We've all heard horror stories of really terrible traffic jams, right? I'm not talking about your typical garden variety traffic problem - the ones that you encounter on your daily commute into the city. I'm talking about the really bad ones. The 100 car pile ups. 4+ hour delays. Sleeping overnight in your car. That sort of thing.
Well, this past Tuesday morning, the Netherlands experienced one of those events. And it wasn't just the A2, or the A4, or the N205. Nope. Name a highway in the vicinity of the randstad and I can guarantee that there was a backup on it that morning. It was so bad that highways were stacked up the entire width of the country, leaving some roads backed up for miles simply because they intersected with one that had an accident on it. There was no way around them. All said, it totaled 876 KM. For the metricly challenged, that is more than 540 miles of parking lot.
The Netherlands is only 150 miles long and 100 miles wide. Damn!
Trucks hanging off bridges. Multi-car pile ups. Highways completely shut down. And the trains didn't fair much better. Lots of delays and closed lines there as well. Funny what a little bit of snow and the end of a holiday weekend will bring. DC used to be the same way...but on a much smaller scale.
Thank goodness that I was having a bout of insomnia and was already in the office by 6:15. The roads were no problem, if you are used to driving on a bit of snow and ice.
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Luck
We've had some really nasty storms here in Northern Europe over last week, characterized mostly by extremely heavy winds. One morning, at 6:30 AM no less, I got stuck in a 27 KM traffic jam because a tractor trailer had blown over on the highway. And I saw a girl get swept off a dike while she was riding her bike. It was almost comical when a strong gust of wind came up and just forcefully shoved her bike sideways over the dike...luckily she wasn't hurt.
Here are a few other lucky folks that managed to weather the storm.
They started setting up the beach bars in Bloemendaal just in time for the storm. There is normally 100 yards of nice flat beach in front of the bars. I think one more day of heavy wind would have toppled this guy's livelihood into the sea.
Here are a few other lucky folks that managed to weather the storm.
They started setting up the beach bars in Bloemendaal just in time for the storm. There is normally 100 yards of nice flat beach in front of the bars. I think one more day of heavy wind would have toppled this guy's livelihood into the sea.
Unbelievably lucky! This isn't stock footage...I just happened to have my camera with me when I went for a walk around my new office in Utrecht. This guy forgot to put his car in gear and the winds were just heavy enough to nudge him toward the canal. There are maybe 5 trees the whole way along the water...this guy was extremely lucky to be parked just in front of one of them.
North Central Europe got hit even heavier than we did. We're lucky that Schiphol airport has three runways all facing different directions. Even in heavy storms like this they can almost always still take-off and land on one runway that faces directly into the wind. The situation in Hamburg, Germany is not so fortunate. They are forced to land in a crosswind direction. This footage is amazing. I guess that the sideways landing is an accepted "technique" for cross-wind landing, but I can't imagine what it felt like for the passengers. Well, actually I can. I was on a flight taking off from Seattle back in the early 90's that was the last plane allowed to leave before a hurricane hit. We got swept sideways just as we left the ground and the wing-tip on the side of the plane that I was sitting on just missed the ground. Not fun. The video is not for anyone with a fear of flying...especially since you know that they had to loop around and try the landing again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42fchrzhHY
And...completely unrelated to the storms in Europe is this video of an airport in Honduras. They say it is the most dangerous approach in the world for any international airport. Just when you think you are going to land you continue to follow the contour of the mountain downward to the very, very short runway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loyKfeV7NFg&feature=related
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Ol' fashioned fairy tales
We were walking with a friend in Den Bosch the other day when we came across a set of narrow canals crisscrossing the city. While this is not unusual in itself here in the Netherlands, these particular canals caught our attention because of the way that some of the buildings hung out over the water and there were some small patches of greenspace along their banks (kind of unusual). Then we noticed a pair of route signs used to direct self-guided boat tours through the canals. Pretty cool! But then, we also saw a large troll like figure standing on the banks, easily viewable from the boats. Even cooler! A little bit of a “Story book forest” type of self guided tour. The picture above is not the best, but you can see one of the figures on the banks of the canal on the right.
