The weather in Amsterdam has been getting warmer and warmer over the last week or so, and I feel fairly comfortable saying that Spring is here. Flowers are blooming, the breeze feels a little warmer, there's a pleasant smell of new growth on the air and everywhere previously grey spaces are becoming green.
To make the most of this, Jason and I have started going for walks in the evening, exploring the twists, turns and small neighborhood squares in our area. In accordance with Spring, the sounds of birds are everywhere although this unfortunately can take the sound of pigeons. Last night, though, we came across a sight that was entirely new to me.
I'd heard, of course, stories of how wild parakeets and parrots are major inhabitants of most major cities, but had always thought it was an urban myth. I'd never imagined that in addition to escaped pet birds, though, that there could be a community of escaped chickens and roosters out and about. And yet, on our way home, there they were; a tree full of chickens, and a few roosters wandering around on the ground.
City girl that I am, I'm inclined to think it's cooler than the wild parakeets. Parakeets I've seen, but I can probably count on one hand the times I've seen a rooster up close and personal.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
There's a first time for everything
I grew up in one of the Northernmost cities in Canada, so it's a bit of an understatement to say that I've experienced my share of snowfalls. I thought I'd seen it all. Not much about snow that is gonna phase me, no sir.
I was wrong. It's been snowing a lot in Amsterdam over the last week or so. In what seems to be a sort of rotational schedule of twenty minute increments, it is either hailing, the sky is a beautiful clear blue, ominous grey or pouring out huge fluffy storybook snowflakes; neither the hail nor the snowflakes stay on the ground but rather melt right away.
It was during one of the soft, fluffy, pretty snowflake moments when it happened. There was thunder. Thunder and snow. Crazy. I still can't wrap my mind around it.
I was wrong. It's been snowing a lot in Amsterdam over the last week or so. In what seems to be a sort of rotational schedule of twenty minute increments, it is either hailing, the sky is a beautiful clear blue, ominous grey or pouring out huge fluffy storybook snowflakes; neither the hail nor the snowflakes stay on the ground but rather melt right away.
It was during one of the soft, fluffy, pretty snowflake moments when it happened. There was thunder. Thunder and snow. Crazy. I still can't wrap my mind around it.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
OCD Showdown
I'm from Canada, so you know that I'm used to the weather being a topic of concern, conversation and consternation. I can remember snow in July, and t-shirt weather in March. You just never know which extreme is around the corner from moment to moment, and as such, it's a force of nature that everyone pays close attention to.
In contrast, the Netherlands has one of two conditions : windy, cloudy and rainy, or just cloudy and windy. Either which, in a nation where biking and walking is at least as common as driving, makes it perhaps even more imperative to know, at any given moment, what the weather is likely to be doing on your commute to and from work, your walk to the grocery store or a casual stroll.
On any given day, in my parents home, at any given time, you can find the Weather Network on the television. The Dutch have taken this even further. At Buienradar, you can find a real time map which shows exactly where rain clouds are over the country and then click on links that will show you, in five minute increments, where it will be raining for the next two hours. Beat that, Weather Network!
In contrast, the Netherlands has one of two conditions : windy, cloudy and rainy, or just cloudy and windy. Either which, in a nation where biking and walking is at least as common as driving, makes it perhaps even more imperative to know, at any given moment, what the weather is likely to be doing on your commute to and from work, your walk to the grocery store or a casual stroll.
On any given day, in my parents home, at any given time, you can find the Weather Network on the television. The Dutch have taken this even further. At Buienradar, you can find a real time map which shows exactly where rain clouds are over the country and then click on links that will show you, in five minute increments, where it will be raining for the next two hours. Beat that, Weather Network!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Simple pleasures
This weekend was a wonderful confluence of almost everything I love in life (beloved friends and family across great bodies of water not included, unfortunately). Friday night found us out in Haarlem to catch the Dutch band Voicst put on a show in their home-town, full of crowd-pleasing antics such as local kids playing backup on the horn section, crowd surfing in a dinghy, a quiet sit-down section (not my favorite part - the floor was dirty...ewww), caped roadies...while the word over-compensation might come to mind, the antics were certainly fun to watch.
