The Netherlands

We had been really looking forward to our eight days in the Netherlands for several reasons: since London, we had been kinda "on the move" every few days for a stretch now, often with lots of site-seeing and scheduled tours and the like (many of which were pretty emotionally heavy), so we were looking forward to settling in for a minute, having some down-time, getting some work done, and generally exploring the area. We didn't have a lot of plans in advance, but the ones we did have included the Anne Frank House, seeing our old friend Donnie, connecting with a more recent student (Austin), a visit to the Van Gogh Museum, and a tour of the Tulip fields on bikes. 

We stayed in the coolest little house in a really neat little neighborhood in Haarlem, which is just next to Amsterdam to the west. The owners had messaged us in advance to ask if we minded looking after their cat, and we were happy we said yes. Their beautiful kitty, Muis, was very loving and relatively independent, and filled some of hole we all have for the pets we so dearly miss back home. The home had been almost completely renovated, and was very comfortable, but was also classic Dutch, as we would come to learn, complete with near vertical stairways that were more like ladders. It also had a nice back sitting area, and a small studio off of the garage. After essentially living in one room for the last couple of weeks, this layout was very welcome. The little garage studio space was one of the first times we've had a space where I could play/ practice guitar without being in everyone else's space, and that was really lovely.

On our first day, we took the bus and the train into Amsterdam to meet up with Donnie; Donnie had been a student of mine at Eagle Rock in Estes Park some 27 years ago, and then became my roommate in Boulder while he was finishing his undergrad and I was working on my doctorate. After traveling around various places, Donnie settled in Amsterdam nearly fifteen years ago to make music and eek a life out for himself in this beautiful country (he now has a three year old son and lives in Amsterdam North). As a huge history buff, one of the things that Donnie did for work over the years was to serve as a tour guide and, while he doesn't do it professionally any longer, he offered to walk us around Amsterdam and show us the sites and share some of his knowledge. Amsterdam, and the Netherlands in general, has an incredibly rich history, and has had much more of an impact on world events than I personally realized. From the start of the stock market to the home of many of the earliest pilgrims and settlers of the US, the Dutch have shaped much of our modern world (did you know New York was originally New Amsterdam, and that Wall Street gets its name from the wall the Dutch pilgrims built to protect their settlement from the English?). Similar to Venice, Amsterdam is a city built on the water and marshlands, with a foundation of thousands and thousands of tree trunks and wooden pilings beneath. The result is also a stunning labyrinth of canals and waterways that run throughout the city and throughout the region. The omnipresent channels of water and the small crafts on them have a calming effect and adds to the uniqueness of the place. One of our first stops was the Oude Kerke, or "The Old Church," which is the oldest building in Amsterdam (originally from the 1200's), and also happens to sit in the heart of the legendary "Red Light District." The area was nothing like what we expected, and was such a culturally different, destigmatizing phenomenon that it spawned many conversations about body autonomy, safety, regulatory practices, and the role of sex workers in various cultures and throughout history. The whole experience was kind of surreal. There was the Old Church, then a shoe store, maybe a pharmacy, then a few "windows," some with red drapes drawn closed, and some open, with a scantily clad woman scrolling her phone, waiting for her next customer. Then a cafe, a bakery, and another set of "windows." It was very understated, everyday, and culturally normalized. There and everywhere else in the city, the "party scene" vibe wasn't as prevalent as I thought it might be, and the city was full of charm, history, and beauty around every corner (admittedly, we didn't spend any nights in Amsterdam proper).

