Kings Day

Kings Day (formerly known as 'Queens Day') happened in Amsterdam today. We were Kings Day (or Queens Day) virgins. Today changed all that.

The festivities begin on the night before Kings Day, when street parties take place all over Amsterdam. Different areas play different types of music, for example the Jordan may play 80's music and De Pijp, rave music.  People are allowed to trade on market stalls from midnight, so if you stay up late, you might be able to pick up a bargain on the way home. There are also organised club nights, which you can buy tickets in advance to attend.

What does it involve? There is the official monarchy bit, where the King of the Netherlands selects two towns to visit. Large crowds swarm to catch a glimpse of the monarchy and displays of local entertainment are fun to watch. The main events seems to be wearing orange,  (I think the wearing of orange should be classified as an event in this case) selling stuff and partying.

For those less interested in seeing the monarchy on Kings Day from dawn, you'll see people setting up their wares to sell on the pavements. The centre of Amsterdam is closed to traffic, allowing pedestrians and cyclists access to the biggest street market in Europe. The whole of Amsterdam becomes a flee market. You can find different types of purchases in different areas of the city. Vondelpark is reserved for children. The huge park is full of mini market traders, you'll see children uni-cycling, selling homemade lemonade, more toys than you can imagine, performing gymnastics, singing and playing musical instruments. We arrived at a slovenly 9.30am to set up our little stall. The park officially opens at 9am to let traders in, but some jump over the fence to get a good pitch. Venture to Apollolaan and you can find stalls selling homewares.

The party atmosphere is amazing. The main action takes place away from the stalls and along the canals. Sound systems blare out from each street corner with music that makes your inner organs vibrate. The canals are thick with boats. Each boat is crowded with beer-drinking dancing party goers, some so full, passenger can't sit down.  Some boats lilt dangerously as they chug slowly along competing for attention from those watching alongside the canals. Most boats each have their own sound systems, some have explosives, which release thousands of orange tiny orange tissue paper into the sky.  Stall holders here can be seen selling beer and laughing gas, the coffee shops are open and the air is thick with the smell of weed.

The highlight of my day was seeing some Hare Krishnas in Zuid station and selling cakes and balloons on our little stall in Vondelpark.

6 Months In

A cliche, but I can't believe that we've now been living in Amsterdam for 6 months. If I were to put my hand out to metaphorically feel how the weather was and record it at this point, what would I report?

The Start of Mundaneness

Time is being taken up with more of the mundane. Our clothes and possessions which we bought with us on arrival are now not so new. The kids are growing, the seasons are changing, so they need new clothes resulting in shopping trips. Their hair has also grown, so we've been to the hairdressers. Our bikes will need servicing soon. Our 6 month contract on our rented house is due to expire. Should we buy or carry on renting? And what to do with our UK car? Much loved, but it's expensive to pay tax on it here (EUR1,000 p.a) and we could manage with just our bikes. But it is so good to get out of the city and see new places, a bit off the beaten track... decisions, decisions...

6 Months in for a 7 Year Old

Our oldest 'A' is 7 years and has started playing out with other children on the street, now the weather is improving. This is amazing as her confidence is improving and I hope that she will start speaking Dutch with other children soon. She is making friends with other children and is starting to act more herself. In the last fortnight, she decided to go from having long hair to a short bob style and changes her clothes about 5 times a day. Sometimes she wants to dress like a boy, sometimes she wears very smart dresses, and sometimes, very odd combinations of clothes, but I think this is normal for a child her age. The last 6 months have been very tough for A and she misses her friends in London like mad. She is very frustrated that the other children don't understand her. Her journey at two Dutch schools, so far has been difficult for all of us. She frustrates my husband and I and pushes us to our limits as she is bright, but she doesn't believe that she can complete challenging work. I will write another blog later on to describe our school experience here so far.

6 Months in for a 5 Year Old

Our middle son, 'I', is less complicated. He can speak and understand basic Dutch. He doesn't have a little group of best mates, in the same way as he had in London, but the other kids play with him and I think he is slowly being accepted. When he changes classes in September, the class with be shuffled around and I think this will be good for him to form friendships. 

