Amsterdam, I am on my own. No one is putting me up in any hotels. Fortunately, there are other dancers in the same position. Finding a house to share was pretty easy. I was in Amsterdam for two days and I found a place before I left, excluding a few phone calls and emails. It is almost like a time share. When I'm there, everyone else will be somewhere else. I currently have one roommate, and will eventually have two, but I will almost always live there alone. I will probably treat it more like a hotel than a house, except there is no front desk, housekeeping, swimming pool or gym. But there is a full kitchen with everything I would ever need. It is a full-size house, but I am renting a bedroom and sharing a few common rooms. I look at it as an apartment. As an apartment, it is more than big enough for me, but it is enormous for a hotel room. Three people could easily live there at the same time.
One thing Amsterdam has in common with Tel Aviv is the bike culture. Both cities are easy to ride in, and Amsterdam takes bike riding to another level. Riding a bike to work in Tel Aviv was easy. The bike was owned by the hotel, it is a mostly flat city and it was only a two mile ride. Amsterdam is also flat, but there are no free bikes. When I started to seriously think about working in Amsterdam, I looked up bike rentals. It turns out there are a million places I can get one at a reasonable price. But then I found the house. It is less than a mile to the theater and even closer to the rehearsal space. If I don't feel like walking less than 20 minutes, there is a tram a block from the apartment that goes straight to the theater. I like the idea of riding a bike to work, but it is so close, I don't need to in Amsterdam.
I have been to Amsterdam, twice now, but I know nothing about living there. Americans can easily visit without a visa, but anyone who works there has to endure government bureaucracy. I figure the Netherlands cannot possibly have more paperwork than Israel or, the emperor of bureaucracy, China. If I can successfully navigate China's labyrinth, any other country should be easy.
The hardest part about working in another country is usually finding a place to live. It only took a few weeks to find my first apartment in Hong Kong, but we searched for three or four months to find the one we are in now. I'm told that it is pretty hard to find a place in Amsterdam. Obviously, I got lucky. My accidental timing must have been perfect. It also helps that I will not be living there full time. Roommates are easy when you are all in the apartment at different times.
I don't speak a word of Dutch. Some of it looks pretty easy. Yes is ja and no is nee. Some of it might be more challenging. Liability insurance is aansprakelijkheidsverzekering. Then again, I don't know much Hebrew either, and I was fine in Tel Aviv. And almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. If I were living there full time, I'm sure I would learn a lot. Since I will only be there in short spurts, and mostly working, I am worried that I will not learn anything. I worked in Israel for a year, but I know precious few words and phrases and can't read any of it. At least Dutch uses a recognizable alphabet.
I miss going to Tel Aviv. The people were as friendly as can be and I ate some of the best food in the world. Amsterdammers seem pretty friendly, but it is too soon to tell. You don't really know what people are like when you go there on vacation. You have to deal with and/or cause local problems.
Amsterdonians? Those Dam people? Yet another thing to figure out.
Before I went to Barcelona, I considered that they might offer me a more permanent job. It was certainly never guaranteed, but stranger things have happened. Instead, I was asked by a visiting choreographer to audition for a company he worked with in Amsterdam. I went to Amsterdam on vacation a few years ago. It is a great city, but nowhere near Barcelona. Fortunately, KLM has several flights every day. Unfortunately, I would have to pay for it. Once you have the job, plane tickets flow like wine, usually in business class. Before you get the job, no one wants to pay for anything.
Having already flown from Hong Kong to Doha, Doha to Barcelona, Barcelona to Porto and Porto to Barcelona, a quick flight to Amsterdam was practically routine. One of the great things about Europe, at least the EU parts, is that it is easy to fly or take a train from here to there. The bad news for people who like to collect stamps in their passport is that none of the airports ever stamp anything. They put an exit stamp when I flew out of Barcelona back to Doha, since I was leaving the EU, but there are no entrance stamps anywhere. I went to five different airports and took eight flights on this trip and my passport was only stamped once.
The detour in Amsterdam meant that I would lose two free days in Barcelona. Instead of seeing the sights, I went to another country. It was far from a waste of time. The choreographer told me who to talk to. I would love to say that I gave a spectacular audition because of my natural talent and grace. The truth is, I had been working practically every day for almost two months just before the audition. When you dance with people who are better than you are, it only makes you better. Had I auditioned straight from my dormant year in Hong Kong, the outcome might have been less exciting.