Saturday, we went to the local garden centre; a place quickly becoming my favorite part of Amsterdam. It smells pretty, it looks pretty, we get to buy fun things like plants and plant holders and soil, and it's only a short 5 minute ride away. The rest of the day was short because we had to be at the Paradiso by 6 pm to catch Islands, a Montreal band. I wasn't as familiar with them before the show as Jason was, but I have to say that I really enjoyed them. Anytime watching a band inspires me to rush home and learn an instrument, I consider it a great show, and Islands had me wishing I had stuck with the violin back in grade three.
From there, it was a quick hop down to the big room to catch two openers and then Band of Horses. Unfortunately, they did not inspire me to learn an instrument and become a rock star. Mostly, they made me realize that I have to accept the fact that I'm getting old, and that I need to start wearing practical shoes. Four and a half hours of rocking out was almost too much for my antiquated back, feet, eyes and lungs.
Sunday, we were up early and off to explore the city. It was sunny and cool, the biking and walking around was a nice remedy for my stiff old back. We saw a part of the city that I hadn't been in much, had a delicious Greek lunch (mmmm, tzatziki) and then went home to watch a Wire marathon fueled by pancakes and popcorn.
So, to recap, my weekend consisted of:
-5 bands,
-a garden centre
-walking
-biking
-sunshine
-pancakes
-popcorn
-The Wire
Throw in great company to share it with, and I really can't think of better weekend.
Saturday, we went to the local garden centre; a place quickly becoming my favorite part of Amsterdam. It smells pretty, it looks pretty, we get to buy fun things like plants and plant holders and soil, and it's only a short 5 minute ride away. The rest of the day was short because we had to be at the Paradiso by 6 pm to catch Islands, a Montreal band. I wasn't as familiar with them before the show as Jason was, but I have to say that I really enjoyed them. Anytime watching a band inspires me to rush home and learn an instrument, I consider it a great show, and Islands had me wishing I had stuck with the violin back in grade three.
From there, it was a quick hop down to the big room to catch two openers and then Band of Horses. Unfortunately, they did not inspire me to learn an instrument and become a rock star. Mostly, they made me realize that I have to accept the fact that I'm getting old, and that I need to start wearing practical shoes. Four and a half hours of rocking out was almost too much for my antiquated back, feet, eyes and lungs.
Sunday, we were up early and off to explore the city. It was sunny and cool, the biking and walking around was a nice remedy for my stiff old back. We saw a part of the city that I hadn't been in much, had a delicious Greek lunch (mmmm, tzatziki) and then went home to watch a Wire marathon fueled by pancakes and popcorn.
So, to recap, my weekend consisted of:
-5 bands,
-a garden centre
-walking
-biking
-sunshine
-pancakes
-popcorn
-The Wire
Throw in great company to share it with, and I really can't think of better weekend.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Where was his mind?
Yesterday, I saw Frank Black play a small acoustic set in a graveyard. From what I can glean from his website, encores rub him the wrong way; they've been reduced to an forced intermission rather than what it was originally, an acknowledgment between audience and performer that something special was rewarded with more of the same. To counter this, he's been playing 'precores' on his European tour. He's been announcing a street location in each city and playing a few songs acoustically for anyone on the ball enough to know about it and show up.
Someone from Jason's work was, in fact, on the ball. I got a call about it around 2pm and by 4:30, you could find seven of us biking our way out to find the grave of Herman Brood.
It seems that Frank Black is a big Brood fan, and the grave seemed like an appropriate place to do the Amsterdam precore. He showed up on time, toasted a glass of Grand Marnier to Brood and then proceeded to play a lovely acoustic set. The audience was small; maybe only thirty people, the setting was beautiful and tranquil and it was touching.
