Holland Trip Report

Summer 2009

 

 

Date: August 11 - 12, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today is gonna be a long one…

 

(above) Pre-dawn…Gold Coast Airport, Eastern Australia…We originally planned to drive from here back to Sydney, at best a 12 hour drive… We would have had one day to do it…Common sense suggested we fly instead…The cost to do that was less than the fuel, meals, road tolls, etc. that driving would have cost…Plus, by flying we get to look at the Ozzie version of SkyMall magazine…

 

(above) Every day should have a solid breakfast as it’s foundation…Brekky Wrap and Espresso! From Hungry Jack’s the Australia version of Burger King…

 

(above) We had a few hours in Sydney before our flight to Malaysia, so me and the Little Woman had an early afternoon beverage to ready ourselves for 8 hours of seat time…

 

(above) With the merlot I had a $12 burger and Pam had the less expensive Fish and Chips option…

 

(above) Sydney had some rain, the first we saw since we got here three weeks ago…A lucky steak I reckon…

 

Our flight up across Australia revealed the truth that Australia really had nothing but dry land and an very occasional dirt track (hardy what I would call a road) cutting through it…Billions of completely untouched by humanity acres… Almost like an empty sea, but it is earth…Desolate is the word…

 

(above) Back on the ground, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia…Spitting distance from the Equator, and it felt like it…The air wraps around you like a hot damp sweater…Even inside this gigantonormous terminal it felt thick…

 

(above) You spit, they cane you…

 

From Malaysia, we had a 12 hour flight to London…Uneventful red-eye flight…Slept most of the way…Still, sleeping 12 hours semi-upright is not real rest, just a battery top off…

 

(above) We landed in London Heathrow, then had to take the London Underground trains to London City Airport…Basically a full cross town trip, with our bags, and a super tight time to do it…I snapped this of Pam while waiting to buy the train tickets…

 

(above) Pam trying to figure out where our three, get off the train transfers happen…

 

(above) Clarity = happiness…

 

(above) London subway…

 

(above) At one of the in-line stops, the background tube poster was too good a photo op to pass up…Pam was clueless, which made it even better…

 

(above) Waiting for the final link to the London City Airport…Stress was near the boiling point in both of us…Time was not on our side…The delay going through Security where they made sure my deodorant was not explosive (true) slowed us down enough that we had the distinction of being the last ones on the plane…Sitting in and belted up felt amazing…We made all our connections, no problemo…

 

(above) Landing in Amsterdam, we were confronted with the reality here of train travel…It all links together…Figuring it out is a whole story unto itself…

 

We FINALLY found our way to our hotel, only to be told that the room keys were missing (another story unto itself), but the hotel down the street and over the canal had space for us, and there would be no up-charge for the upgraded accommodations…We EVENTUALLY found it and are well pleased…More on this place later…

 

(above) Local beers to celebrate one of the best days of our life…I’ve learned to look at everyday this way, believe me when I say that you should too…

 

 

 

 

 

Date: August 13, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today = Amsterdam on foot…

 

(above) But first a quick view from our hotel window…

 

(above) Downstairs is where breakfast is served…A 300 year old building with a 50’s style café…So Amsterdam…

 

(above) Plenty of classic wall mounted jukeboxes…

 

(above) Seems in place here…

 

(above) Another juke box and an eclectic mix of record covers…

 

(above) Stones and Sinatra, my kind of place…

 

(above) Put another nickel in the Wurlitzer…

 

(above)Oh, we ate there too…

 

(above) Hand rolled and forgotten…

 

(above) Steep stairs lead up to the rooms…No, that is not Pam…

 

(above) Home for a few days…

 

(above) Finally on the street…Amsterdam has almost as many canals as streets…Houseboats literally line some of the canals…

 

(above) Bikes are EVERYWHERE…

 

(above) We wandered into a street market…Spot the one with a pulse…???...

 

(above) Euro style shade circa early August 2009…Likely to be different in a month…

 

(above) Holland = flowers…

 

(above) Creepy statue, eh..???...

 

(above) Man on a ladder reeling in an imaginary fish…

 

(above) Taking notes on euro style yet…???...

 

(above) Fortunately these fashions don’t cost an arm and a leg…

 

(above) Say “cheese”….