As we continued further along and crossed the canal system again at a different place we saw another figure…a good old fashioned Frog Troll. And what’s he doing? Is he a happy little troll waving to the kiddies? Nope. Maybe he’s a mean troll, making faces to try and scare them? Again, nope. This little bugger is hungry! Isn’t that great!! Of all the fairy tales of my childhood I was never presented with something like this - those are some kid's legs hanging out of his mouth. Of course there were parts of stories like Hansel and Gretel (German story by the way), where the kids are slated to become lunch. But did you ever see it happening? Nooooo….wouldn’t want to hurt our little psyches, right? Way too traumatic. Well, these Frog Trolls don’t take shit from anyone. They hungry? They gonna eat! "I like popping the heads first. Crunchy. Then you can suck out the middle. Mmmm. Lekker!"
We’ve become too soft…
We’ve become too soft…
They also had some statues around town for the more adult oriented audiences. We came across this great little number on one of the side squares beside the big church - A naked matador woman ready to deal the death blow to a raging bull….which also happens to be really a man. Now that's art!
And we weren’t done yet! They also had a great old fort that kiddies of all ages could play in. I think that the last time that I had a picture of me sitting on a cannon was one taken at Devil’s Den in Gettysburg back in 1973. Gotta love a second childhood…or is this still my first?
Monday, February 18, 2008
February flowers and the cow pasture cafe
A crisp, but sunny February has brought early flowers and unanticipated afternoons on some of our favorite local terraces.
Orionweg, thick with crocuses.
Orionweg, thick with crocuses.
Gementeehuis, Bloomendaal.
Kleverlaan - the first daffodils.
Behind the Grote Kerk is always a good bet on a sunny afternoon for warm chocolade met slageroom.
The "cow pasture cafe" - not it's real name, but one of our absolute favorites. This fence marks the end of the city and is a great place to put your feet up and catch a few rays after a nice bike ride through the dunes.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Northern Provinces
It was a beautiful, yet cold winter Sunday so we decided to head a little further afield and explore the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen. I've been excited to do this for some time now because it meant a good excuse to finally drive across the Afsluitdijk....a 30 KM dike that seperates the Wadenzee (kind of the North Sea) from the inland Ijselmeer. This dike was built in 1927 and part of the original plan was to polder the entire sea (make it into land). They ended up creating Flevoland - the first and largest polder. It is amazing to see the reclamed land. This is where we went for the amusement park featured on this blog some time ago. They also diked off the Markemeer, intending to turn this into the next polder. But a significant environmental movement prevented that from happening. The entire history can be summerized with this wikipedia entry: Zuiderzee works. As the saying goes...God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland. Pretty cool to see it in action. Anyhow, here are a few pics from the day.
The dijk looking west from the lookout tower monument seen on the map above.
Two cold tourists taking the photo.
The 14th century water port in the interesting little village of Sneek.
A large square in the the university town of Groningen.
We're still not sure if we could ever live in a full blown (dominated) university town, but we sure love the refreshing vibe of these towns. This photo illustrates it pretty well. A group of students hanging out outside of a 14th century building (now a pub), which has been seemlessly integrated into the present with the glass overhang and frivously decorated with artwork (see the flying trapeeze guys under the glass?)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Rijbewijs - deel twee
This blog entry is part 2 of the story of obtaining a Dutch drivers license. For the first part of the story, refer to the entry “Rijbewijs” on November 1. I’m not really happy with the quality of the writing this week. I’m sure that you’ll encounter a error or two, or a misused word or some under/over written sentences. I just haven’t had time to adequately proof read this entry. Sorry about that. It’s tough now that I have a “real” job and I want to get it posted.
We left off in this little story with me finally obtaining the certificate for the theory exam. This part picks up with hands-on training so that I could pass the practical exam.
You would think that this part would be easy. Again, I had been driving in The Netherlands for more than two years and knew all of the tricks for getting around safely. I signed up for an accelerated set of instructions totaling 6 hours behind the wheel with an instructor.
My instructor was Jan Willam, and when I first saw him I thought that he seemed like a pretty normal guy - a bit on the short side for a Dutchman, but otherwise normal.
