The overnight ferry ride from Newcastle was pretty quiet, in spite of the strong wind. The seas were quite easy, and we slept well in our wee cabin.
Arriving to Ijmuiden (port of Amsterdam) we were awed by the industrial skyline- it reminded us a bit of a Pink Floyd album cover. Although industrial, we knew there would be nicely designed bike paths and thus, we'd be alright.
We were processed through the immigration station with little more than a funny look, probably because we were the ONLY cycle tourists on the ferry. And that's because it's the middle of winter! But, anyway, we had a ride ahead of us to get to the place our friend Kees was staying, so we intrepidly set off ...and stopped at the first coffee shop we could find for a morning espresso and an Internet fix! Love seeing & hearing Dutch again!
A 20 km bike ride along many connected "fietspads" (segregated Dutch bike paths) took us past several of these signs. In case you're wondering, BOB = Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder (Aware & Sober Driver). When you go out for a night on the town the Netherlands, you've got to have a designated BOB!
Yep, that's boB!
We are amazed by the number of bicycles in Amsterdam. It is the primary mode of transport for many people here. Needless to say- we felt right at home!
We arrived safely at our temporary house in Hoofddorp, had a wee snack, and set off with Kees for souvenir shopping!!!
Fun, eh?
Melinda and her first genuine Dutch souvenir: a 750 watt two-speed blender!! Everything we cooked went through the blender for Melinda, and then was pulled through a straw! Including stroobwafels!
We took the train to the city, and spent the better part of a day wandering along the canals in Amsterdam:
Why, yes, those are red lights! You know what red lights means, right?
Here's a nice shot of Melinda hanging out next to a canal. Look at the ... Bikes!
A walk through the city took us past some of Melinda's old highschool hangout spots- this is the Door's cafe- hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. And, they still play The Doors!
You can see it in this picture, but it's more dramatic in person:
Some of the buildings appear to be falling over. It's because they are! Most of the buildings are built on wooden piles, some dating back to the 1500's, and over the centuries they have settled. Don't worry too much about it - the buildings appear to be braced pretty well. We hope.
One chilly and windy day Kees took us to Zaanse Schans - a beautiful well preserved Dutch village with some incredible windmills.
And clogs. The shoes are called clompjes, and there's a factory right here in Zaanse Schans!
We were tempted to buy these beautiful yellow clompjes because they match our rain jackets, but, sadly, they're too big to fit in our panniers!
The museum even had some pocket fiddles made from clompjes!
And some incredibly ornate carved clompjes tradionally made for weddings:
Many of the historic buildings were moved here in the 1960's, in order to preserve them. As one walks through the village, there are many little houses and museums that are open to the public, like, an historic candy shop, the first Albert Heijn grocery store, and a cheese factory...:
Dutch cheeses are incredibly YUMMY! Although we are generally vegan, who could pass up the opportunity for cultural exchange.... We sampled quite a few of them with Kees during the two weeks we stayed with him, and of course found several we really like!
The famed green gabled roofs in Zaanse Schans:
At the time when Claude Monet visited/lived here on the Zaan, the houses were all info varying colors. In fact, he wrote back to friends in France that the brightly colored houses on the Zaan, the windmills and boats, we're so captivating that it could give a lifetime of inspiration to a painter!
For some reason, in the 1800's, everyone along the Zaan decided green was a more respectable color- so their houses were all painted green!
This is one (above as well) of the many paintings Monet made when he visited the area in 1871.
Zaanse Schans has several working wind mills, and on the windy day we visited the mills were turning fast!
This area along the Zaan river historically had hundreds of working mills that did everything from grinding pigments to sawing logs. The Dutch are indeed quite industrious!
This one grinds flour, and the finished product is used by the bakery that is located in Zaanse Scha
ns. Another of the mills grinds spices, and one is a working saw mill. The spice mill was grinding cloves (kruidnagel in Dutch) when we visited and my did it smell good!
Melinda and Kees at Mulligan's Irish pub, Amsterdam, enjoying a Guinness. Through a straw... ;-)
We are so grateful for Kees's friendship. He found us a wonderful short term apartment rental, shuttled us around for 2 weeks, helped Melinda bring back her rusty Dutch, preformed many a complex translation for boB, cooked us delicious Dutch foods and even gave up his previously scheduled dentist appointments so that Melinda could get fixed up! It was a treat to reconnect after many years! Back in 1994-95, during Melinda's exchange year, he was a neighbor and a good friend. And still is:)
Here is one of Kees with his sis and dad.
We also spent an afternoon with Melinda's Dutch host family- here we are with Carol Jr.
And Melinda with her host mom Connie & host sister Melanie.
boB and Melinda took a ride into the city one day, following the famous and very nicely organized cycle paths. Cycling is such an integral part of the culture here that cycle paths and roads are designed together - never is it a case of building a road and then painting a wee white line that's supposed to separate bikes and cars.... Too bad other parts of the world are so automobile-centric - if more thought was given to making bicycling easier and safer more people would ride bikes, thereby reducing traffic pollution and congestion, and encouraging a healthier lifestyle.