 

(above) The Obama family tote bag…Let me know if you need one…

 

(above) No idea what this is…Cool eyebrows though…

 

(above) Fresh squeezed…

 

(above) One gnarly wheelchair for Mr. Pumpkin…

 

(above) Mo bikes…

 

(above) The canals each have a different vibe…

 

(above) This one was pretty tranquil…

 

(above) The old brewery…

 

(above) A kid mover…Put a few up front and start pedaling…Seen heaps of these with the tikes just having a great time up front…

 

(above) A variation on the same theme…

 

(above) Straight on utility bike…Heaps of these too…

 

(above) A place for the kids to play…

 

(above) Pam and I spent a few hours in here… Pretty cool stuff…

 

(above) Inspired by the oils on the canvases inside, I stepped outside of the museum and snapped the sky…Where did I leave my beret…???...

 

(above) View through a shade screen…Artful, no…???...Who asked you anyway…???...

 

(above) Back on the street…Trash bin…

 

(above) Who needs a car…???...

 

(above) Classic Amsterdam street…

 

(above) In a park, a statue (I think) of how politics worldwide are measured…

 

(above) We brought sandwiches and….

 

(above) …a mini bottle to split…A beautiful, warm, pleasant day, just enjoying it all…

 

(above) This guy was as out there as he looks…Smoking some shit from a flat piece of aluminum foil and a glass tube…

 

(above)  Beggar birds…

 

(above) This park was pretty big and had a lot to offer…

 

(above) Canal side café…

 

(above) Outside the park, a church with a great roof…This is just a detail…

 

 

(above) Great day to weird out your hair…Smile…

 

(above) This “car” was cruising the street, then it jut got on the sidewalk and cruised along…

 

(above) Not feeling homesick yet…

 

(above) We stopped in here for a cup of coffee…

 

(above) Basic black with an ashtray…

 

(above) Antique coffee grinders covered the wall…

(above) The regulars played cards, smoked cigs and drank coffee…The ceiling is painted white with 35 years of nicotine adding to the ‘ambience’…

 

 

(above)

 

(above) Living large…

 

(above) The Dutch have a reputation for being “honest”…

 

(above) Street posters…

 

(above) Not organic…

 

(above) Not sure if this is trailer trash or upscale…

 

(above) Looks solid, eh…???...

 

(above) One of the nicer cruising barges we saw…

 

(above) Bumper detail…

 

(above) Symbolic bike details…I’m sure it is along story…Drugs might be involved…

 

 

 

(above) Bird nest in a floating tire…That’s sad…

 

(above) Check out the skinny building…

 

(above) We went in here and talked to both of them…Together they do fluorescent “paintings’ that pretty much need to be seen with a black light…They have an “interactive basement museum” that we chose not to go down and see…He is also one of the foremost Jimi Hendrix experts alive, or at least still cogent…Right on, right on, right on…

 

(above) Another form of bike…

 

(above) This was a disappointment…The Anne Franke house…What probably used to be so authentic, has this modern façade that is a total turn off… Add to that, the uber long line…Cash or plastic, keep ‘em coming through…Step right up…

 

(above) Next to the AF house is a huge church…The centuries old door hook…

 

 

 

(above) Mid afternoon, Amsterdam central…

 

(above) Looking down another street…

 

(above) MB, this for you…

 

(above) A really cool aluminum river boat…

 

(above)  One next to it…

 

(above) Hey, Jeff, want one…

 

 

 

 

 

 

(above) One of the things Amsterdam is famous for…

 

 

(above) Sitting in a restaurant, looking out the window…The cook takes a break…

 

(above) Dread mon #1…

 

(above) Dread mon #2…

 

(above) Dread mon #3…

 

(above) …

 

 

(above) A pretty big flat barge…

 

(above) Pam says this is a heron…

 

(above) This place could pass for Venice…

 

(above) The shoes are chained…as if someone was going to run away in them…Realllly…

 

 (above) Back in front of our hotel after eleven hours on the street…This houseboat is a throwback to the 70’s…Rock on…

 

  

Date: August 14, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today = Amsterdam on bikes…

 

(above) Why bikes…???...After yesterday, as good as it was, we realized the Dutch are bikees, and when in ‘dam, do as the ‘dammers do…

 

(above) Bike rental shops are plentiful…There are three more within a ½ km…

 

(above) Mac Bikes are the red ones…Single speed, coaster brakes or three speeds, hand brakes…We went with the three speeds…24 hrs for 10 euro…Deal…

 

(above) Pam gets her bike geek on…

 

(above) We rolled out and soon enough were cruising up and down the canals…

 

(above) This house boat had its own floating park / garden next to it…

 

(above) In their day these were all working boats…

 

(above) The time they now spend cruising is virtually nil, but their place on the water is secure for a long, long time…

 

(above) A couple cool stools hewn from a log…

 

 

(above) “Where did you leave it…???...”