But from the minute that I pulled away from the curb (or tried to pull away from the curb), I knew that I was dealing with a…what shall I say…a unique individual.
I put the car into gear, checked the rearview and side mirror, then turned the wheels toward the street, getting ready to depress the accelerator.
First came a pretentious snort, then Jan Willem just shook his head.
“We don’t do that here,” he said.
“What?” I asked. “Do what? I haven’t even moved yet.”
“We don’t turn the wheels unless the car is moving.”
“Really?” I asked, thinking it was a joke.
His stern response was all the answer that I needed.
“Yes, really. Don’t turn the wheels unless the car is moving. The car was parked properly, (implying that was because he was the one who had parked it), and you shouldn’t have had to turn the wheel anyhow. We have a lot to learn Daniel.”
Daniel. It kind of gave me the creeps the way that he said my name, so I tried to joke with him and tell him that the only one who calls me “Daniel” is my mother and that is only when I’m in trouble.
“It’s such a nice name though,” he protested. “Daniel. I really like it. It sounds so pure.”
Needless to say, he continued to call me “Daniel” and he used it every chance that he got.
“We gaan hier linksaf Daniel” he would say or “Doe maar een bokkie Daniel”. With every simple instruction came my name. And it always came out in a sleazy, sensual way that wouldn’t have turned me on even if it was Michelle Pfeifer sitting beside me saying it, let alone this short little bald Dutch guy with a big nose and glasses.
But I needed to pass this exam, so I played along and never mentioned it to him again.
The minutes turned into hours. The hours turned into days. And before I knew it we had built up an uneasy rapport. By the day of the exam we were laughing together as he gave me some last minute tips while we drank a cup of coffee waiting to be called into the room with the examiners.
“You always do that wrong Daniel,” he said bobbing his head like a chicken. “You have to remember that you are putting on a show for the examiner. Move your head more when you look into your mirrors. He needs to see you do it. You can’t just move your eyes.”
A buzzer went off at the front desk and all of the instructors and their respective students got up and filed into the room with the examiners. I quickly scanned the room. Each instructor was standing behind a desk ready to greet the student that they would be testing.
One of the instructors was a younger guy, kind of hip looking. He smiled as we walked by.
Another instructor that we passed was a gorgeous 40 something woman, with long silky hair and rich, soft skin. She had perky…er, I mean that she was also smiling.
And the instructor that we headed for? Well, he was the only one with “crotchety weird old fart” tattooed on his forehead. Not really, but it might as well have been. It started with his toupee. The contrast between the natural graying hair at his temples and the polyester shade of gold of that thing perched on top of his head was astonishing. My eyes kept wandering up there, trying to catch a hint of movement….maybe it was still alive. Pudgy, soft pale skin protruded from his two-sizes-too-small shirt which was buttoned relentlessly up to his chin where it met with a psychedelic plaid bow tie. Am I exaggerating? Only I and my “friendly” little instructor will ever know. Suffice it to say that given the choice, I’d have gone for one of the other instructors…the one with the perky…er, nice smile.
I shook his clammy soft hand and sat down at the desk. He noticed my passport was American and immediately asked if I would prefer to take the test in English.
Wow! Lucky break. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. I had prepared to take the exam in Dutch, but I jumped on the chance for English just to eliminate any problems or misunderstandings.
After a few formalities, we all paraded to the car, kicked the tires (seriously), and climbed in. I was driving, the examiner sat beside me, and my “friendly” instructor sat behind me.
The test began. And it began poorly.
You have to understand that the city of Haarlem driving instruction center is located in one of the worst places possible for drivers. Upon exiting the center, you have two choices. Choice one is a simple right hand turn. You only have to cross one bike lane then proceed about a hundred yards to a signed intersection.
Choice two is a seriously complicated left hand turn where you must first cross a bike lane, then a lane of traffic, then you have about 2 meters to merge into other lane of traffic which has just been released from a red light (thus hard to judge speed), before encountering yet another quasi-bike crossing 15 meters further on which in turn is just 10 meters before a busy railroad crossing. Only a complete moron would attempt this. If you really, really had to go in that direction then it would be much easier to turn right and pull a U-turn at the signed intersection. But remember, this is me we’re talking about. The story of my life…
“Turn left”, instructed the examiner.
