Reflections on Queens Day

Queen's Day was begun as a celebration of the Dutch queen's birthday, first Wilhemina, and then Juliana. Even after she past the title to her successor (and indeed later passed away), the date has remained the same, as the the current Queen, Beatrix has her birthday in January, when the weather isn't the best for the dozens of outdoor music venues and the extra 700,000 visitors.

Here i am in the sea of Orange...
Queens Day is today essentially a national holiday celebrating freedom. People are free to roam the streets drinking biertjes, little beers that can still overwhelm when you start drinking at 11am, the official start to the madness. More than one ambulance had to fight the crowds to remove an unconscious reveler.
Queens Day also represents a day for Dutch entrepreneurial freedom. I saw people selling beer and snacks out their front doors. And days in advance, portions of sidewalk were marked off bezet (reserved/occupied) in anticipation of the world's largest garage sale.Did i mention the boats?and the crowds?And nothing says Holland like playing football with a keg of Heineken.
Just about to board a night train for Germany...

Rookies III

Ending where i got started. It's been like Mardi Gras and Oktoberfest and St's Paddy's Day and the 60's all rolled up into one. I was going to send up a post yesterday called "And a Tram runs through It" describing my amazement last night as the throngs clashed with the street cars.


Today, the pedestrian is Queen. In the inner city, there are no cars, no buses, no trains and nary a bicycle.


There are also scads of boats.


This will likely be my last report from Amsterdam. I'm heading back soon to fetch my backpack and make my way to the train station. I'm bound for Germany,

Let's get the Party started!

Click my ta ta's!

Koninginnedag

My Queens Day started 9 hours earlier with a web cam conference with
our Dutch/Flemish club back in Portland. After that, i just had enough
juice for night cap. Things are getting under way early today with
venues opening up at 11am.

Rookies redux

Things were swelling to full swing on the Leidseplein on my way here to Rookies. Biertjes all around. It was a bit 'whelming.



I prefer the calmer scene here. Some cops on horseback just strolled by. And they've just begun to string banners across the streets. The party is starting!

Good Morning, America!

Sometimes, i think it would have been better to just stay on Portland time. It was about 4am when i finally decided to head home and pry my contacts out. The Stad was still buzzing, and all of A'dam's finest eateries were hopping.


Somebody's got the munchies!


It was day by the time i called it a night.


I got up before noon. [barely] And that's just because my alarm went off. I slowly got up and had my brood and kaas. I gathered all the thingd i'd need for the day. [again, slowly] And i set out directly for the Leidseplein, this time not get lost on the way, thank you. The plein was full and get wild. [and tomorrow's the real party] I've made it back to Rookies, from where i post this.

It's 5am. Do you know where your children are?

It's Saturday, but here it's technically Sunday and i don't even know what time it is back home. Sometime after my last blog entry, i got reeeallll sleepy, so i opted for a power nap. The next thing you know it's 6pm and time to get pretty and go out.

I stepped off the tram into a carnival on one of the city's main squares. After an appropriate amount of mesmerization i moved on to a pub that had been suggested to me by an online acquaintance, "de Prik". I didn't have an exact address, and the name made it hard to ask directions. By 8pm i made it there and occupied an outdoor table, better for the people watching. As the Prik filled with revelers, a party eventually joined my table.

Soon i was introduced to Robert, Teun, Monet, Beet and Frank. It was the occasion of Beet's 4?ish birthday, which involved a bit of bar hopping. [which reminds me, Franz from Friesland, remind me where we should absolutely visit?] Anyway, it's after five in the morning now. I swear i can see the sun rising. And the birds are already chirping. Ugh... must... scratch... out... contacts.
P.S. gefeliciteerd Beet!

High Noon

...and hi there! the clock is striking twelve, literally, right at this moment. That is, it would strike twelve it were one of those chiming clocks. It's just that wall clock you see there in the kitchen. I haven't made it out of the kitchen, by the way. There's a sunny, warm balcony right out the door and cold beers in the fridge.

Someone in the building is whistling. Not just whistling, but whistling a tune. It's "Memories" or "The Impossible Dream." I dunno. I'm actually not a show tunes kind of guy. Oh... wait.. and now they're doing... shoot. i can name that tune in...

And here's my host, Johan. He's the food service manager for KLM airlines and comes from South Africa. He's lived in Amsterdam for 11 years and his favorite color is green.

It's a quarter past noon, or as the Dutch would say, kwart over twaalf. Tot ziens!

Zaterdag

I managed to stay awake the entire first day, and slept reeeeeal well through the night. After the first coffee shop yesterday, i just wandered around snapping the occasional photo. Right now, i'm just getting a few pics ready for the blog. I'll probably post a few later on this morning.

It looks likes it's going to be another beautiful day here. Tijd voor een beetje brood en kaas. My host, who worked the swing shift last night just set out some bread and cheese.

Rookies

{CLICK ON PICS TO MAKE BIGS}


I'm chilling out with a diet Coke. Out the window, i'm catching just half of a conversation in Dutch sign language. He's wearing a man purse and with the ponch he's sporting, he looks like a seven months pregnant Britney Spears. He's gesticulating wildly. I'm betting he's homersexual.


Oh but how did i get here? My apartment is just beyond the Vondelpark. I stripped down to my t-shirt and put on these butch cargo shorts and set out for the Leidseplein.



My host, Johan from South Africa pointed me in the right direction. Asking directions along the way, i came to my first familiar sight. This whimsical art display dedicated to Jordaan.


The walk took me over and along canals.


I passed this cheese monger along the way. I would have bought the lot, but i needed cash.


An ATM wasn't hard to find. Straight away i bought some sun screen and applied said screen. Then i bought this cool stone carving. At another shop i found this souvenir, that when you squeeze it, it make a flame. And then i came to this cafe that has free wi-fi, got meself the diet Coke and sat down here and observed that homersexual that got me started writing this post.

Such was my first hour on the town... I'm just getting this entry in under the wire with just 20 minutes of juice left on my laptop. If only electricity came wirelessly?

Amsterdam!

In Houston, i had no problem... just enough time to catch my connecting flight. By noon (local time) the eagle had landed. It's already Friday here (funny how that is). The weather is unseasonably beautiful and it's supposed to stay nice through the weekend. I've just checked into my apartment and i'm about to go exploring. Tot straks!

PDX

It's D-Day, departure day! Coincidently, our good friend Michelle is flying out of PDX around the same time as me on her way to Canada. She's Canadan... a Cano-American... a daughter of Canadia. You know what i mean. North of the Border.

We''ll be seeing each other in a few weeks in Germany, then later on in Amsterdam.

Rob dropped us off at the airport a bit ago, and we've made it through security. I'm having my last Oregon brew for a while. Michelle, a sprite. She must be driving to Canada... I had a wonderful last supper last night with neighbors Eric and Brian, bacon burger with Tillamook cheddar, tater tots and pints at the Back Stage pub behind the Bagdad Theatre.

Next stop... Houston.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Thanks to Giselle for the new 'do!

[click for viddy!]

just another test

to see if i can upload pics into the blog posts.

Blog set up

I had to fiddle with the html code to get the template more to my liking. Leave a comment if things look messed up on your end.

Getting Ready...

I need to pack...

Rob's Birthday