 

(above) We came across another street market… This place had these mannequins molded after the back-up singers to the disco queen Donna Summer…I know these things…

 

(above) Yessiree, this is the peanut deliver vehicle to the moving picture theatres…Dream job to drive that thing…Comes with a matching hat…

 

(above) Back on the canals…One streamlined roof on that one…Could you imagine that being your home…Not small by any measure…

 

(above) This canal had a bunch of the long ones lining the shore…

 

(above) We rode on and waited at a draw bridge while this barge boat pushed its barge forward…The prop threw a sturdy looking wash…

 

(above) We rolled into an area kind of on the outskirts of the city…It used to be the “ gas factories”, whatever that means…The buildings were recently renovated and had a cool, hip feel to them…

 

(above) We had coffee outside this one…

 

(above) This cart was in front of another renovated brick building, now a “nomadic restaurant”…I can still smell the onions and garlic…

 

(above) Same area, big park…

 

(above) Old factories recently converted to high euro studios… Definitely upscale…

 

(above) Back on the canal…The rope bumper thing is big…

 

(above) Another vehicle painted in urban camouflage…Blends right in, eh…???...

 

(above) Another canal, another big house boat…There is a lady on the deck doing her laundry…Look close…Give it a sense of scale…

 

(above) The Dutch system is pretty loose with regards to helping those who ask for help…I get the sense a lot of these societal outcast boat dwellers are cashing government checks…

 

(above) Not all houseboats are created equal…Watch that first step off the porch…

 

(above) Looking for a place to eat, we found this view of a big ol’ church…

 

(above) After locking the bikes we wandered into an Argentine Steak place for a late lunch / early dinner… Yeah, those 8% Guinness went down easy…

 

(above) Fresh briquettes were fed to the existing embers to cook our meal…

 

(above) Mine… Pork steak, salad and fries…Way better than average…

 

(above) After our meal, it was back on the street...This rickshaw type ride was a classic…The replacement pedal are blocks of wood…Big style points for that…

 

(above) Kind of says all you need to know…

 

(above) Count the bikes on the rails…

 

(above) This houseboat has a deck and side walls of tiles, mirrors and shells…Funky groovy….

 

(above) In between the bikes and the boats there are a few of these oversize ducks…

 

(above) More hook than required for a canal I’m thinking…

 

(above) Hey man, if you like had like a black light flashlight, this reflection would be “really, really far out man”…

 

(above) Back to reality…A replica ship fits in fine out here on this side of town…

 

(above) It is a pretty cool addition to the area…

 

(above) Would be cool to see it out with all the sails filled…

 

(above) The green thing behind it is a museum type thing…

 

(above) Pedaling on we came to this building exhibiting evidence of fresh wrecking ball play…

 

(above) For Ann J: This is the Amsterdam public library on the waterfront…

 

(above) They say that Amsterdam is built on pilings…This crew is setting wood poles as the first step in building something new…

 

 

(above) The crane lifts a wood pole from a barge, then swings it over the water near to where they want it and lowers it into the water…

 

(above) This guy holds that new pole tight with a rope to the last pole they placed…

 

 

(above) The crane then switches heads and puts this pile driver on…It then locks onto the new pole, lifts the pole up. Moves it to exactly where they want it, then it jackhammers it into place…The setting of each pole, from the time they pick one up from the barge to the time they stop the hammering is about ten minutes…Very fast, very impressive…

 

 

 

 

 

 

(above) Probably a couple days work...

 

(above) We rolled on into a busy city square where this juggler did some ok juggling, but gave a fantastic verbal show, drawing big crowd who he kept laughing…

 

(above) Late in the afternoon, along another canal…The old and the new…

 

(above) Most of Amsterdam is in great shape, these steps aren’t…

 

All day we rode through a lot of busy areas at a busy times…On bikes it feels very much like being part of a school of fish...Huge numbers moving independently at different speeds and directions yet no contact…No one wears helmets, even the bike police…Out of the thousands and thousands of people we have seen on bikes in the past two days I have yet to see anyone collide or fall…Very surreal being a part of it all…

 

 

 

Date: August 15, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today = Amsterdam countryside bike tour…

 

(above) It was nice to find our rental bikes where we left them last night…We rode off and returned them, then did a bit of walking until it was time to join a bike tour of the countryside…

 

(above) Inside a better hotel…Ceiling light…

 

(above) Guinness: The right choice for every meal…

 