Much like I did with Tel Aviv, I will be commuting back and forth between Hong Kong and Amsterdam. I will never be in Holland long enough to have any kind of residency status, just like Israel, but that usually means lower taxes. I will have to look into EU tax laws. Israel was surprisingly accommodating to foreign workers. Americans love to complain about taxes, even though we pay less than most of the world, but I am already paying in two different countries. Holland will be number three, so the less they gouge me, the better.
One of the biggest differences between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv will be the living arrangements. In Tel Aviv, they put me up at the Melody Hotel, across the street from Independence Park, which is a short cliff away from the beach and Mediterranean Sea. This was a charming little boutique hotel with bicycles that I rode to work and the best hotel breakfast I have ever had anywhere in the world. I'm sure there are plenty of nice hotels in Tel Aviv, but this one will always be my first choice whenever I go back.
In Amsterdam, I am on my own. No one is putting me up in any hotels. Fortunately, there are other dancers in the same position. Finding a house to share was pretty easy. I was in Amsterdam for two days and I found a place before I left, excluding a few phone calls and emails. It is almost like a time share. When I'm there, everyone else will be somewhere else. I currently have one roommate, and will eventually have two, but I will almost always live there alone. I will probably treat it more like a hotel than a house, except there is no front desk, housekeeping, swimming pool or gym. But there is a full kitchen with everything I would ever need. It is a full-size house, but I am renting a bedroom and sharing a few common rooms. I look at it as an apartment. As an apartment, it is more than big enough for me, but it is enormous for a hotel room. Three people could easily live there at the same time.
One thing Amsterdam has in common with Tel Aviv is the bike culture. Both cities are easy to ride in, and Amsterdam takes bike riding to another level. Riding a bike to work in Tel Aviv was easy. The bike was owned by the hotel, it is a mostly flat city and it was only a two mile ride. Amsterdam is also flat, but there are no free bikes. When I started to seriously think about working in Amsterdam, I looked up bike rentals. It turns out there are a million places I can get one at a reasonable price. But then I found the house. It is less than a mile to the theater and even closer to the rehearsal space. If I don't feel like walking less than 20 minutes, there is a tram a block from the apartment that goes straight to the theater. I like the idea of riding a bike to work, but it is so close, I don't need to in Amsterdam.
I have been to Amsterdam, twice now, but I know nothing about living there. Americans can easily visit without a visa, but anyone who works there has to endure government bureaucracy. I figure the Netherlands cannot possibly have more paperwork than Israel or, the emperor of bureaucracy, China. If I can successfully navigate China's labyrinth, any other country should be easy.
The hardest part about working in another country is usually finding a place to live. It only took a few weeks to find my first apartment in Hong Kong, but we searched for three or four months to find the one we are in now. I'm told that it is pretty hard to find a place in Amsterdam. Obviously, I got lucky. My accidental timing must have been perfect. It also helps that I will not be living there full time. Roommates are easy when you are all in the apartment at different times.
I don't speak a word of Dutch. Some of it looks pretty easy. Yes is ja and no is nee. Some of it might be more challenging. Liability insurance is aansprakelijkheidsverzekering. Then again, I don't know much Hebrew either, and I was fine in Tel Aviv. And almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. If I were living there full time, I'm sure I would learn a lot. Since I will only be there in short spurts, and mostly working, I am worried that I will not learn anything. I worked in Israel for a year, but I know precious few words and phrases and can't read any of it. At least Dutch uses a recognizable alphabet.
I miss going to Tel Aviv. The people were as friendly as can be and I ate some of the best food in the world. Amsterdammers seem pretty friendly, but it is too soon to tell. You don't really know what people are like when you go there on vacation. You have to deal with and/or cause local problems.
Amsterdonians? Those Dam people? Yet another thing to figure out.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Amsterdam part 7
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Euro Money
There was a time when going to Rome & Amsterdam, we would have to change our Hong Kong dollars into Italian lira and Dutch guilder. Now we only had to change Hong Kong dollars to euros.
When you travel, you’re supposed to look at the exchange rate of wherever you live, but I’m still thinking in American dollars. So if you tell me something costs HK$10, I think of it as US$1. When we converted our Hong Kong dollars to euros, I didn’t think of it as Hong Kong dollars to euros. I thought of it as American dollars to euros. If something in Rome cost 10 euros. I didn’t think of it as HK$100. I thought of it as US$14.