After sitting there waiting for about 7 minutes, I gunned it in front of a little old lady on a bike going one direction, a snotty little teenager on a moped going the other and a snotty old man in a red Volvo SUV hell bent on making a green-light at the next intersection.
Thinking that I would be admonished for taking such a chance, I was a bit shocked when my examiner said “You could have made that turn a lot sooner. There were ample opportunities.”
“What the #$%&!” I thought, but said, “I just wanted to be able to judge the speeds, that’s all.”
It gets better.
The second admonishment came at a very simple intersection. The only problem here was an overgrown hedge. I approached the intersection with caution, looking both ways, then slowing a bit more to check the bike path beyond the hedge.
“It’s a yield, not stop!” he said loudly.
“I know, but I just wanted to be sure that there were no bikes coming.”
“You already checked that. They don’t fall out of the sky you know.”
Whoa. This was going really bad. I started to think that I wasn’t going to pass. But I stuck to the rules and didn’t let him get under my skin.
The third incident was the worst. It had just started to rain – hard, and my instructor asked me to pull over and do a “bokkie”. Weird term, I know. But the Dutch find it very important to go backwards around a corner. I guess this is because of the narrow streets and double-parkers – you never know when you’ll have to back out of a situation. Not to worry though. My little instructor had taught me well.
I signaled, pulled over toward the curb with windshield wipers going furiously and brought the car to a stop. I checked my mirrors. I checked my windows. Everything was clear so I put the car in reverse and started moving before turning the wheel. But this corner had no light posts or other signs so there was no reference point on where corner actually was. I ended up a bit in the middle of the other street. A car pulled into the street in front of me, but my instructor had always taught me to keep going until I was in the right position.
The rain was coming in torrents now, pelting the car.
“Beeeeeeep!!!”
“What the…?”. I thrashed my head around, looking for the source of the horn. There was a car behind me with no lights on. I had almost backed into it.
I pushed hard on the brakes, depressed the clutch and thrust the car into first gear. I started to pull forward and toward the curb, but the car in front of me had pulled to close. I threw on my turn signal.
“You are confusing the traffic!” bellowed the examiner. “That is the worst thing that you can do!”
I felt a kick under my seat and looked into the rearview. The friendly little instructor caught my eye and motioned for me to keep moving straight ahead.
I recomposed myself and slowly pulled forward and out of the turn. It was over. I knew in my heart that it was over. After more than 20 years of driving, I was going to fail this test. So what are you going to do now?
I pulled calmly into the next intersection, signaled properly, and made a very nice turn.
“So, where did you learn such good English?” I asked as if nothing had happened.
I think that my composure caught him by surprise and twenty minutes later with the car finally parked back at the driving center, I knew the examiners complete history as an air traffic controller in Chicago.
As all three of us walked back into the exam center, it was a real crap-shoot. I could see that my instructor was worried…very worried. But at that point I didn’t really care. I walked into the examiner’s office smiling.
When we reached the examiners desk, he didn’t even sit down. He had reached his decision.
“Congratulations,” he said extending his hand. “You have passed the test.”
Look at that happy camper! (No teeth...it's the law!)
We left off in this little story with me finally obtaining the certificate for the theory exam. This part picks up with hands-on training so that I could pass the practical exam.
You would think that this part would be easy. Again, I had been driving in The Netherlands for more than two years and knew all of the tricks for getting around safely. I signed up for an accelerated set of instructions totaling 6 hours behind the wheel with an instructor.
My instructor was Jan Willam, and when I first saw him I thought that he seemed like a pretty normal guy - a bit on the short side for a Dutchman, but otherwise normal.
But from the minute that I pulled away from the curb (or tried to pull away from the curb), I knew that I was dealing with a…what shall I say…a unique individual.
I put the car into gear, checked the rearview and side mirror, then turned the wheels toward the street, getting ready to depress the accelerator.
First came a pretentious snort, then Jan Willem just shook his head.
“We don’t do that here,” he said.
“What?” I asked. “Do what? I haven’t even moved yet.”
“We don’t turn the wheels unless the car is moving.”
“Really?” I asked, thinking it was a joke.
