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Summer in AmsterdamSummer in Amsterdam
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Summer in Amsterdam

mai - octobre 2018
Road trip. Graduation. Amsterdam. Canada. Wedding. Road trip. Whew! En savoir plus
  • 50empreintes
  • 4pays
  • 178jours
  • 273photos
  • 0vidéos
  • 14,9kmiles
  • 12,5kmiles
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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 61

    Five Villages on a 10€ Bus Pass!

    6 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today Alison, Nancy, and I headed north to visit villages lining the western edge of the Zuider Zee (southern sea). We bought a 10 euro bus day pass at Amsterdam Centraal station to begin our journey.

    Our first stop was the tiny village of Marken. The town is one of those places that are so cute, one wonders if people actually live there. Sort of like Bruges or Disneyland. We got a shot of some LBBs (little brown birds) waiting for the crumbs from the cookie that came with our cappuccinos.

    In Marken we caught a ferry to Volendam. Another, slightly bigger, quintessentially dutch town with a seaside strip that had suffered the same fate as the previous town. Shop after shop of kitch and fried food. We quickly began walking north toward the next village and were rewarded with a pleasant town with lovely houses and canals just a block away from the tourist strip. Volendam was actually a very nice place! At one point we passed an elementary school as it was letting out for the weekend. Lots of parents on bikes picking up their offspring. I turned to look at the school and it was named after J. F. Kennedy. Nice.

    Our walk wended north along a canal to the town of Edam. Famous for its cheese. At the top of the village was the Grote Kerk or Big Church. It wasn't being used for services any longer but there was an art exhibit being set up for the season. I took some shots of a few of the more formidable pieces and they can be seen here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4s5ocM2zH3DK19Zw6

    I also had one of those sublime experiences sitting on a bench outside of that church. The view was of flat green fields framed by an old bridge and stretching out in the distance. A cow grazed on the near field, occasionally scratching its chin on willows by the bank of a small canal. Very pleasant.

    From Edam we bussed it north to Hoorn a base for the Dutch East India company. Extraordinary town with lots of 16th century buildings and a rather fancy shopping area. I've included some more photos of Hoorn here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fk9U92hYCVCoaus17

    Last stop was the town of Monnickendam where they were preparing for a weekend of traditional Dutch inland sailing boats. They were all amassed in the little harbor. We had pretty good fish and chips while watching the goings on.

    All in all a very pleasant day.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 64

    Well, it had to happen sooner or later..

    9 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Monday is Gesloten Day in the Netherlands. Many cafés and museums are closed so we had some difficulty finding things to do with Alison on the last day of her visit. Earlier in the week she'd mentioned wanting to see some traditional windmills and up til yesterday we hadn't seen any up close.

    After a too brief scan of internet I found a place boasting several windmills and traditional houses in the same area. Not only that, but it was also a short bus ride from the center of Amsterdam. Due to my lack of due diligence I take full responsibility for the way the day unfolded.

    The first sign that this might not be a good idea was that the public bus was twice as expensive as I'd read on the bus system website. I looked around as we boarded and realized that we were only surrounded by fellow tourists. As we pulled away, a gaggle of three, twenty something, Chinese women began peppering their Mandarin with Sitcom English phrases such as "You don't know nothin' honey" and "Oh no she did-ent!".

    As we neared our destination the bus threaded itself through several warehouse districts before stopping in what seemed to be an office park. We de-bussed next to a modern building housing the Dutch Heritage museum. As we followed the throngs around the building and past twenty or so private tour busses, my anxiety about the day just picked up speed and pitch.

    Zaanse Schans is a fictional village with traditional housing and windmills collected from around the area into one special theme park. The paths, shops, and pretend cafés were teeming! The scene stretched out as far as we could see. It was like Williamsburg, but with no historical geographical reference. No one had ever lived in this place. There were no stories of so and so having done such and such back in the day. It was open farmland converted to something else. Sort of like the orange groves in Southern California giving way to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm.

    Given my very low tolerance for places with people in them, we ended up doing a quick walk around and snapping a few photos before heading back to the bus.

    We were largely silent on the ride back. I felt pretty low for having made Alison's last day into such a thing. Looking around at the factories, shipping yards, and neighborhoods surrounding Zaanse Schans I began to suspect that this whole traditional Holland attraction was perhaps a redevelopment venture. Some way of lifting up a pretty blighted area with an injection of some international cash. Not such a bad thing really.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 67

    Don is a Trooper!