(above) My friend Tom Burns wrote wanting to see some of the seedier sides of the city…Tom, these are for you…

 

(above) Residential street…Not a big deal at all here…

 

(above) I think it means cash or plastic…

 

(above) At one time, a long time ago, the buildings were level…

 

(above) Pretty rare to see modern in these older streets…

 

 

 

 

 

(above) The obligatory morning canal shot…

 

(above) After I took that canal shot, this guy comes walking over the bridge talking loudly to one of the other voices in his head…He was on the other side of the bridge…He then came over, got as close as you see here, so I took his picture…He was not happy about that…Shouted randomly about stealing souls, etc…I said “Hey man, you crossed the bridge to get this close to me and you invaded my space. In my space I take pictures…” He ranted on with all three of his teeth chattering incomprehensively… (Tom, again this one is for you…)

 

(above) Tom, this store sells things children should not see…

 

(above) …As in DRUGS…???...

 

(above) We made it to the bike tour shop, where we found this guy and his “wingmen” out for the day…Tutu boy is on his bachelor party…

 

(above) Our group lined up awaiting the signal to go…

 

(above) Out of the city and into the country…

(above) Shot this while riding…Lucky shot…

 

(above) The canals see a lot of mixed use…Plenty of fisherpeople, pleasure boaters, rowers, etc…

 

(above) Our group stopped at one of the few remaining old windmills…

 

(above) I wandered away from the group picture area and got the better perspective…

 

(above) 26 years married and still going strong…

 

(above) Bigger houses are out in the country…

 

(above) Stag and one of the Wingmen…

 

(above) We stopped here…

 

(above) Cheese farm and wooden shoe factory…

 

(above) Looks interesting inside…

 

(above) Relics collecting dust…

 

(above)How they cut out the inside of the shoes…Takes less than a minute each…

 

(above) Drying out the green wood…

 

(above) This one just needs the tip shaped…

 

(above) How great great grandpa did it…

 

(above) They had these cheeses for sale…

 

(above)  So we bought some and had a party…

 

 

(above) Back on the bike trail…

 

(above) Postcard living…

 

(above) Modern living…

 

(above) Holland countryside…

 

(above) The day was perfect, warm with a steady warm wind…

 

(above) The bike path…

 

(above) We returned to Amsterdam…This park had a big kid’s pool…No fence, no problems…

 

(above) Same park…

 

(above) Again, the same park…Olympic class rowing center…

 

(above) Along the bike path, we came across this office building…

 

We finished our bike tour then hit the streets walking…

 

(above) Near the city center, another park, warm Saturday afternoon…

 

(above) The cafes were all buzzing…

 

(above) Amsterdam lives outside in the summer…

 

(above) New bikes in more colors than black or red…

 

(above) THAT, is a bike seat…

 

(above) This is what a bike bell looks like if the cover has rusted off…

 

(above) Coffeeshop means smokeshop…Get down…

 

(above) Iconic Amsterdam sign…Read into it what you want…

 

 

 

 

 

(above) On one of the quieter streets, the ivy obscures what the building is made of…

 

(above) Bikes everywhere…

 

(above) The canals are pretty shallow…More than a few boats resting on the bottom…The canals have thousands and thousands of bikes in them too…

 

(above) One down, one to go…

 

(above) Retro groovy river boat…

 

(above) Modern aluminum…Super cool…

 

(above) We had our early dinner at an Italian street café…The wind was so strong the lettuce was flying off the plate…No matter, the warm wind felt great…

 

(above) Jake and Elwood live…

 

(above) This guy is crazy…Really…Clubfoot in an electric cart…Going too fast, zigzagging down the street, every zig is on two wheels…A local legend…

 

(above) We heard loud rap music and found this break dancing competition…

 

(above) These guys were GOOOOD…!!!...

 

(above) REALLY GOOOOD…!!!...

 

(above) Wandering back to our hotel…No doubt what they sell here…

 

(above) This place only a dozen staggering steps from our hotel…

 

(above) What happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam…

 

 

 

 

Date: August 16, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today we have a light agenda, a museum then we wander…

 

(above) After breakfast…Out on the street….One could look at Amsterdam as the biggest “free” bike parts store in the world…

 

(above) On our way to the museum, we walked into a street art show…These experienced hands were getting started on a clay sculpture…

 

(above) The street where the artists were displaying had this entertainment venue…Old school…

 

(above) A couple doors down was this place…

 

(above) Walking on, turning a corner, we happened by here again…My turn…

 

 (above) Sunday is a day for the bigger street markets to fill the sidewalks and alleys…This row is all old books…Probably a hundred stalls…