6 Months in for a 2 Year Old

Not forgetting our youngest, 'L', who recently turned 2. He makes friends where ever he goes and says Dutch words intermingled with English words. He doesn't really speak a lot, but he did order himself an 'apple sap' in a restaurant the other day.

6 Months in for a 40 Year Old Mummy / Baby Yoga Teacher

Where to start? OK, so I've stopped crying in the supermarket and at random times. Although, I will admit I cried the other day at school pick up when one of the mums reminded me of one of the mums from the kids previous school in London.  At times, it has been overwhelming. Receiving medical test results in Dutch and having to painfully translate each word to find out if I am in the clear. Getting the hang of the supermarket, you pay before you put your shopping in the bag, you don't get bags, so you need to remember to bring bags, the packing area is divided into two and the check out person will just start processing the next shoppers groceries before you've packed yours away. And at the end of all that, you may be asked if you want a sticker or something or the receipt.

Each week, translating multiple newsletters from the school. I have a few days where life is uneventful and then something goes wrong and I fall apart. Literally, I feel like I'm falling and there is no one to catch me. And when things do go wrong, there is no one there to help pick up the pieces. I hold it together and muster the strength to care for my children and cook the next meal and put the next wash on.  

Somehow, within all this muddle, I have managed to set up my baby yoga teaching business here. It's my one pocket of sanity, where I don't feel stupid and unknowing as I am a baby yoga expert. It is comfortable ground and well trodden ground. I'm only teaching one class a week, but it's something and it gives my life a focus.

I'm also going to start learning Dutch. In all honesty, I'm not looking forward to it. It takes me time to grasp new languages and I don't have a lot of time at the moment. And in my spare time, I would prefer to be doing yoga. But it's important that I learn it as the children's friends only speak Dutch and it won't be long before my children become embarrassed that I don't understand Dutch and can't speak it. 

So have I made friends? Not the sort of friends I had in London, no, with the exception of one person who I new before I arrived. A little group of 10 or so of us from London meet up once a month, which is my sanity. I don't see any mums from school socially, but I'm OK with that, I don't speak Dutch, so it would be awkward. Our neighbours are friendly, which is a blessing and there are a few RBS ex-colleagues around too, and people I knew from my year off 20 years ago. 

On a day to day basis, life is great. My school run takes 10 minutes there and back on a bike. The supermarket is next to the school. It takes me 20 minutes to cycle into the museum quarter, where the Van Gogh museum is. My youngest is as kindergarten 3 mornings a week, so I have some time to myself. The air is cleaner and once you've figured out where to find what you need and how to do things it's a good place to live. But I wouldn't describe it as my home.

Play Areas with More Relaxed Safety Standards

Frankendael park

I went to meet some friends in a park today. It was a park that we'd never been to before. We arranged to meet in the playground. Just as I spotted my friends, my 2 year old ran onto a bridge in the playground. I greeted my friend and that's when I realised my toddler had completly vanished.

We entered the park through this gate as shown in the photo above. I thought if there was a gate like this, then the playground would be enclosed. Can you see the bridge in the background in the photo above? Well, the bridge leads down some stairs and out of the playground to an open field.

It took half an hour to find my toddler. What is the point of enclosing a play area with gates, when they can run out into a field???

Amstel Bos

Then there's this beauty. It looks very attractive and is a lovely idea. A ship wreck for the kids to play on. Only, the back end of it is actually in water. Quite deep water...WTF!!!

Our Local Playground, off Van Boshuizenstraat

It may be difficult to spot, but behind the digger is a children's playground. Up until a few days ago, where the digger is now was a skateboard crater. Last week 15 teenagers were using it as part of a lesson to learn BMX-ing. 

The most amazing thing is, that despite being IN A CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA, there is NO FENCE around the heavy machinery or rubble. I have no words.

Weird Wildlife

I expect to see dogs being walked and was mildly surprised by the number of neighbourhood cats. I was very surprised to see dogs being cycled around and pushed around in buggies and on bikes.

And then. I noticed a flash of green moving in the trees...there are loads of parakeets in Amsterdam. 