Oh and bikes. Of course, the bikes. The city is just FULL of bikes. For those who don't know, the Netherlands were essentially on the same car-centric trajectory as the US until the early 1970s, when there was massive public outcry against cars and support for investing in more biking infrastructure. The result is that there are literally bikes everywhere. And then there are more bikes. And beneath, behind, next to and on top of those bikes, there are more bikes. There are more bike lanes, bike paths, and bikes on the roads than anywhere I've ever been. Everything was built with bikes in mind. There are traffic lights just for bikes. There are the classic Dutch "black bikes" and there are e-bikes, and gobs and gobs of cargo bikes. There are little kids riding bikes, teenagers going to school or practice on bikes, adults going to work on bikes, and older retirees biking back and forth to the local market. There are bike lanes in the heart of the city centers, and paths out into the rural countryside and to the beachy shores of the North Sea. Bikes. So many bikes. And everyone seemed really happy, healthy, and patient as a result. Drivers of cars weren't impatient when bikes crossed in front of them- instead, they stopped and waved and smiled, because when they got home from work, they were likely going to be hopping on their bikes to head out to the grocery, or the local pub, or to the park to enjoy the rest of their days. Obviously, if you know me, you know I love bikes, but I especially loved everything that they represented here, particularly the values upheld by the people and the government, and the culture that grows from it. No matter how old you are or where you live, there's something childlike and whimsical about riding a bike, and that simple joy seemed to permeate every aspect of life in the Netherlands.

On our walking tour with Donnie, he brought us to the central square by the Royal Palace, which was under renovations during our stay. In the square, we met "The Pigeon Man." I think I've written earlier about Miles's affinity for all things ornithological, and he recently wrote an amazing essay about pigeons, and how their ubiquity helps ground him during our travels. All of that made the Pigeon Man all the more fun and special. Basically, this guy has been in the square every single day for years on end. He brings bags of birdseed with him, and hands it out to tourists for a euro or two, whatever you want to offer. The trick is that he has this flock pretty well trained. He can whistle, and they'll all fly up in the air and land on him or you, or anybody nearby. It's a pretty fun gig. We went by three different times during the week and there were always throngs of people, mostly kids, laughing and hollering and having a great time feeding the birds.  

Throughout the city, there are "rumble stones" in the ground in front of buildings and houses that once belonged to people who were taken from their homes during the Holocaust. Each rumblestone had the name of the person who once owned that home and had it stolen from them, likely on the way to their death. Donnie also brought us to the Holocaust Memorial in Amsterdam, which is made up of bricks with the names of every citizen from the area who was killed in the Holocaust. It was an impressive memorial, and we found the brick with Anne Frank's name on it. The next day, we paid a visit to the "annex": the building where she and her family, along with four others, lived for over two years in hiding while the war raged on outside and thousands of other Dutch Jews were sent off to dismal fates. As I mentioned earlier, we had been listening to "The Diary of a Young Girl" while driving, and the tour of the annex brought it ever more to life. To think what they endured for those years in that tiny space, only to be caught just months before the end of the war was and is hard to fathom. Pictures are not allowed in the Anne Frank house, so none are shared here. 

One of the most anticipated events for our time in the Netherlands (at least for me) was a Tulip Fields Tour by bike. We were in the midst of the Tulip Festival, and the fields all around the area were covered in color. It was a veritable pallet of vivid bright reds, purples, pinks, yellows, and greens, with so much more in between. The bikes were fun to ride from place to place, and the flowers were nothing but gorgeous for as far as one could see. Definitely recommend.

We were fortunate to be in the Netherlands during King's Day, which is kind of like the Fourth of July in the states in that it's a national holiday when they celebrate their nation-hood, but King's Day is always celebrated on the King's birthday (so the day actually changes with successive monarch's, and is also called "Queen's Day" when there is a Queen in the position). Everyone wears orange, basically every house had a Dutch flag with an additional orange strip hangingn out front, and the whole thing is basically a massive garage sale (people can sell just about anything and there's no tax for the buyer or the seller). The festivities really started Friday evening, and we spent it by going to see Donnie's band, the Soul Travelers, playing at this incredibly cool little spot on the docks, which was basically a small community of house-boats, some were bars or restaurants, but most were private boats where people were hosting DJs, bands, or just socializing. We navigated the maze of narrow piers over the water and through boats until we found the spot where the Soul Travelers were playing. We squeezed our way through the people boogying and dancing and joined for a bit. Donnie said he hasn't been as active with his music since having a kid, but he can clearly still hold down a crowd, that's for sure. It was so great to see him perform! Saturday was the actual holiday, and we had decided not to go into Amsterdam for the day, figuring it was just going to be a zoo (we were told the debauchery there really started Friday night and continued on into Saturday - I think there, it's more like an orange St. Patrick's Day); we were really happy we stayed in Haarlem. Just up the street from our place was a carnival, and in the few blocks leading up to the carnival was like a massive block party, but with everyone selling their used gear, or baked goods, or beer, or the use of their bathroom.... At the entrance to where the roads were blocked off, there were hundreds of bikes, and the streets were thick with people walking around shopping, cheerfully chatting up neighbors, all covered in orange, and generally enjoying the beautiful day. We went on through to the carnival, rode a few rides (it was busy, but somehow, the lines were never very long), strolled around, and headed back home through the neighborhood again. Miles, of course, found a small chicken trinket. Everything was pretty quiet again in the neighborhood by maybe 5pm.