 

(above) Book geeks would be in heaven…So much selection, so many languages, every genre you can think of…

 

(above) After buying a couple books, we arrived at the museum…On display was a huge exhibit from Russia on 18th & 19th century royal Russian court life…Opulent to the extreme… Three hour museum…Pam was totally into every aspect of it…I liked it, but not nearly as much as Pam did…Go figure…

 

(above) From the museum, we went to a botanical park…

 

(above) I like my macro lens…

 

(above) I like it a lot…

 

(above) Lots of variety, stuff we both have never seen…

 

(above) Ouch…

 

(above) One of those huge water plants that kids can use as a raft…

 

(above) They had a butterfly house with thousands of these things in there…

 

(above) After the garden we sat for some coffee…While waiting Pam gets her camera out and has some fun…

 

(above) Shooting through the Dutch version of Tupperware…

 

(above) We walked along a canal with little bike parking available…

 

(above) Turn a corner and we are suddenly in the middle of this…

 

(above) Yeah, this…For about a century, this day is the day where cross dressing is the thing to do…Once a year, today is that day…

 

(above) Things are not what they seem…

 

(above) Too much time and imagination…

 

(above)  Big night out…

 

(above) No idea what those pictures represent…

 

(above) The music was loud, the vibe was festive…It was so “Hey, look at me!”

 

(above) “Hey sailor, new in town?”

 

(above) Don’t ask about the hose…

 

(above) I think these guys dress like this every day…

 

(above) They look way to comfortable for it to be just costumes…

 

(above) Once a year and we wander into it…

 

(above) This was pretty cute…

 

(above) I think he rides a bike a lot…

(above) …what else could explain those legs…???...

 

(above) Everyone was just so glad to be there and having fun…

 

(above) From an upper window, Jimi reflects on it all…

 

(above) They had a stage set up, and some “guy” was singing “Thriller”…The evening was just getting started…

 

(above) We turned a corner looking for some place to eat and saw the police on patrol…

 

(above) We then realized we were now in “the district”…

 

(above) One of Amsterdam’s most famous places…

 

 

(above) From The HMH Museum…

 

(above) …to the live shows and more…

 

(above) If you want something “different”, this is where it is and it is all legal, and it seems to work just fine…Nothing I need, but it has met the needs of millions for a very, very long time…

 

(above) Reported to be the place to get the best seeds if you grow that stuff…

 

(above) We saw enough to satisfy our curiosity, then kept looking for a place to eat…

 

(above) Maybe not tonight…

 

(above) Ah yeah, an Irish pub…

 

(above) Just like on the Emerald Isle…

(above) Walking to catch a train, we talked with this guy, who was so very cool with it all, and insisted on having his picture taken with us…Why not…???...

 

(above) We found the right train and I played with shutter speeds…

 

 

(above) Pam with her party streamers on her bag, just watches Amsterdam zip by on our way “home”…

 

 

 

Date: August 17, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today is our last full day in Amsterdam…We kept our options open…

 

(above) I needed to get a better rolling duffel bag and we saw some good values at the street market the first day we were here…Pam found these cool reversible snapp skirts and got a styleee one…

 

(above) These folding bike are about $250…Seven speeds, lights, fenders, bells and whistles…The next time we come, we’ll buy a couple, use ‘em full time then fold ‘em up and bring ‘em home…

 

(above) We wandered aimlessly just digging the place and each other…Amsterdam is like that…We found a café where Pam starts a new chapter in her journal…

 

(above) After a couple coffees we jumped on the tram and wanted to see where the end of the line was…This is just a random shot along the way…

 

(above) We were at the rear of the tram and got a few interesting shots through the window…Tense…

 

(above) Relaxed…

 

(above) At the end of the line, it was only Pam and me and the guy at the switch…We hopped off and wandered into this garden…Exclusively for school kids to learn that things actually grow out of the dirt…

 

(above) The colors and variety were insane…

 

(above) Sunflowers were big and glowing…

 

(above) Fire like in close up…

 

(above) Each kid had a name plaque in their plot..

 

(above) This place isn’t in any guide books or on any tourist map…

 

(above) The kind of place a painter could get inspired…

 

(above) Just brilliant color everywhere…

 

(above) Holland is known for its flowers, we just weren’t expecting to find them at the ends of a train line…

 

(above) Some kind of artichoke looking plants flower… Is that insane or what…???...