Anyway, the path we took to the city routed us right through the airport and UNDER a taxiway!
Motorized cycles (mopeds) can use the same paths as bicycles (push bikes), but we're really not sure what this sign means...
We came back in the dark, and boB noticed this sign:
Maybe it means no airplane parking!?
We spent an afternoon admiring Dutch artwork & learning about Dutch history at the Rijksmueum in Amsterdam. We were most captivated by the collection of amazing historic instruments:
Ooooh......
Ahhhhhhhh......
Ohhhhhhhh......
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Oooooooooohhhh!!!!!
Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Ooooôöoooòōoooøõôhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Yep. Some very pretty instruments.
boB watching the Nightwatch at the Rijksmuseum:
Here's a portion of the 3-D version of Rembrant's famous painting Nightwatch on Rembrantsplein (Rembrant's square):
It's amazing how easily boB makes friends!
Melinda visited Kees' dentist several times, and he did some pretty amazing work on her teeth. (See additional post). A few days later, Melinda tested her jaw with the first solid food in several weeks:
Kees made his famous Dutch pancakes (pannekoeken!), and they are AMAZING! Melinda took a while to get through hers, going slowly and carefully, but it was well worth the effort!
And now for the No Dog Poop section of the blog post. Surely by now you've noticed that we find such signs and pictures all over the different countries we've visited, and the consensus is that people want dog owners to clean up after their doggies! Here's two more to add to the collection:
The one above is actually a special place where dogs CAN poop. Dogs from around the world flock to this location just because it's one of the few places in the world they can do their business and not be scorned for it. Well, okay, that's not true. But it is nice for the city to provide a place for dogs to do.
This one is a "Not Here!" type of sign, which is much more common!
Aaaaaand now back to your regularly scheduled blog post...
We wandered the streets of historic Haarlem and stopped in a beautiful church, the Grote of St. Bravo.
Construction took place from 1370 to 1538, and it's been added to and renovated many times since then.
In 1766, Mozart played this organ at the church.
He was ten years old at the time...
A photo of the uneven floor:
The floor is actually a cemetery with numbered stones.
Some of the 1500 tiles are a bit chilling:
Also there was this huge iron cage containing a wooden chest, and this image is dedicated to anyone out there who's a blacksmith. The cage is about 1-1/2 meters long, and about a meter high and deep.
Maybe, just maybe, this image can present an idea of the size of this place. It's huge, bright, airy, and ornately decorated.
Our last few days in Amsterdam the weather turned severely nice, and we took advantage of it!
We took a canal cruise, which was a really relaxing way to see Amsterdam.
Amsterdam has historically been a very rich city - the Dutch were masters of the sea and traded highly sought-after goods all around the world. Some of that wealth was put into the houses and civic buildings around the city, like the place above.
And there are bridges. Loads and loads of bridges. Over 1000 bridges in the city itself.
The bridge above is a draw bridge of sorts, and can be lifted if a tall boat has to maneuver through.
The old houses are known for the gable designs. This one is called a "Bell" gable:
And this is a "Stepped" gable.
More gables above. It was a wonderful day to be out and about in the city, and we were grateful for the good weather. On a walk around Amsterdam we stumbled into the Beginhofje. Dating back to the late 1300's, it is a beautiful, quiet and peaceful courtyard where begijnen lived.
A Begijn is a pious catholic woman, who didn't want to take vows or live in a convent. They congregated to this area, in this small courtyard, practiced their religion and lived a pious life doing acts of goodwill.
Some time after the Protestant reformation, their church, in the center of the courtyard was given to English Protestants for worship, and so the begijns moved their Catholic chapel to a hidden location inside this building. Fascinating history!
And we went to a beach! Zandvoort, in the sun! Lovely!
Zandvoort is not far from Amsterdam, and, although historically a fishing village, it is now one of the major beach resort communities in the Netherlands.
There weren't too many people out an about- one of the bonuses of off peak travel. Kees says in the summer there is barely enough space to spread out a towel here in Zandvoort. boB hunting for razor clams:
Sadly, it was only afterwards that we read about the nude beach only 2 km south of where we were....next time, when it's warmer!
While we were at the beach Kees treated us to some genuine Dutch fish specialties, like pickled herring and kibbeling, which is a fried whitefish. Very tasty!
There will be more to say about the Netherlands, and the bikes, and the food. It's really a fascinating country, and we hope to get back there again. For Melinda it was a bit of a homecoming since she'd spent over a year there during her high school years, and it's still a place she loves.
Alas, it was time to go. Time to head to Spain and meet with our HelpX hosts, and get to work.
Stay tuned!