Later in the week, we also visited the Van Gogh Museum (Van Gogh was from the Netherlands). We've been to a lot of art museums on this trip, but this was one of the top three in my book. I really like Vincent Van Gogh's work, and witnessing the trajectory of his career as it was portrayed in the museum was really interesting and inspiring. You could really see how his work was influenced by others, and what he was trying to do with complementary colors and varying techniques. I'm a big fan.

What else? We rented bikes and rode out to the beach, which was awesome. This was maybe a 25 minute bike ride from Haarlem- everything is bike-able! We were able to see Donnie again before we left and met his incredibly cute and adorable son, Ismaya, and his partner, Stephanie. It was really fun to see Donnie being a (really cute) dad and loving partner. In a super fun twist, I got to see another one of my previous students in Amsterdam, this one from just a year ago. Austin was in Amsterdam with the Spanish family he has been an au pair for the last two summers (and is going back to be with them again this summer). He flew in to surprise the kids during their spring break, and we were all able to spend the morning together before Austin flew back home (I brought them to the pigeons, which were, again, a huge hit). Similarly to Donnie, it was fun seeing Austin in that role and it's clear each member of that family loves him dearly. 

Overall, I think we all had an amazing time in Haarlem and Amsterdam, and I would go back in a minute. Everyone we met was SUPER nice, seemed very helpful and kind, and didn't seem in too big of a hurry. I had always heard about how great the bike infrastructure was, but until really experiencing how it influenced (and reflected) the culture, it was just conceptual. To experience it was something else, as seeing all of those peolpe riding their bikes around made me happy, and I can't help but think that it makes them happy. Of course, we also had overall beautiful weather, especially for this time of year. Donnie joked that summer was 3 weeks long, and that it's otherwise often cool and often rainy (and yet, still, he hasn't had a car in 13 years).

Unfortunately, our dreamy time in the Netherlands had to come to an end. It was time for us to get out of Dodge, or the Schengen, as it were. We have only 90 days to be in most of Europe, so to make the rest of our plans work, we had planned to be back in the UK for the first half (ish) of May. Back in February, we had secured an 18 day TrustedHouseSitters gig in the Southern Scottish borders, in Peebles, just south of Edinburgh. We had been really looking forward to the time there, but the hosts contacted us while we were in the Netherlands to let us know they might need to cancel (for justifiable reasons), so we pivoted and now have a stay in Cornwall, in southwestern England ("The West Country"), and then have another TrustedHouseSitters gig lined up with three dogs, bikes, beaches, and trails on the northern coast of Somerset County (which is also the name of the street we live on in Golden). Stay tuned!

*Post Script -The Leaning Buildings of Amsterdam: You might notice in some of the pictures that some of the buildings look like they're falling over. They were actually built that way. Because taxes were based on a building's footprint, they maximized space by building up, and most have the insanely steep and narrow stairways, which make it awfully difficult to move furniture in and out, so most of that work is done through the windows. Nearly all of the buildings have huge hooks protruding from the rooftop gables, many with pulley systems hanging from them, all to aid in moving items in and out. Tired of dragging their furniture along the brick edifaces, architects began to intentionally build the front of the buildings with an increasing taper, leaning out over the sidewalks. These days, most moving companies use a fire-truck style extending "lift" to get furniture and large items to and from the windows of the buildings, but the leaning buildings and ubiquitous iron hooks are a cool bit of history.  Of course, just to keep you on your toes, some of the buildings are leaning because of age and shifting land that may or not be sinking just a bit.