 

(above) Each flower plot had basically the same things, and everything was popping with color…

 

(above) Scarecrow, with a construction project looming behind…It is the city after all…

 

(above) Van Gogh loved the sunflowers here, I can understand why…

 

(above) Far away or close it is pretty cool…

 

(above) Sunflower green center part…That’s all you need to know…

 

(above) We got so into the place, and we were the only ones there, we somehow got locked in at closing time…Sharp edges at the fence top precluded hopping the fence…We got lucky that someone was able to get a key there to let us out…Just another day in the life of travel…

 

(above) Back on the tram on the way home…The Olympic stadium from almost 100 years ago…

 

(above) We found an Mexican restaurant for dinner…One of the best places we ever had Mexican at…In Amstersdam…???...!!!...

 

(above) On the walk home there were puppies awaiting new homes…They were doing the puppy thing up for the camera…

 

(above) No bumper, put the sticker where it’ll be seen, it’s Amsterdam…

 

 

 

 

Date: August 18, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today we leave Amsterdam and go to Medemblik where the next class will be…

 

(above) After checking out of our hotel, we waited for the tram to get us to Central Station…

 

(above) We got our tickets and waited for the train…

 

(above) Next train in less than a half hour…

 

(above) Me and the Mrs., just watching the country go by…

 

(above) In about 2 hours we were in the village we wanted to be…We gathered our stuff and walked towards MacBoat where the class will be held…

 

(above) On the way, outside a market, a kids fiberglass coin op car with the face of America on it, David Hasselhoff…

 

(above) Feeling a bit of fang coming on, we settled on a bistro for a bite…

 

(above) Poster on a wall…

 

(above) After our lunch break, we finally got to MacBoat…

 

(above) Simon Davids builds and teaches how to build modern and classic wood canoes and kayaks…Nice gloss, eh…???...

 

(above) Pam and I walked over the dike next to Simon’s house and found the lake…Big enough that you can’t see the other side…Lots of real expensive sailboats here…Just one of many marinas…More on those later…

 

(above) After our walk we returned for a Dutch BBQ next to the backyard canal…

 

 

Date: August 19, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is a day committed to prep work for the workshop…

 

(above) We went for an early morning walk…One minute from Simon and Yvonne’s house is the lake…Used to be part of the North Sea until a major dike was built and eventually the salt water was replaced with fresh water…As you can see, there are a lot of sailboats here…

 

(above) Wind is not wasted here…Unlike the States and the prevailing NIMBY attitude, wind generators are all over the place…Clean and free energy…You can look at the water and see that these were all spinning… Connect the dots and you understand all the sailboats…

 

(above) A typical view if you are near a big open space…

 

(above) Along a dike road the peacefulness of the morning is reflected in the water…

(above) We happened upon an old castle…

 

(above) They say the grass never is anything other than green here…

 

(above) Spikes, moat, canon = Castle…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(above) Just a nice morning to go for a walk with my gal…

 

(above) Unlike Australia, no crocs in these moats…

 

(above) Not sure what the history of this place is, but it meant something to somebody…

 

(above) Walking on to one of the bigger canals…More boats…

 

(above) Bigger, older, live aboard boats…

(above) Big $$$$$$$$$...

 

(above) One of those shots…

 

(above) Red plants spaced along the canals…

 

 

(above) Even the side streets have a canal nearby…

 

(above) Big bird looking for breakfast…

 

(above) This place is really rich photographically…

 

(above) This time of year the spiders are thriving…

 

(above) Another canal with the family boat sitting pretty…

 

(above) Another canal…Looking from a front yard to the park across the street…

 

(above) You guessed it, another canal…See above…

 

(above) They have fun with the garage doors…Another one had an elephant painted on it…

 

(above) Back to Simon’s…

 

(above) One of his boats is moved outside for us to work inside…

 

(above) All made by Simon…He is a certified engineer, but he has followed his passion of wood boats…Moved the family to Port Townsend Washington USA for a year and learned the art of the wooden boats…He builds customs and teaches others… Folks come from around the world to study with him…He has skill to burn…

 

 

 

(above) I finally got busy prepping the raw wood for the deck skins… Here I’m bandsawing the cedar to rough thickness…Pam in addition to taking these shots, helped me all day…

 

 

 

 

 

(above)After that, we planed all the wood to 3mm thick…That pretty much filled the day up…

 

(above) That’s all for today…Ciao…!!!...