His stern response was all the answer that I needed.
“Yes, really. Don’t turn the wheels unless the car is moving. The car was parked properly, (implying that was because he was the one who had parked it), and you shouldn’t have had to turn the wheel anyhow. We have a lot to learn Daniel.”
Daniel. It kind of gave me the creeps the way that he said my name, so I tried to joke with him and tell him that the only one who calls me “Daniel” is my mother and that is only when I’m in trouble.
“It’s such a nice name though,” he protested. “Daniel. I really like it. It sounds so pure.”
Needless to say, he continued to call me “Daniel” and he used it every chance that he got.
“We gaan hier linksaf Daniel” he would say or “Doe maar een bokkie Daniel”. With every simple instruction came my name. And it always came out in a sleazy, sensual way that wouldn’t have turned me on even if it was Michelle Pfeifer sitting beside me saying it, let alone this short little bald Dutch guy with a big nose and glasses.
But I needed to pass this exam, so I played along and never mentioned it to him again.
The minutes turned into hours. The hours turned into days. And before I knew it we had built up an uneasy rapport. By the day of the exam we were laughing together as he gave me some last minute tips while we drank a cup of coffee waiting to be called into the room with the examiners.
“You always do that wrong Daniel,” he said bobbing his head like a chicken. “You have to remember that you are putting on a show for the examiner. Move your head more when you look into your mirrors. He needs to see you do it. You can’t just move your eyes.”
A buzzer went off at the front desk and all of the instructors and their respective students got up and filed into the room with the examiners. I quickly scanned the room. Each instructor was standing behind a desk ready to greet the student that they would be testing.
One of the instructors was a younger guy, kind of hip looking. He smiled as we walked by.
Another instructor that we passed was a gorgeous 40 something woman, with long silky hair and rich, soft skin. She had perky…er, I mean that she was also smiling.
And the instructor that we headed for? Well, he was the only one with “crotchety weird old fart” tattooed on his forehead. Not really, but it might as well have been. It started with his toupee. The contrast between the natural graying hair at his temples and the polyester shade of gold of that thing perched on top of his head was astonishing. My eyes kept wandering up there, trying to catch a hint of movement….maybe it was still alive. Pudgy, soft pale skin protruded from his two-sizes-too-small shirt which was buttoned relentlessly up to his chin where it met with a psychedelic plaid bow tie. Am I exaggerating? Only I and my “friendly” little instructor will ever know. Suffice it to say that given the choice, I’d have gone for one of the other instructors…the one with the perky…er, nice smile.
I shook his clammy soft hand and sat down at the desk. He noticed my passport was American and immediately asked if I would prefer to take the test in English.
Wow! Lucky break. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. I had prepared to take the exam in Dutch, but I jumped on the chance for English just to eliminate any problems or misunderstandings.
After a few formalities, we all paraded to the car, kicked the tires (seriously), and climbed in. I was driving, the examiner sat beside me, and my “friendly” instructor sat behind me.
The test began. And it began poorly.
You have to understand that the city of Haarlem driving instruction center is located in one of the worst places possible for drivers. Upon exiting the center, you have two choices. Choice one is a simple right hand turn. You only have to cross one bike lane then proceed about a hundred yards to a signed intersection.
Choice two is a seriously complicated left hand turn where you must first cross a bike lane, then a lane of traffic, then you have about 2 meters to merge into other lane of traffic which has just been released from a red light (thus hard to judge speed), before encountering yet another quasi-bike crossing 15 meters further on which in turn is just 10 meters before a busy railroad crossing. Only a complete moron would attempt this. If you really, really had to go in that direction then it would be much easier to turn right and pull a U-turn at the signed intersection. But remember, this is me we’re talking about. The story of my life…
“Turn left”, instructed the examiner.
After sitting there waiting for about 7 minutes, I gunned it in front of a little old lady on a bike going one direction, a snotty little teenager on a moped going the other and a snotty old man in a red Volvo SUV hell bent on making a green-light at the next intersection.
Thinking that I would be admonished for taking such a chance, I was a bit shocked when my examiner said “You could have made that turn a lot sooner. There were ample opportunities.”
