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Published: June 26th 2006
Gotta love the buildings
They're a bit all over the place after a little subsidenceWhat can I say about this place that I haven’t already said before? I just really like it and feel very comfortable here. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that I like so much - but think it’s a combination of a lot of different things (the architecture, the compact city layout, the diversity of people drawn here, the whole bike-riding everywhere thing). Anyway……. whatever it is, it just works for me, and my experience this time around has been as good, if not better, than the last time I was here (which was only for a few days).
My B&B turned out better than expected. It’s a fairly modern apartment overlooking a canal in the North-East of the city (near Rietlandpark), and my host was extremely helpful - even cooking me dinner on my first night here, and letting me use his bike every day.
I certainly made use of the bike - riding from one side of the city to the other, and seeing all the sights inbetween. I scared a few of the locals in the first few days, as it took a little getting used to riding on the right hand side (especially after
Vondelpark
A great place to relax cornering).
Of course, one of the reasons for me coming back here was to visit Marieke on her home turf before she heads back to Australia (not that she’s from Amsterdam, but an hour out is close enough). So I was certainly excited about catching up with her, and was glad that she could take the time to drive up to Amsterdam to pick me up in order to show me some places outside Amsterdam itself. Despite some bad weather, and a little difficulty finding each other (my street wasn’t even on her map), we had a look around Den Haag (the Dutch seat of government and official place of residence for the royal family), Scheveningen (a popular beachside destination) and Delft (home of the blue-and-white delftware pottery, and the resting place for the Prince of Orange).
Anyway…….Marieke is looking good, and it was great to see her after the year or so that she’s been away from Oz. I know that some of you will be seeing her on her return, and I know that she’s looking forward to that too.
After our trip together I thought I’d best do the right thing and go out
Dutch food
See mum I am eating well........well I should say I am eating! and experience the netherlands vs. Argentina World Cup game in a local pub. The netherlands team had a clear advantage in the looks department, but this wasn’t reflected in the final 0-0 scoreline (apparently that was besed on something else entirely). Obviously the Aussies are doing well too, but try and find a pub in Amsterdam that’s showing Australia vs. Croatia - not easy!
I also managed to spare some time for just lazing around doing very little……..and I found that Vondelpark is the best place to do that. So basically……..I managed to see everything I wanted to here, so decided to set of a day earlier than planned, and do a quick exploration of a few different cities along the way (Rotterdam, Bergen Op Zoom, and Breda) - which went well (apart from the weather, as it’s rained for thwo and a half of the seven days I’ve been here).
So on an enjoyment scale from 1 to 10, where 1 equates to the Dutch bowing out of the World Cup, and 10 equates to the look on the face of MOST guys walking around the Red Light district........ I would rate my experience as an 8.5
Marieke and I
Outside a coffee shop in Delft......and NO, I hadn't slept well the night before. (or maybe that should be 8,5 as the decimal system here doesn't seem to involve the use of a decimal point.......go figure!).
Speaking of excitement.........next stop - Brussels
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non-member comment
just nice writing
hey as a dutchman i was quite amused at ur writing. Donot misunderstand its nice its fresh and i would say lots is very correct nice foto's also go on!