With respect to Frank Black though, who played an absolutely beautiful set, was charming, personable and warm, the show was stolen by the uber-fan in the dad sweater. He managed to restrain himself through the most of the show, allowing the rest of us to focus on what we were there to see. By the last song though, I can only guess, but he must have been feeling the pull of Frank Black, and the crunch of time because he stepped out of the crowd, stood almost directly to Frank's left side, and then had his daughter (or what I certainly hope was his daughter) take several photos of him looking very much like he was a part of the show. Needless to say, what had been a quiet, respectful acoustic tribute became one of those moments where you concentrate very hard on not laughing out loud. Well done, dude. Well done.
Someone from Jason's work was, in fact, on the ball. I got a call about it around 2pm and by 4:30, you could find seven of us biking our way out to find the grave of Herman Brood.
It seems that Frank Black is a big Brood fan, and the grave seemed like an appropriate place to do the Amsterdam precore. He showed up on time, toasted a glass of Grand Marnier to Brood and then proceeded to play a lovely acoustic set. The audience was small; maybe only thirty people, the setting was beautiful and tranquil and it was touching.
With respect to Frank Black though, who played an absolutely beautiful set, was charming, personable and warm, the show was stolen by the uber-fan in the dad sweater. He managed to restrain himself through the most of the show, allowing the rest of us to focus on what we were there to see. By the last song though, I can only guess, but he must have been feeling the pull of Frank Black, and the crunch of time because he stepped out of the crowd, stood almost directly to Frank's left side, and then had his daughter (or what I certainly hope was his daughter) take several photos of him looking very much like he was a part of the show. Needless to say, what had been a quiet, respectful acoustic tribute became one of those moments where you concentrate very hard on not laughing out loud. Well done, dude. Well done.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Like a rolling stone
After a long, long, long hiatus, I've decided to start updating my blog again.
To catch up all of my 2 remaining readers....
-I left China in mid-December. We tried to make it work. We really did. We left on amicable terms, but ultimately, it wasn't meant to be.
-I spent a whirlwind month at home over the Christmas holidays catching up on all kinds of paperwork and not managing to see anyone that I was supposed to. If you are one of those people, I apologize.
-I arrived in Amsterdam in mid-January to join my partner, Jason. Unlike China, I think the Netherlands and I have a chance. My first hint was that there is cheese here. Lots of cheese. Everywhere.
-I have spent the last month acclimatizing, and have now settled into looking for jobs (Canadian jobs of the work from home, contract variety) and trying to teach myself Dutch).
Naturally, this means I'm at home, in front of the computer quite a bit. Keep an eye on this space, there'll be more of this heading the way of the interweb on a semi-regular basis.
To catch up all of my 2 remaining readers....
-I left China in mid-December. We tried to make it work. We really did. We left on amicable terms, but ultimately, it wasn't meant to be.
-I spent a whirlwind month at home over the Christmas holidays catching up on all kinds of paperwork and not managing to see anyone that I was supposed to. If you are one of those people, I apologize.
-I arrived in Amsterdam in mid-January to join my partner, Jason. Unlike China, I think the Netherlands and I have a chance. My first hint was that there is cheese here. Lots of cheese. Everywhere.
-I have spent the last month acclimatizing, and have now settled into looking for jobs (Canadian jobs of the work from home, contract variety) and trying to teach myself Dutch).
Naturally, this means I'm at home, in front of the computer quite a bit. Keep an eye on this space, there'll be more of this heading the way of the interweb on a semi-regular basis.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Housekeeping
I'm not sure if anyone but me actually cares but I've managed to get my holiday pictures up onto Flickr. I took three memory cards (512 mb each), and managed to lose the first one, which is a bit heartbreaking. Anyway, should you be interested in seeing the a few pictures of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, feel free to check them out here.
Oh, and I've added a few from Shenyang.
Oh, and I've added a few from Shenyang.
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