“What the #$%&!” I thought, but said, “I just wanted to be able to judge the speeds, that’s all.”
It gets better.
The second admonishment came at a very simple intersection. The only problem here was an overgrown hedge. I approached the intersection with caution, looking both ways, then slowing a bit more to check the bike path beyond the hedge.
“It’s a yield, not stop!” he said loudly.
“I know, but I just wanted to be sure that there were no bikes coming.”
“You already checked that. They don’t fall out of the sky you know.”
Whoa. This was going really bad. I started to think that I wasn’t going to pass. But I stuck to the rules and didn’t let him get under my skin.
The third incident was the worst. It had just started to rain – hard, and my instructor asked me to pull over and do a “bokkie”. Weird term, I know. But the Dutch find it very important to go backwards around a corner. I guess this is because of the narrow streets and double-parkers – you never know when you’ll have to back out of a situation. Not to worry though. My little instructor had taught me well.
I signaled, pulled over toward the curb with windshield wipers going furiously and brought the car to a stop. I checked my mirrors. I checked my windows. Everything was clear so I put the car in reverse and started moving before turning the wheel. But this corner had no light posts or other signs so there was no reference point on where corner actually was. I ended up a bit in the middle of the other street. A car pulled into the street in front of me, but my instructor had always taught me to keep going until I was in the right position.
The rain was coming in torrents now, pelting the car.
“Beeeeeeep!!!”
“What the…?”. I thrashed my head around, looking for the source of the horn. There was a car behind me with no lights on. I had almost backed into it.
I pushed hard on the brakes, depressed the clutch and thrust the car into first gear. I started to pull forward and toward the curb, but the car in front of me had pulled to close. I threw on my turn signal.
“You are confusing the traffic!” bellowed the examiner. “That is the worst thing that you can do!”
I felt a kick under my seat and looked into the rearview. The friendly little instructor caught my eye and motioned for me to keep moving straight ahead.
I recomposed myself and slowly pulled forward and out of the turn. It was over. I knew in my heart that it was over. After more than 20 years of driving, I was going to fail this test. So what are you going to do now?
I pulled calmly into the next intersection, signaled properly, and made a very nice turn.
“So, where did you learn such good English?” I asked as if nothing had happened.
I think that my composure caught him by surprise and twenty minutes later with the car finally parked back at the driving center, I knew the examiners complete history as an air traffic controller in Chicago.
As all three of us walked back into the exam center, it was a real crap-shoot. I could see that my instructor was worried…very worried. But at that point I didn’t really care. I walked into the examiner’s office smiling.
When we reached the examiners desk, he didn’t even sit down. He had reached his decision.
“Congratulations,” he said extending his hand. “You have passed the test.”
Look at that happy camper! (No teeth...it's the law!)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Impressions - 2007
We had a beautiful white week here in North Holland. It didn't snow nor was there freezing rain. The white that you see on the trees are frosty pillars of frozen fog. It was really bizarre and even the locals said that they had never seen anything like it before. I'm sorry now that I didn't get any close ups of the trees. Every branch was stacked with 2-3 cm of ultra lite frosting. The coating lasted for two days before being burned off by brilliant sun just before Christmas.
But the real bonus of more than a week of sub-freezing temperatures was the ice that formed on the local canals and ponds. It wasn't enough to freeze the big canals used for the once every 20 year famous 11 city ice skating race, but it was cold enough to strap on the skates and get the kiddies and dogs onto the ice. It was hillarious to see how excited they all were.
The local mill park, during the day....
...and at night.
Relaxing in a cafe after some last minute shopping.
And what is Christmas without the annual hikes/exploring to new places. First it was the beach...
...then it was the city. The (in)famous Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam.
Going up? Rotterdam has always been known as the newer, high-rise city of The Netherlands. But recently the Dutch have figured a new way for the swampland that underlies most of their country to support more weight. It's being put to the test in Rotterdam as the city embarks on a massive building boom skyward.
Cubic houses were built in the 1970's to help bring life and interesting architecture to the otherwise bland new city. Furiture must be specially made to fit in these houses. The building in the background is from the same architect and is known as "The pencil".
The famous statue commemerating the feeling of May 14, 1940, which made all the rebuilding necessary.