    12 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our friend Don arrived yesterday morning and we had a plan to address his jet lag as quickly as possible. We fed him a high protein breakfast then took a good, long 12 kilometer hike around Amsterdam giving him a good sense of the city. We then watched an engaging Wimbledon tennis match in which Roger Federer was out-dueled by kevin Anderson in extra sets followed by a World Cup soccer match in which Croatia beat France. Don stayed awake til the end of regulation then hit the sack to end his first day.

    Today we lit out on a 36 kilometer bike ride through the villages and farmlands to the north of the city. We stopped quite a bit for coffee, tea, apple tarts and ice cream. In Monnickendam we stopped in a waterside café run by Philadelphia, a company that supports people with developmental disabilities. Sort of a vocational venture. Very pleasant. The tea and apple tarts were delicious. They also run a glass art studio and shop.

    Here's a link to a short video showing part of the ride: https://photos.app.goo.gl/evyy34ihrriemYbc7
    (It wasn't nearly as windy as the camera makes it sound; honest ;)

    Tomorrow we'll hit some museums and borrow a boat to explore the canals.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 68

    Canal Boat Hire or Gracht Boot Huur

    13 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Nancy and I have clocked several hundred miles walking around the canals of Amsterdam over the past month. At least that's what Google Timeline tells us. A week ago I decided to take a look at the city from the water. I found a company called Barqo which lists private boat owners who are willing to let their boats. There are all kinds of boats listed, launches, rowboats, motor motor boats, sailboats, and yachts. Insurance is provided through the site. Not too many kayaks listed though. I found a small motorboat for about 100 euro for 4 hours.

    We spent the morning relaxing before walking to nearby Westerkerk for a noon organ recital. I've included a photo of that glorious instrument. The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting a new exhibit of at the Stadsarchief city archive. It features the street photography of a photographer, Dolf Toussaint, working in Amsterdam for several decades from the 50s through the 70s. There's a shot of his work included in the photos as well. A link to the exhibition is here: https://www.amsterdam.nl/stadsarchief/agenda/to…

    The late afternoon and evening was spent plying the canals of Amsterdam. Wine, beer, a cheese plate, and all-you-can-eat liverwurst were included.

    A link to more photos from the evening can be found here:
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/mDSpKvdTCbSf6t78A    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 72

    Snorscootering

    17 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Don and I rented snorscooters which are basically regular scooters with a limit of 25km per hour and are only allowed in bicycle lanes. We made a grand loop of 58 miles to the southwest of Amsterdam. A loop that long took pretty much all day at 25km per hour. Surprisingly with Don along it also turned into a grand dessert tour as we hit of some of the best dessert places in this part of the Netherlands. We also passed plenty of windmills, picturesque farms, and rode along some very pleasant waterways. At lunch met an interesting dog person who believes that her three dogs are incarnated from previous dogs that she's owned.

    No accidents except for the one parked scooter that Don kicked over with his left foot.

    Great fun.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 73

    Zandvort Dune Ride From Hell

    18 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Nancy, Don, and I woke early and caught the 9:26 train to the seaside town of Zandvoort. We brought our bicycles along on the train with the intention of riding a 43km trail from Zandvoort to Den Haag or 'the Hague'. The trip started out well enough, though we were met with a pretty steady headwind the whole way. The trail wound through some beautiful coastal dunes, most of which are off limits and being restored to a healthy natural stasis.

    Along the way we rode through the small town of Noordwijk. As we rode we passed a car with Obama and Clinton bumper stickers so I stopped to take a photo. The owner happened to be standing next to the car having his photo taken by a professional photographer. He explained that he was running for reelection as a city counselor. Pretty cool. He also said that some 'bad person had put a Trump sticker on top of his Clinton sticker' which he found very upsetting. Got my vote!

    A bit further on we passed a campground filled with pretty nice little rigs. Later we stopped for a picnic lunch before completing the 2nd half of the ride.

    In den Haag we visited the ICC or International Criminal Court. We all passed through security before taking in the very informative Visitor's Center. I took a photo of the poster depicting the cell that may someday hold Henry Kissinger if there's any justice in this world. Of course the US would have to sign on to be a part of the ICC in the first place!

    Before catching the train back to Amsterdam we stopped for a beer in a nice parkside café and a burger at a place called Ich Bin Ein Hamburger. Great burger and great atmosphere, though a bit spendy.