 

 

 

Date: August 20, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is another day committed to being fully prepared for the upcoming workshop…It’s what got us here, and I want everything pre-cut and ready to use…

 

(above) While I was cutting wood strips, Simon was getting some canoe parts built…He was using this steam box to get some cedar strips soft enough to bend…I’ve never had success using that method, so the opportunity to learn from a master of the process was something I was eager to do…

 

In the picture there is a gas bottle feeding a burner under the barrel… The barrel has water in it…Once the water boils, the steam goes through the hose to the box where the wood strips are…The box is filling with steam as you can see on the far end…

 

(above) Simon places the strips in the box where they heat up and soften…Fifteen minutes is perfect for the thickness he’s using…

 

(above) One last look before closing the box…

 

(above) Fifteen minutes later, the strips are out and very quickly, and with my help with the clamps, we have the strips cooling and holding their shape on the mold…We did four different sets during the day…

 

For me the day was cutting the wood strips for the boards straight, and gathering the right amount of strips for each board…Pretty routine, you’ve seen the pictures before…

 

(above) The weather here in Holland has been warm to hot…The air was moving and the humidity was rising…Very unusual for here… Record heat was the talk…Late afternoon it was obvious a storm was going to descend, so I went over the dike to the harbor and shot a few pictures…

 

(above) The wind in the rigging lines was literally whistling through ALL the masts and lines…Very loud, foreboding…Pretty cool though…

 

(above) I shot a sky panorama of the storm that let loose about a minute after I shot this… BIG drops, HEAVY wind, a tornado at that point would not have surprised me…I ran back to the house and as the deluge fell, I helped get bikes and boats out of the rain…Totally soaked it felt like a finale to the day…

 

 

 

 

Date: August 21, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is Day #1 of a three day Collaborative Hollow Surfboard Workshop…Twenty students will learn the process and build four boards…Should be fun…

 

(above) Inside the Macboat workshop…We get started with the taping together of the wood that will be the deck and bottom skins…I’m showing the spacing of the cross board tape strips…

 

(above) We have four boards to build and twenty people….Five people per board…Things get done quick that way…

 

(above) These workshop pictures are all in black and white because the shop has some mercury lights that give the color pictures a horrible green/yellow tone…

 

(above) Once the taping is done, it is time for epoxy and fiberglass… Simon goes over the do’s and don’t in Dutch…I think I agreed with everything he said…

 

(above) Epoxy time…!!!...

 

(above) Simple tools, simple techniques…

 

(above) Everybody has something to do…

 

(above) On the quiet side of the shop, the final pulls of the squeegee complete a skin…

 

(above) While the epoxy sets up, the crew gets down to tracing frame parts for their future boards…

 

(above) Sometimes the B&W is better than color…

 

(above) Frame assembly time…Like putting together a toy plywood dinosaur…

 

(above) Can you sense a point of focus…

 

(above) Almost like a picture from an operating room…

 

(above) The all important side rail, nose miter…

 

(above) The Boss checks out the alignment of a frame…

 

(above) Fine tuning a high point…

 

(above) The group is really great…They all speak perfect English (as well as French and German, and their native Dutch) which really lets me talk freely without having to carefully select my word…From the start the Dutch sense of humor was let loose which really made for some fun times…Nationalistic humor is an entertaining banter and a terrific insight into the people as well as the bordering countries… Pretty much the same everywhere……

 

(above) Everyone is stoked on how much they have accomplished on day one…

 

(above) Spring clamps and tight strings hold ‘em together until the adhesives set…

 

(above) The final board almost ready for the last skin…

 

(above) Five guys on task fine tuning the clamps…

 

(above) Nine hours after starting they still look fresh and ready for the next step…That will wait until tomorrow…

 

(above) We all shook the dust off and walked into the village for some dinner…

 

(above) Seems like the drawbridge is always going up or down to let a masted boat through…

 

(above) This weekend the village hosts a pretty big sailboat race that brings out the local folk to the harbor where they party…

 

(above) These guys were laying out some cool stuff…Here they are riffing out the Ventures tune “Apache”…Not what I was expecting from them based on where we are and how they dressed…

 

(above) The boat docks exhibit some better than average wood joinery…

 

(above) Two euro steaks…I had two and a nice glass or two of red…

 

(above) Beyond the trees over the massive lake the clouds were spectacular…We had a great time on the waterfront with the festivities and the locals…A great way to wrap up a very good day…

 

(above) Pam and I lingered a bit longer while Simon and Yvonne walked back…When we got back I spied S&Y in their office…We went in and said good night and see you tomorrow…

 

 

 

Date: August 22, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is Day #2 of The Workshop…We will start with fine tuning the deck and frame rails, then spend the rest of the day layering on the finished rails…

 