A reminder of what they had to work with after that night.
We spent Christmas eve at Zannenpark here in North Haarlem where they brought out the decorations, cocoa, and carolers for an evening sing-along. Funny to hear Silent Night and Oh Christmas Tree translated to Dutch. It was a good ol' fashioned gathering, just like in the movies. But the big sing-along was on the Grote Markt in the center of the city...unfortunately it didn't start until midnight and we were too comfortable at home in front of the fire. So I took this capture from the Haarlem web cam. The turn out was about 1500 revelers.
And the most unique present this year? Hot pepper sauce served up in a very shapely naked woman jar. Thanks Katie and Jodi!!! You'd fit right in over here in The Netherlands. When are you coming for a visit?
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Dutch Music
Today’s entry is a cultural extravaganza into the world of Dutch music. Now that I have been spending more time in the car (yes, I am back at work), and speaking more Dutch, I’ve been listening to a radio station called “100% NL”. Most other stations play music from around the world, and of course the USA is a juggernaut in music so we hear all the latest from the states. But 100% NL only plays music from Dutch artists. I got to thinking that folks back in the states might never have heard Dutch music (or at least realized that they were hearing it), so I thought that I’d put together a little compilation from YouTube of some fairly representative music out of Holland.
We’ll go in a little bit of a chronological order, so I’ll start with one that you all will know, but maybe didn’t realize was Dutch. Yes, it’s old, but this band was to the Netherlands what ABBA was to Sweden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGdSmNnz2ZA
Of course the Dutch also had the classic rockers who didn’t survive, yet are a time honored memory for those of us over 35. Herman Brood was one of these classic rockers and also a fairly renowned painter…until he swan-dove off a balcony of a hotel in Amsterdam. I’m curious if any of you older readers have ever heard of him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mEjmWnihrc&feature=related
And then there were the 80’s. This band was very popular in the “new wave” genre and their music is still played by cover bands over here today. Doe Maar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhSbaiUF3OQ&feature=related
The Dijk is a more traditional band out of the late 70’s/80s, kind of a mix between Jimmy Buffet and The Eagles. We’ve seen them in concert over here and people go crazy.
De Dijk – groot hart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVa8JIZ-lik&feature=related
Marco Borsato is the Niel Diamond/Billy Joel of The Netherlands. This song is classic Borsato and if played, really, really loud is actually very good. It’s a love song, with the title “Red”. By the way, for those of you who asked about the last post in my Venice blog entry - this Borsato video is filmed in a concert venue in Amsterdam called “Paradiso”. It’s an old church that was converted to a music hall back in the 60’s. The stained glass windows still frame the stage. This place has hosted the likes of The Doors and The Rolling Stones among others. It’s a fantastic, intimate venue for a concert. Beth just asked me to add that "Rood" is her favorite Dutch song.
Rood - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCti-yENAG0&feature=related
And then there is contemporary pop…lot’s of it. This is a great little number by the band Leaf. Are they playing it in the states? It’s simple, and not very deep, but very catchy and is getting a lot of air-time over here. Notice the quality difference in the video production….just can’t compete with Hollywood…but the tune is great. One of my favorites currently playing on the radio’s here. Leaf - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDFTlw3BfTM
Dance/DJ music is also wildly popular over here and The Netherlands hosts some of the largest/wildest dance festivals in Europe. Our friend Barry is really into that scene and has produced this little clip on YouTube. BTW – the festival in this film is held in one of Sage’s favorite parks where we trained with her for the Amsterdam Marathon. Barry – maybe you can post a link to a well-known Dutch artist in this genre? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sftu73mOsqc
We’ll go in a little bit of a chronological order, so I’ll start with one that you all will know, but maybe didn’t realize was Dutch. Yes, it’s old, but this band was to the Netherlands what ABBA was to Sweden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGdSmNnz2ZA
Of course the Dutch also had the classic rockers who didn’t survive, yet are a time honored memory for those of us over 35. Herman Brood was one of these classic rockers and also a fairly renowned painter…until he swan-dove off a balcony of a hotel in Amsterdam. I’m curious if any of you older readers have ever heard of him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mEjmWnihrc&feature=related
And then there were the 80’s. This band was very popular in the “new wave” genre and their music is still played by cover bands over here today. Doe Maar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhSbaiUF3OQ&feature=related
The Dijk is a more traditional band out of the late 70’s/80s, kind of a mix between Jimmy Buffet and The Eagles. We’ve seen them in concert over here and people go crazy.
