Lesson for today: Trying to accelerate the drying process by putting socks in the microwave will lead to the ruination of same socks. Enough said. Whaat?! The socks were clean, just wet... Also found a new way to get to work that has cut my travel time by 20 mins!!! Instead of catching the No. 4 tram into Centraal station and then the Metro train to Diemen Zuid I can walk 10 mins to Wibaustraat station and catch the train straight out to Diemen Zuid. A very good thing as the trams had been giving me frustrations all this week. It's also cheaper now.
Hi Everyone, Well by now I thought that I would be pretty much settled into the UK and have nothing interesting or exciting to write about in this blog. Writing things like, "Today I went to the Tube station and found I had run out of £1 and £2 coins so I had to use a £5 note!"
Fortunately and also unfortunately that is not the case and I have been in Amsterdam for over a week now. My initial contract was ending and I had decided, after much praying and soul searching, that I would go back to London and try my luck there. Out of the blue (or perhaps out of prayer) an opportunity through my current employer came up for work in Amsterdam. I found out about it on the Wednesday, got confirmed on Thursday and was flying out of Manchester on Monday. Cutting it thin on a lot of things and I only found out where I was staying as I was at the airport before boarding the plane!
I won't write a lot about work as I am constrained by the fact that I am still here on the project and it wouldn't be wise to lay out my thoughts on everyone and everything and publish it on the internet! Suffice to say that it presents it's own unique challenges as although everyone can speak English, all the documentation is in Dutch! The guys I work with can translate but it's an extra layer to understanding.
It is quite different being in a country for business and trying to extract pleasure, maybe that's not the right word considering I am in Amsterdam - extract a holiday at the same time. On the good side all my expenses are paid for but on the bad side you are under work demands and need to get from A to B on time and get annoyed when having to wait around for delayed public transport. Whereas on holidays you don't really care about waiting around a bit. I guess I am experiencing living in each city I have been rather than having the gloss of 'holiday mentality' colouring my views. It is quite a challenge learning the different ticket types, catching the right trains/trams, using the right credit card/coins/smartcard (there is a difference and cash isn't accepted everywhere), finding your way back home (it's embarrassing not even being able to pronounce the street you live on so you better find the house yourself), etc, when everything is in a different language. Everyday things that you take for granted back home. Thank goodness everyone is so willing to speak English!
The other bad thing which is starting to wear on me is having to pack and unpack every couple of weeks and living out of a suitcase. It would be fine if I had a small travel pack but I have my huge luggage that contains all I think I will need for 12 months!! So having to take things out and put them back in again in the most compact manner is becoming tiring. My first weekend in Amsterdam we could only book a studio apartment until the Friday as there was some big conference in town and a huge 6 hanger rave party so all the accommodation in Amsterdam was booked out!
So I had to pack up, go to Utrecht 40km south-east of Amsterdam, stay there for the weekend, return to Amsterdam work on Monday, after work go to pick up my suitcase that I had left at the first apartment and then make my way to the other apartment we had booked for the rest of the month! It was lucky I could leave my suitcase at the first apartment and only take a small bag to Utrecht otherwise it would have killed me taking it around searching for the hotel and searching for the right train back to Amsterdam! Holland is definitely a nice place and that was evident even from the plane as we were landing; pretty, green, ordered and neat. Even walking from the apartment to the tram stop I pass picturesque streets and canals that are worthy of photos. Very European feel (obviously) and have to look out for traffic coming on the right-hand side while walking. The shops aren't open as late around here and getting home late can mean nowhere to eat! Had to wander around a bit the first night looking for a place to eat. Passed about three coffeeshops just across the road that were open late though. I seriously had no desire to sample their 'coffee' to tell you the truth.
Utrecht was very pretty indeed though it is another town 40km away and not Amsterdam itself. Had to pass a lot of fields and cows to get there. It had been described to me by more than one person as a mini-Amsterdam without the tourists. Well, they didn't need tourists as it was packed enough!! The Saturday was a nice sunny day and I couldn't believe the crowds everywhere! People going shopping, eating, markets, whatever business they might have! I guess I better get used to the crowds in Europe and Holland is meant to be the third most densely populated country in the world. Sunday though was a complete contrast; hardly a soul about. Like 'Day of the Triffids' or '28 Days Later' for something more contemporary. This is partly because most of the shops don't open on Sunday.
I took the opportunity to go on a canal cruise through the 14th century canals. There was only one other family with kids on the cruise and they weren't interested in hearing the commentary so I basically got a private tour from the girl and got to ask my questions and chat about stuff. As you'll see from the pictures the houses can't be more than 40cm above the canal waterline!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=za0rna8.tsf0lzk&x=0&y=-4q2nkt (Click on 'View Photos without signing in') The guide girl said they are confident in their levers and locks to keep the water out. Found out later on CNN that after the Rotterdam floods in 1953 that killed 1800 people the Dutch decided to build defences that would be able to withstand a 1 in 10,000 year storm!!! In New Orleans their defences are only built to withstand a 1 in 250 year storm.
Utrecht is also home to Holland's tallest church tower (112m) that is 'the pride of Utrecht' said the guide girl while rolling her eyes. It really is an impressive church and whilst there are heaps of them around Europe the one in Utrecht is actually well maintained and hadn't been allowed to become neglected. There had a few scultures and tombs that said 'damaged during the Reformation' which I thought was funny! Surprisingly though they had a painting of names of significant people like Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, etc. (see photos). All of the photos in this album are of Utrecht.
So this weekend I am actually heading back to London to 'see a West End show'. I really don't care what show it is, I just wanted to go back to London ;) Not that I am not liking Amsterdam; I will explore it more later, I just had flybacks paid for and wasn't going to fly back to Manchester!