American dollars
Hong Kong dollars
Euros
When you travel, you’re supposed to look at the exchange rate of wherever you live, but I’m still thinking in American dollars. So if you tell me something costs HK$10, I think of it as US$1. When we converted our Hong Kong dollars to euros, I didn’t think of it as Hong Kong dollars to euros. I thought of it as American dollars to euros. If something in Rome cost 10 euros. I didn’t think of it as HK$100. I thought of it as US$14.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Amsterdam part 5
Ryan wanted to take me to the Red Light District after his birthday. He went there on his birthday, but said he only looked around – he wasn’t a customer. This seemed a little hard to believe until I went there myself. In the daytime, it’s just like any other residential neighborhood, except there are strip clubs and stores selling porn and sex toys. In the middle of it all is the oldest church in Amsterdam.
What I didn’t like were the signs on some of the clubs. More than a few of them were pretty graphic. These signs are right on the street. At least the sex museum is indoors, in a controlled environment. You have to pay to get in and children aren’t allowed. The very graphic strip club signs are out in public where anyone can see them. Children and little old ladies walk by the clubs on their way to school and wherever little old ladies go. They’re probably used to it, but I can’t imagine seeing anything like this in Minnesota. We had laws against liquor stores being close to schools.
The Red Light District takes on a completely different atmosphere at night. All the customers come out and all the windows light up with red light bulbs. In each window is a girl in a bikini or lingerie waiting for her next customer. It seemed pretty degrading to me. The girls were like products for sale on display. But maybe it’s safer than hookers walking the streets. The neighborhood was also a lot more crowded at night. During the day, people were going about their business. At night, people – mostly men – gawked and lingered. We watched one guy pace back and forth, getting up the courage to go into one of the red rooms.
At first glace, it looks like there are more bars in the Red Light District than anywhere else. Ryan wanted to go to Molly Malone’s Irish Pub because he thinks my family is Irish. I keep telling him my ancestors were Highland Scottish, but he always forgets. He can’t tell the difference between Irish and Scottish, and don’t even get him started on Wales. If we ever go to the UK, he’ll probably start an international incident. Instead of Molly Malone’s, we went to a bar that had loads of Dutch, Belgian and German beer. I don’t usually like beer, but if you’re going to drink it, this was the place. European beer is thicker and makes American beer seem watered down. According to some Europeans, American beer tastes like horse piss. We can only wonder how they know.
Just another street by day
Prostitutes around every corner by night
Out in the open for all to see on a busy canal street
Oude Kerk
The oldest church in Amsterdam
What I didn’t like were the signs on some of the clubs. More than a few of them were pretty graphic. These signs are right on the street. At least the sex museum is indoors, in a controlled environment. You have to pay to get in and children aren’t allowed. The very graphic strip club signs are out in public where anyone can see them. Children and little old ladies walk by the clubs on their way to school and wherever little old ladies go. They’re probably used to it, but I can’t imagine seeing anything like this in Minnesota. We had laws against liquor stores being close to schools.
The Red Light District takes on a completely different atmosphere at night. All the customers come out and all the windows light up with red light bulbs. In each window is a girl in a bikini or lingerie waiting for her next customer. It seemed pretty degrading to me. The girls were like products for sale on display. But maybe it’s safer than hookers walking the streets. The neighborhood was also a lot more crowded at night. During the day, people were going about their business. At night, people – mostly men – gawked and lingered. We watched one guy pace back and forth, getting up the courage to go into one of the red rooms.
At first glace, it looks like there are more bars in the Red Light District than anywhere else. Ryan wanted to go to Molly Malone’s Irish Pub because he thinks my family is Irish. I keep telling him my ancestors were Highland Scottish, but he always forgets. He can’t tell the difference between Irish and Scottish, and don’t even get him started on Wales. If we ever go to the UK, he’ll probably start an international incident. Instead of Molly Malone’s, we went to a bar that had loads of Dutch, Belgian and German beer. I don’t usually like beer, but if you’re going to drink it, this was the place. European beer is thicker and makes American beer seem watered down. According to some Europeans, American beer tastes like horse piss. We can only wonder how they know.
Prostitutes around every corner by night
The oldest church in Amsterdam
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Amsterdam part 4
I really didn’t know what to do for Ryan’s birthday until the last minute. We were in Amsterdam, so throwing a surprise party was out of the question. Most of the shopping we saw was small boutique stores and tourist gift shops. He wouldn’t like any of that. An Amsterdam t-shirt isn’t much of a birthday present, but I did get him a vulgar t-shirt that he absolutely loves. He hasn’t worn it in Hong Kong yet and I’m hoping he never does.