    All for now. Tomorrow Don and I are off to Paris where we plan to take in the Orsay and eat good food. Don will catch a plane home and I'll Ouibus it back to Amsterdam the day after.

    Adieu.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 74

    Quick trip to Paris

    19 juillet 2018, France ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Don and I rose at some ungodly hour to catch the Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris. We checked into a perfectly suitable hotel near the Gare Nord station. The Best Western something or other in an area that used to be filled with street walkers, but is now an up and coming neighborhood without such trappings. The elevator was the tiniest I'd ever seen measuring about a square meter or about the size of a decent shower stall. Our first trip up, a bubbly Japanese tourist lady invited us to join her. It was tight; I guess not unlike a Tokyo subway.

    We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the city and mapping about 8.6 miles. We had lunch at an old time bistro le Bouillon Chartier. I had the chitterling sausage and Don went for the roast chicken. The waiter wrote our orders on the paper table cloth and added up the bill from the same scratchings. We hit lots of favorites and were rewarded with a partial view of Notre Dame. (see photo). We did a lot of people watching and continously shared comments. Dinner consisted of bread and cheese under a bridge next to the Seine. The mad eyed buttress guy watched us the whole time (see photo). Got a nice shot of Don and the Eiffel Tower. The photo depicts his response to walking there on a day when the mercury hit 90 is too direct to post. (see photo here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MTdjaeYVghv7eTxA8 )

    We were fortunate in that Thursday evenings the Musee d'Orsay is open late. The museum had grown immensely in the past 30 years since my last visit. Not a place to be taken lightly, or after a day on our feet it turns out. We were pretty fatigued by the time we'd made it through just two of the five floors. My age and irritation were showing when I glared at my fellow museum patrons as they kept turning their backs on the pieces to get selfies. Jeezus. I got a nice shot of a group of tourists admiring a Van Gogh (see photo)

    This morning we woke and walked to a nearby bakery Du Pain et des Ideés, recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain and Don. Delicious pastry and good cappuccino. Even picked up a few chocolatines for Nancy. Around noon we said our goodbyes after doing a little planning for meeting up in Bears Ears in mid September. Don was off to the airport and I was off on the nine hour bus ride back to our digs in Amsterdam.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 76

    Modern Art and Rijstaffel

    21 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Yesterday we had a relaxing day sitting around the house after all of the hustle and bustle of the week. In mid-afternoon we set out for the Stedelijk Museum of modern art. We met up with Sjoerd and Martha in the museum bookstore and spent three hours wandering among the exhibits.

    Many of the kiosks around Amsterdam were advertising a new Stedelijk exhibit entitled 'Amsterdam-The Magic Center'. The ads include the photo of backs of two women. The exhibit followed the art scene in Amsterdam through the late 60s and early 70s. Many of the same social movements addressing racism, ecology, feminism, and war were being hashed out all over over the world at that time. At one point artists staged a sit in at the Rijksmuseum. Much of the art displayed brought back that time. It was interesting to see how the summer of 67 played out here.

    I found Grayson Perry's piece entitled Gulf War Dinner Service pretty compelling. The medium of Delft Blue fit the locale.

    The permanent section of the museum is called 'The Base' and it focuses on following the Modern Art movement since its inception in the late 1800s. Mondrian and other Dutch artists are featured heavily. There is an experiential piece by Edward Keinholtz entitled 'The Beanery' which is a surrealist interpretation of the famous Hollywood Cafe of the same name. YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/ObyQAcEqi4o
    The clocks seem to represent our living on borrowed time.

    The museum closed at 6 and our dinner reservations were for 6:30 so we spent a bit of time enjoying the sun on the museumplein. (see photo of the similarly bloused spouses) We then wandered over to a nearby Indonesian restaurant recommended by Sjoerd and Martha called Sama Sebo. Their recently matriculated son René joined us for the meal.

    Rijstaffel is a Dutch word meaning 'rice table'. It is an Indonesian meal that was brought to the Netherlands during the colonial days. It has become pretty close to a Dutch national dish at this point. It consists of a myriad of small dishes (20 maybe) served in small portions, accompanied by rice prepared in several different ways. Ours included, plantain, several versions of stewed beef, chicken, sambals, satay, fruit, vegetables, pickled cucumbers, and nuts. It was delicious. I've included a video of table here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xQriUQwKwTbL2LCr5

    Delicious. Ice cream followed on the walk back up the Prinsengracht. Nice evening.    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 85

    Full Tourist Mode!

