(written on 18 April 2013)

The guys in the picture were sitting at the side of the canal, in front of the house as I got home from work. They were part of a group of four guys. It shows a typical young tourist to Amsterdam; laid-back, drinking beer and using a printed sheet to determine which drugs would be worthwhile using. Funny, so many stereotypes in one picture.

Work is a bit of a drag at the moment. Even though I have now officially changed roles, I can't say I'm quite comfortable just yet in my new role. Too many issues still popping up from my old function and also too much unfamiliarity still with my new role. Feeling just a bit lost sometimes, but I'm sure time will mend that. Maybe I just need one of these little plant like things that these guys seem to be having for pleasure today... 

(written on 18 April 2013)

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday you could have fried an egg on the bonnet of any car that had been left in the sun for more than two minutes, and today it was much cooler already. Just a week and a half to go to my Barcelona holiday and so very much looking forward to that, and also a week to go today before Daniel returns to Amsterdam. Not sure yet for how long (he only booked an outbound flight) but it'll be strange to have him in the house again.

For now I'm planning on having a relaxed week. I'll be going to Limburg this weekend, but until then I don't have much planned. I spent the evening editing pictures and surfing the web a bit. Nothing spectacular.

(written on 18 April 2013)

The second day of Hartjesdagen is famous for the fact that many drag queens (and some drag kings) parade on Zeedijk all afternoon. It's usually great to see how so many of them have done so much work to dress up. Nothing is left to chance. All accessories meticulously planned, wigs and dresses as flamboyant as can still be considered legal and sane, and make-up applied with a precision that would make space scientist blush with embarrassment. Today the ladies had a huge challenge to overcome though because with outside temperatures around 37C (100F), many of them were suffering badly from frocks that were way too warm and mascara that was running way too fast. 

Before I went over to Zeedijk, I spent some hours with Alfonso on a canal cruise boat. It really was too hot to do anything really but we hoped that a boat would somehow provide some coolness on the water. No such luck though. Especially because we ended up sitting in the sun and not in the shade. Not cooled down at all, Alfonso returned home to spend his last hours in Amsterdam inside, while I went to Zeedijk to have a look at how the ladies were coping with the heat. I dropped Alfonso off at the station at the end of the afternoon, returned to Zeedijk for a bit still and then went home. The last hours of a scorching weekend.

(written on 18 April 2013)

Amsterdam resembled a sauna today. It was very, very warm from the start of the day till the very last seconds. Tomorrow promises to be an even hotter day so I'm not sure how couchsurfer Alfonso, who was complaining a lot about the stifling heat today already, will be coping then. He's flying to Berlin tomorrow (spoiler alert: it's even hotter there) so it looks like this Spaniard is going to have some difficult days ahead.

Today I spent most of the days with him exploring town. He had signed up for a guided tour originally but somehow had confused the meeting places and so I offered to show him a bit of Amsterdam still. We visited the Begijnenhof and the Schuttersgalerij (Civic Guards Gallery - blissfully air conditioned) and also walked through the streets of the red light district, having lunch sitting at the side of one of the canals while seeing a boat go by with a not so cute guy in a mankini go by. There's a sight I won't easily erase from memory again.

In the afternoon we also spent time on Zeedijk. It's the first day of the annual Hartjesdagen weekend and on the Saturday that means many opera singers performing from first floor windows throughout the street in the entire afternoon. We walked up and down the street, watching a handful of performances and having a great time. Alfonso, like me, is a keen photographer, but unlike me he does have a proper camera - unfortunately it's a Canon though - so he took many pictures all day. Because he processes his pictures drastically, turning them into little works of art (again, unlike me) I can't wait until he posts some of them on his Facebook. We stayed on or near Zeedijk in the evening for food and drinks before returning to my studio which still very much resembled a sauna - even well after midnight.

(written on 18 April 2013)

Well OK, just the one more picture of the first year students going through their initiation rituals then. It's a scary thought that these guys most likely will have influential jobs in our society one day, given their behaviour now, but it's still fun to see. 

With my couchsurfer Alfonso I went out for some food and some drinks in the evening. It was a wonderful summer evening so we mostly drank our drinks outside at the bars on Zeedijk. Amsterdam is warm, nay hot these days. Summer heat is great but it's kind of difficult to cool the house in the evening. In my old place I would just open every window at night and let cool air flow through all rooms. It was a safe and quiet neighbourhood and you never heard a thing outside at night. This place is slightly different. The neighbourhood is still safe but quiet it most definitely is not, and certainly not at night. If I would leave the windows open, then for sure the place would cool down, but I also wouldn't sleep a wink because the noise from outside would keep me awake till 5am at least, when the last remaining drunks get kicked out of the night clubs. So I explained to Alfonso that unfortunately there wasn't much I could do to cool things down. Ah well, he is from Spain so I'm hoping he's just a bit used to summer heat.

(written on 16 April 2013)

And now the male students are back in town. When I got home after work I already heard them sing the song that they also sang during last year's rituals. It goes something like "to the disco! to the disco!" but admittedly I've never been able to make out the exact lyrics. One of the reasons is that usually when I hear the song being sung outside, I rush to grab my camera, put on a zoom lens, and then make my way to the window, hoping to snap a picture like the one above. Sometimes it works, such as with this one. It's a fascinating ritual and I'm not in the least complaining about the male bonding involved. Obviously.