I decided that my gift to him would be a full day where he could do whatever he wanted without any complaints or judgment from me. My only rule was that I didn’t have to be there. So while he went coffee shop hopping – that’s what they call the places where you can buy happy brownies – they’re nothing like Denny’s – I went museum hopping. I wasn’t interested in watching him get stupid and he wasn’t interested in visiting exploring culture, art and history.
I went to the Rijksmuseum, which is in the middle of a massive renovation project. Only a tiny fraction of the art is on display, but it was still incredibly impressive. I’d love to go back when they’re finished in a few years and see it in all its glory. I also went to the Van Gogh Museum, right next to the Rijksmuseum. It was impressive in its own way. They had a lot of his art displayed in an easily navigated building. Most museums are like mazes – you usually have several different directions you can go. The Van Gogh Museum is kind of laid out like Ikea. You start at the beginning and end at the ending.
At the end of the day – late in the night really – Ryan came back to the hotel happy and wet. It hadn’t been raining, so my guess is he fell in one of the canals. I never asked him about it. I think the less I know, the better.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Amsterdam part 3
From the middle of the Central Station – which is mostly under construction, but a great way to get anywhere in the city – you can easily walk down the main tourist street in Amsterdam. It’s all tourist gift shops and expensive fast food until you hit Dam Square.
In the middle of all the tourist traps is the Sex Museum. Ryan really wanted to see that. I was more curious than anything else. It’s the biggest tourist trap in the neighborhood, but definitely worth a visit. It’s not for prudes or the faint of heart. Some of the displays are extremely graphic. There were a lot of modern x-rated pictures and playing cards which seemed kind of pointless. You can easily find all of that online. There was a display of older “vintage” sex pictures from 50 to 100 years ago – porn through the ages. That was more interesting. It shows that people have always been hound dogs. What I liked were the mannequins and animatronics. They had a mini Red Light District with animatronic hookers and johns. There was also an animatronic Marilyn Monroe posing nude for a photographer whose pants bulged.
Amsterdam has a long cultural history of which the people should be immensely proud. This wasn’t it.
Animatronic Marilyn Monroe
Animatronic hooker
Porn through the ages
In the middle of all the tourist traps is the Sex Museum. Ryan really wanted to see that. I was more curious than anything else. It’s the biggest tourist trap in the neighborhood, but definitely worth a visit. It’s not for prudes or the faint of heart. Some of the displays are extremely graphic. There were a lot of modern x-rated pictures and playing cards which seemed kind of pointless. You can easily find all of that online. There was a display of older “vintage” sex pictures from 50 to 100 years ago – porn through the ages. That was more interesting. It shows that people have always been hound dogs. What I liked were the mannequins and animatronics. They had a mini Red Light District with animatronic hookers and johns. There was also an animatronic Marilyn Monroe posing nude for a photographer whose pants bulged.
Amsterdam has a long cultural history of which the people should be immensely proud. This wasn’t it.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Amsterdam part 2
Dam Square is pretty much downtown Amsterdam. It has the Royal Palace, but the Queen doesn’t live there. It has the New Church, which is actually very old. It has Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, which is kind of creepy. And the National Monument, which reminded me of Trajan’s Column. I think it’s a European thing to have large poles in the middle of squares as monuments. We Americans never got into that.
Dam Square has a lot of tourist shopping and all kinds of food from all over the world. They were having some kind of electric car show one day [10/26/11] and there were all these tiny electric cars all lined up across the square. I doubt it looks like that every day.
Royal Palace
Car show at Madame Tussaud’s
Dam Square has a lot of tourist shopping and all kinds of food from all over the world. They were having some kind of electric car show one day [10/26/11] and there were all these tiny electric cars all lined up across the square. I doubt it looks like that every day.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Amsterdam part 1
Our hotel in Amsterdam was very close to Dam Square, lots of shopping and Central Station in one direction, the Flower Market, lots of bars and clubs and all the museums in the other direction. It seems like a pretty small city, much smaller than Rome, and you can walk to just about everything. If there’s something that’s too far to walk, they have an excellent tram system that’s very easy to navigate and goes everywhere. Instead of paying with coins, you use a pre-paid card. It’s so much easier. Lots of cities have subway systems where you can’t see where you’re going. The Amsterdam trams are at street level and you can see everything. It’s like a fast, clean, comfortable and efficient bus that you don’t have to be poor and dirty to ride.
We had a view of the Singel canal and a couple of house boats from our room. Some people live on boats in the canal full time.
We were also very close to the Allard Pierson Museum, an archeological museum that focuses on places like ancient Rome. Since we were just in Rome and saw the ancient sites in person, The museum was more interesting than it would have been otherwise.