You may also notice something blocking the sun for a moment and wonder if it was an airplane flying above and look up...to see a heron. They are beautiful, graceful birds, who I've noticed frequent the same place and sit there watching the world.

Can you spot the heron with her baby, nesting on top of an old chimney?

Colours of a City

I've noticed that when spending time in a city or country, my dreams and sense of a place are affected.

For instance, Barcelona and Sydney filled my dreams with bright colours. 

The sun shone and made everything shine. I noticed more people wearing brightly coloured clothes. My dreams were vibrant and I really noticed the strong colours in my dreams. 

I've lived in Israel, where the colours seemed more dessert like, mustard, orange and olive. 

The colours in Thailand were those of a jungle, greys, dark greens, browns and yellows.

So, what about Amsterdam? 

I think this wonderful painting by Jozef Israeli's of three ragged-looking children on the beach captures the colours of Amsterdam.

What's on the High Street

It took me a while to appreciate the differences between a shopping street in UK and a shopping street in Amsterdam. 

Typical Shops	London	Amsterdam
Betting Shops	High Frequency	N/a
Charity Shop	High Frequency	n/a
Off licence (beer, wine and cigarettes)	Medium Frequency	Low Frequency
Retail parks	Medium Frequency	n/a
Specialist food shops, e.g. good quality cheese, bread, meat	Low Frequency	High Frequency
Pound shops	High frequency	Low frequency
Book shops	Medium frequency	Medium frequency

Anne Watches Over the City

Photo Montage: Michel Dankaarts, LBi Lost Boys 

© Anne Frank House© Anne Frank House / Anne Frank Fonds

What is it like to be Jewish in Amsterdam?

To live in a city which has seen so much sadness and so many atrocities. To tred on the streets where others who had their lives cut-short, walked. To meet people whose parents parents only survived because they hid, often separated from their siblings and parents at a very young age, some of them never meeting their parents or siblings again. My children play with the grandchildren of those survivors. 

Anne Watches Over Amsterdam

There are constant reminders of the past. By Central Station, there is a large poster promoting 'Anne Frank - the musical' (see above photo). Anne looks down, smiling over the Amstel, towards the city.  The Dutch place great emphasis on being the same as everyone else. There is a Dutch expression, that in a field of wheat, if a sheaf sticks his head up above the others, it will be cut down. It is not good to be different. So, being Jewish is often a discrete activity here. The boys in my children's school only put on their kippot in the classroom. There are no outward signs that we are different once we are in public, outside of the school. The Jewish school is frowned upon by many Dutch people. 'Why do they need their own school?'.  Conversely, I've found the Jewish school a less racist and a more culturally open and accepting place than the Christian school my children attended previously.  I am very happy that my children are learning about Jewish festivals, such as the festival of Trees (Tubishvat) and not about Zwarte Piet.  I also feel strongly that we should each know our own identity and be strong and comfortable with it. If we were all the same, the world would be a dull shade of grey. I prefer my world to be full of different colours.  

Before 1939, 1 in 10 people living in Amsterdam was Jewish. 

There aren't very many Jewish people living in Amsterdam in comparison to London. It is painful to think how many people could have been living here if it wasn't for the Holocaust. 

There were 75,000 Jewish people living in Amsterdam before the Holocaust. See Holocaust.  Now there are approximately 12,000 Jewish people living in Amsterdam. It feels good to be one of those 12,000 and to stand up and be counted.

The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam

I visited the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. Gone were the gold leather wall coverings, stolen by the Nazi's. There are lockers under the benches in the synagogue. Each synagogue member had their own locker in the bench with a key. After the war, many of the lockers remained locked as no-one had the keys when their owners did not return after the war. The population of the synagogue was so diminished, the post-war congregants moved to a small room and locked up this large synagogue.  Today, the synagogue feels more like a museum and less like an active place of worship.

"Only a small percentage of the Jews in Amsterdam survived the Holocaust and returned from camps and their places of hiding to their city, also known in Holland as Mokum (Hebrew for city). The community’s great synagogue-complex (now home to the Jewish Historical Museum) remained empty and had to be exchanged for smaller place of worship outside the city center."