    30 juillet 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    That's what my friend from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent, Ohio called our adventures in Amsterdam. Full Tourist Mode. John and his spouse Varsha joined us for several days over the past week. Our friend/Friend Karen Warren from Santa Cruz Meeting also joined us during this time, so we've had quite a full house. Lots of good meals together, many long walking days, and plenty of ice cream. We also had many long conversations covering such diverse topics as fly-over country, child rearing, millennial behavior, India, and fine art.

    The first few days of hosting the temperatures kept rising to record levels. 96 degrees met us on Friday for museum day. We once again started off with the city archives Stadsarchief. Our guests posed in front of the famous iamsterdam sign before entering the even more famous Rijksmuseum for the afternoon. They then went on to visit the world famous Van Gogh museum while Nancy and I rode home to prepare dinner.

    Our guests had a checklist of things to do and experience when visiting Holland. The list was partially informed by John and Varsha's Dutch neighbor and friend Johan. He suggested that they visit three of his favorite cities to the north of us. Once again we all bought 10 euro day passes and headed north to Hoorn, Edam, Volendam, Marken, and Monnickendam. We did change things up a bit by walking the seawall from Edam to Volendam and by taking the north south ferry into Marken. As we walked out of Edam along an inland canal we were able to view a bridge being raised and the lock to the Zuiderzee being opened. The sailing vessel was captained by a three year old lad with a special seat before the wheel. Pretty fun. The same ship followed us as we walked the sea wall, motored along next to our ferry, and finally docked at the same harbor. A good two hours of back and forth.

    Saturday's food Market was very pleasant in the morning. On Sunday John and Varsha headed off to the Anne Frank Experience and Karen revisited more museums. Sunday culminated with another boat ride around Amsterdam's famous canals. It was a great final outing for the night before our friend's departure. We motored down the famous Prinsengracht to the famous Amstel river, then up the Amstel to the Windmill De Riekermolen built in 1636. It was a special highlight as Varsha had asked several times since her arrival, 'But when will we be seeing one of those famous Dutch windmills?'

    This afternoon, our last together, we finally made it to a famous pancake restaurant for famous Dutch pancakes and were also able to sample some not so famous Dutch Poffertrjes mini pancakes. Over the meal we had a chance to do a little more planning for India in December. These people do things right when on the subcontinent, so it sounds like luxury and Maharaja's palaces are in our future.

    More photos can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hjXDr9rNZqA8Eg2NA    En savoir plus

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  • Wandering AgainSummer in Amsterdam
    Jour 88

    Amsterdam Metro 52

    2 août 2018, Pays-Bas ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Okay, so Augie has been sick, and alone in Poland for the past week. Stomach stuff and flu symptoms. So we talked him into coming back to Amsterdam for a while to get to the doctor and recover. Today he went to a tourist doctor and was diagnosed with salmonella. From Poland. Go figure. He picked up some antibiotics and is feeling much better this evening. Total for physician visit and meds: 70 euro. How much would that have been out of pocket for a visitor to the US?

    While he was at the doctor, Nancy and I rode the new Amsterdam metro line from north to south. The metro line was a long time in the making. Amsterdam's soft soil and high water table made the design and construction quite challenging. They followed the line of the old Amstel riverbed. It's hard to imagine how much stuff fell into the river in the area's 10,000 year history. During excavation they discovered almost 700,000 historical fragments and objects dating back some 4000 years. Nancy found the following website discussing the construction and cataloging the finds. https://belowthesurface.amsterdam/en

    Pretty cool.

    We'd heard that each new stop on the line had work commissioned by separate artists so we got on and off at each stop to explore and take photos. There were quite a few Nederlanders doing the same right along with us. More photos can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GzGibKwyczr1sckv9 We also got to ride the longest escalator in the Netherlands.

    Finding ourselves at the end of the line we decided to hoof it back the 10 kilometers or so to Tuinstraat. We passed through Queen Beatrix Park, the restaurant court Foodhallen, and couldn't help getting a photo of Nancy next to the Kwakersstraat Cafe. Interesting that the translation of Quaker and quacker is the same in Dutch--Kwaaker.

    The ceramic orb with the quote 'Some people dance in the rain, others just get wet' was found in Queen Beatrix Park. It reminded me of the long hikes that Grace and I used to take in the rain. Plants are greener, rocks are more colorful, and the amphibians and waterfowl are more active. Best time to hike!    En savoir plus

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