We had a view of the Singel canal and a couple of house boats from our room. Some people live on boats in the canal full time.
We were also very close to the Allard Pierson Museum, an archeological museum that focuses on places like ancient Rome. Since we were just in Rome and saw the ancient sites in person, The museum was more interesting than it would have been otherwise.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Rome part 2
We’re back in Hong Kong.
That was the best vacation ever. Rome is such an amazing city. Everything was great – the food, the architecture, the food, the history, the food, the museums, the food, the parties, the food, the scenery and did I mention the food? This may go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, Rome has some great Italian food. Italian food in Italy is a million times better than Italian food in Hong Kong. I’m sure Chinese food in Hong Kong is a million times better than Chinese food in Italy. That’s one of the things I really miss about American food – it’s not just one type. In Hong Kong you eat Chinese food every day. In Italy you eat Italian food every day. In America you can eat something completely different every day.
The big surprise of the trip was Amsterdam. I was expecting windmills, tulips, pot and hookers. Amsterdam is actually an impressive little city. The quaint cobblestone streets wind around canals that spread out all over the place. There are a million bridges and beautiful old buildings. Rome is a big sprawling modern city and Amsterdam is an old world European town.
Our Amsterdam hotel was perfect. It was an old building – actually several old buildings together – but the inside was clean and fresh. There were floral prints all over the place and the lobby had fresh flowers every day. They also served free coffee and snacks every day. Our Rome hotel was beautiful, but the staff seemed annoyed that we didn’t speak any Italian. Mi dispiace. Almost everybody in Amsterdam speaks English and the hotel staff was very friendly and welcoming.
Now I wish we’d spent more time in Amsterdam. I was so focused on Rome that Amsterdam turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. But we never saw any windmills.
I’ve got lots of pictures I need to upload, but right now I’m gearing up for the big Halloween party tonight. When it’s busy, it’s busy.
That was the best vacation ever. Rome is such an amazing city. Everything was great – the food, the architecture, the food, the history, the food, the museums, the food, the parties, the food, the scenery and did I mention the food? This may go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, Rome has some great Italian food. Italian food in Italy is a million times better than Italian food in Hong Kong. I’m sure Chinese food in Hong Kong is a million times better than Chinese food in Italy. That’s one of the things I really miss about American food – it’s not just one type. In Hong Kong you eat Chinese food every day. In Italy you eat Italian food every day. In America you can eat something completely different every day.
The big surprise of the trip was Amsterdam. I was expecting windmills, tulips, pot and hookers. Amsterdam is actually an impressive little city. The quaint cobblestone streets wind around canals that spread out all over the place. There are a million bridges and beautiful old buildings. Rome is a big sprawling modern city and Amsterdam is an old world European town.
Our Amsterdam hotel was perfect. It was an old building – actually several old buildings together – but the inside was clean and fresh. There were floral prints all over the place and the lobby had fresh flowers every day. They also served free coffee and snacks every day. Our Rome hotel was beautiful, but the staff seemed annoyed that we didn’t speak any Italian. Mi dispiace. Almost everybody in Amsterdam speaks English and the hotel staff was very friendly and welcoming.
Now I wish we’d spent more time in Amsterdam. I was so focused on Rome that Amsterdam turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. But we never saw any windmills.
I’ve got lots of pictures I need to upload, but right now I’m gearing up for the big Halloween party tonight. When it’s busy, it’s busy.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
When in Rome
We’re leaving for Rome on Friday. I can’t believe it’s so soon. I’m pretty excited.
Ryan’s more excited about Amsterdam. I’m still not sure what to do about his birthday.
Ryan’s more excited about Amsterdam. I’m still not sure what to do about his birthday.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Fully Booked
Finding a hotel in Amsterdam was incredibly easy. When I was looking up Rome hotels, there were pages and pages of listings. Maybe there aren’t as many hotels in Amsterdam. The best part is that most of them seem to be the smaller boutique hotels that I like. There are a few large chains, but those are the most expensive places anyway. Since we’re not going to be in Amsterdam as long as Rome, I didn’t spend as much time looking around.
Everything’s booked, confirmed and ready to go. We’ve got all of our plane tickets and hotels in Rome and Amsterdam. All that’s left is packing and waiting. And maybe we should pick up a few euros.
Everything’s booked, confirmed and ready to go. We’ve got all of our plane tickets and hotels in Rome and Amsterdam. All that’s left is packing and waiting. And maybe we should pick up a few euros.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)