De Dijk – groot hart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVa8JIZ-lik&feature=related
Marco Borsato is the Niel Diamond/Billy Joel of The Netherlands. This song is classic Borsato and if played, really, really loud is actually very good. It’s a love song, with the title “Red”. By the way, for those of you who asked about the last post in my Venice blog entry - this Borsato video is filmed in a concert venue in Amsterdam called “Paradiso”. It’s an old church that was converted to a music hall back in the 60’s. The stained glass windows still frame the stage. This place has hosted the likes of The Doors and The Rolling Stones among others. It’s a fantastic, intimate venue for a concert. Beth just asked me to add that "Rood" is her favorite Dutch song.
Rood - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCti-yENAG0&feature=related
And then there is contemporary pop…lot’s of it. This is a great little number by the band Leaf. Are they playing it in the states? It’s simple, and not very deep, but very catchy and is getting a lot of air-time over here. Notice the quality difference in the video production….just can’t compete with Hollywood…but the tune is great. One of my favorites currently playing on the radio’s here. Leaf - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDFTlw3BfTM
Dance/DJ music is also wildly popular over here and The Netherlands hosts some of the largest/wildest dance festivals in Europe. Our friend Barry is really into that scene and has produced this little clip on YouTube. BTW – the festival in this film is held in one of Sage’s favorite parks where we trained with her for the Amsterdam Marathon. Barry – maybe you can post a link to a well-known Dutch artist in this genre? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sftu73mOsqc
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Venice
This extremely unlikely city has been portrayed so often in photos, art, and film that it is impossible to hear the word “Venice” without conjuring a finely-honed image in your head. One might think that it is not even necessary to visit because it is already so familiar. But as our water-taxi made its way through the Grand Canal en route to the Rialto Bridge, passing palaces, gondola’s and the trademark candy striped boat moorings, that sense of familiarity was surprisingly coupled with exotic excitement.
For someone who lives in the lowest of the "Low Countries", a place that is constantly at odds with water, I could not suppress my amazement that Venice even exists at all. While Amsterdam is built around water, Venice is built IN water. This photo illustrates the battle that they are facing. See the bulkhead that they are building in front of this church? If any of the predictions of rising water levels are even 5% true, then this city is in serious trouble.
Preparing for winter's high-tide, these elevated walkways are strategically placed around the city for quick deployment in case of flooding.
Everything is done by boat, from deliveries to garbage removal to construction cranes.
Once the goods are in the city, they are off-loaded to these carts and hand wheeled to their final destination. Not a single car, golf cart or scooter! Fantastic!
...and one of the nicer final destinations for those goods was the Rialto Market.
Once you muscled your way through the crowds surrounding the tacky tourist booths, a classic European market could be found.
And being a city surrounded by water, fish was one of the main fares on offer. Once again the food in Northern Italy exceeded our expectations. It really doesn't get any better.
But if the big market is not your style, don't worry! We saw these smaller one-man markets throughout the islands of the lagoon.
No photo journal of Venice can be complete without the famous Rialto Bridge....
But sometimes it's the small details that make it special. This little fountain on a tucked away square...
or the different levels of history clearly visible on buildings at the foot of this bridge.
Peeling paint and crumbling brick...all part of the "off the beaten path" ambience.
Brightly colored boats. I didn't notice the dead phantom turtle when I took the picture...maybe it wasn't really there.
Anyone who has played one of those infamous first-person shooter computer games set in Venice or been to the Belaggio in Las Vegas will recognize this water color. Who'd of thunk that they would actually have gotten it right?
The obligatory sunny terrace with beer photo. Hmmmm....which beer is Beth's?
The obnoxious "pigeon man". He kept feeding the little buggers (which is why we had to have a cover on our peanut in the last photo). 
And for my Dutch friends....nuff said.
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