"I booked tickets for my friend Kayleigh and me to come to Amsterdam on 27 August" - a message from Daniel via Facebook. The kid returned to Essex about a month ago but from various chats I'd had with him since, I had noticed that life back home was not really what he wanted. He longed back to Amsterdam, and with University only starting at the end of September, he did indeed have time to come back to Amsterdam. That's fine with me, in fact, I like having him around the house, but I had not expected him to be back so soon. Or with a friend. Nevertheless, it will be great, I'm sure. First there's the upcoming weekend to deal with though and that means a couchsurfer. Spanish Alfonso arrived tonight, eager to get to know Amsterdam. He's a photographer who also loves travelling so there was plenty to chat about. Hopefully he'll have a great time in Amsterdam!

(written on 16 April 2013)

It may look threatening but it wasn't really. Summer in Netherlands always comes with the chance of summer thunderstorms at the end of the afternoon. That's exactly what the picture shows. But the forecast is really good for the upcoming weekend. That's great because it's a party weekend in my part of town with the Hartjesdagen on Zeedijk promising to keep me entertained on Saturday and Sunday. I will also have a couchsurfer arriving tomorrow (staying till Sunday) so it'll be great for him as well. Compared to last year it's been a bit quiet with couchsurfers but that's fine. Daniel already stayed here for close to a month this year so I can't complain about a lack of people staying at my place really.

Other than that I have some trips coming up, including a week in Barcelona, so that's something I'm looking forward to very much indeed. Even though summer in this country has been very disappointing so far (this week being a bit of an exception) I'm sure there won't be a lack of sunshine waiting for me in Catalonia on 30 August. Can't wait!

When I got home tonight, I made sure to leave the house almost immediately again. I headed towards Dam Square where I was about to meet up with my Aunt and Uncle, my cousin Danny, his girlfriend Teresa and her son Ryan, and also my cousin Peggy. The entire family had decided to visit Amsterdam for the day and had asked me if I wanted to meet up with them after work. Sure! We walked from Dam Square to De Bekeerde Suster, the pub on Nieuwmarkt, but not without first inviting everyone to have a look at my tiny studio. Over some nice pub food it was good to catch up again with everyone and after that we headed towards Central Station where I dropped everyone off again. It was great to see them all again after quite a long time.

(written on 16 April 2013)

One of the advantages of living where I live is that it's a very lively neighbourhood. That can be a bit tedious as well, for example when a drunken guy (typically belonging to a herd of British guys in Amsterdam on a stag do) interrupts your sleep by shouting out loud in the street in the middle of the night. All in all, though, it's a real pleasure to have the city centre almost literally at your finger tips. This part of town is also home to many student houses. It's where students may live, or sometimes it's just where their associations are or where they party. This time of the year, at the end of summer holidays, many new students arrive in town to start they studies and they undergo all kinds of wonderful and weird rituals to welcome to student life. They dress weird, they sing songs, they visit each other's student houses... and all of that is combined with drinking almost continuously.

Just up the street from me is a student house for women students and they have one particular song they burst into just about every ten minutes, singing it outside in the street, especially on beautiful days such as today. Then, just up the street in the other direction is a student house for male students and their rituals involve carrying one of theirs on their shoulders through the street while singing the same song over and over again. I've not seen much of them yet, but at least the ladies are there again. This was the group just as they had finished their song (before starting it again not long after.) In anticipation of the guys arriving in their house now...

(written on 16 April 2013)

Yesterday's marvelous weather continued today... but unfortunately I couldn't really benefit from it anymore because of course Monday is now a work day for me again. When I got home I had a lazy night though, and with the windows open, and sitting in my lazy chair it was a relaxed evening still. Nothing much news to report for this summer Monday...

(written on 26 March 2013)

And as predicted, the weather was perfect for a visit to the beach today. There are two beaches in the Netherlands that are particularly easy to reach by public transport. Zandvoort is just west of Haarlem and closest to Amsterdam, so it's the city's favourite destination when the weather is warm enough (like today.) My favourite destination is not Zandvoort though, but rather Scheveningen. That's a part of The Hague. It doesn't take much longer to reach though, and I do prefer the beach there (even if it weren't for the fact that encountering someone from Amsterdam is less likely)

So after my morning coffee and muffin I packed my beach necessities in my backpack and headed to the station. I took a train to The Hague central station. One of the stops on the way is Amsterdam Sloterdijk station. As it pulled into the station it stopped exactly so that my seat offered me a glimpse in the station ticket hall, and to one of the ticket machines in particular. And exactly there stood Val! I could see him from the train and immediately sent him a text (as the train was pulling out of the station again) and he replied soon after that indeed that had been him... and that he was going to the beach as well... and that he was going to go to Zandvoort. Told you! Would have been very nice to spend the day with him actually, but yeah, Scheveningen is just a bit nicer.

Obviously I didn't do much all day except soak up some sunshine. I'll be going to Barcelona in two weeks and a bit so it's nice that I will be able to soak up some sun in advance. In the early evening I walked back to the tram stop from where a tram took me back to The Hague Central Station soon enough. The train to Amsterdam also went quickly and before I knew it, I was home again, after a very nice and relaxed day on the beach. The picture shows Scheveningen Pier, which is actually the only pier in the entire country - quite a contrast with the UK where many coastal places have at least one pier.