(above) Everyone was really stoked to keep the progress going on their boards…

 

(above) Something about a raw wood board just invites touching…

 

(above) Sanding block and a scrub or two here and there…

 

(above) Layer number one of the cork is on, spread some more glue and put on a strip of plywood…

 

 

(above) This bending ply is really nice to work with…

 

(above) Two layers on, time to router it all flush with the deck…The morning was basically all about glue and layers of rail…

 

(above) Today with a more relaxed pace, we all had a lunch break together outside…

 

(above) Inside things are looking great…

 

(above) Pam is obviously stoked how it’s all going…

 

(above) Earplugs and dust masks are not a bad idea today…

 

(above) Taking a break outside, fins are the topic…

 

(above) The energy level inside was way up considering how hard everyone worked yesterday…

 

(above) These guys (and gal) all have pretty high skill levels…

 

(above) The boards have come a long way in 24 hours…

 

(above) Back outside we have a crazy idea about a fin…

 

(above) Paper and bending ply…

 

(above) Looks ambitious…More later…

 

(above) The tails on the longer boards were marked and cut for the tailblocks…

 

(above) Yeah, that’ll work…

 

(above) The fish boards need to have the tails cut too…

 

(above) The rails are all on, some rough tuning with a planer…

 

(above) And at the end of the day, it was all smiles… 

 


Date: August 23, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is day #3 of The Workshop…We will focus on shaping the rails and getting fins foiled….

 

(above) This morning ear protection was as important as dust masks…

 

(above) The talented hands were trusted to do the rough shaping with a 10,000 RPM grinder with a 24 grit disc…Those less steady, were offered other alternative…

 

(above) Planning the next twenty strokes…

 

(above) For me it was fun to see it going so well…

 

(above) Two guys working together was the perfect combo…

 

(above) Mid morning the rail shaping is about 80% done…

 

(above) I called a big time-out around 11:00…The flurry of energy needed to be pulled back a bit before the enthusiasm overtook the judgment of when to stop…The basic “Overshaping Syndrome”…

 

(above) We pulled out the boards to show and tell…No, I’m not that strong…

 

(above) The break was a good time for the group photo…

 

(above) After the break, everyone settled back into the fine tuning, this time not feeling so rushed…

 

(above) Mid afternoon the boards were done…

 

(above) The boards were raffled off at cost, to cover the cost of the materials…A good way to keep it fair…

 

(above) I’d be happy to have any of these…

 

(above) Since everything was ahead of schedule, we had time to show how the glassing of the outside is done…

 

(above) Not complicated at all, just need to know a few tricks…

 

(above) At the end of the day, I was tired, but glowing with an understanding of just how well this workshop went…

 

 

 

Date: August 25, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is a breather…The class is over and what needed to happen now is to clean up the shop and help Simon get started glassing three of the boards from the class…

 

(above) With the class over, Simon needed to get the shop back to being a boat shop…I swept, and put away tools…Moving slower and feeling pretty relaxed…Simon set up a canoe mold and got started glassing a board while Jacco gets another one ready…

 

(above) Loran, Simon’s son was a blurr avoiding being photographed…

 

(above) Late afternoon now and Simon cuts the glass for another board…

 

As you can see, I gave the camera a rest today as well…

 

 

 

 

Date: August 25, 2009

 

Present Location: Medemblik, Netherlands

 

Today is my first day of work release since the completion of the workshop…It’s also Pam’s birthday…!!!...After we take some pictures of the boards we are going to a historic village / museum…

 

(above) Four days from raw wood…

 

(above) Understatement: I am pleased how they turned out…

 

(above) I think Pam thinks I am so cute…

 

(above) “Thank you Simon for hosting a really great workshop… “

 

 

 

(above) Yvonne & Simon…

 

(above) Pam & Paul…

 

(above) After the catalog shots were finished, Pam and I went a few km south to a harbor where we took a boat to a really cool village that has been kept as it was a long time ago…

 

 

(above) Along a dike is the old lime kilns…Used up into the 1980’s…

 

(above) A double key lock…

 

(above) Steel is harder than brick…

 

(above) The village traditions are still kept alive…Fish drying…

 

(above) From there they go into the smokehouse…

 

 

 

(above) Walking along the top of a dike…

 

(above) Ahead on the dike, a restaurant…

 

(above) Note: The inside of rain gutters is supposed to be orange…Check if yours are…Do it today…

 

(above) The whole village has brick pavement…

 

(above) I can’t pass up a good chain picture…

 

(above) Eel nets compressed…

 

(above) …and stretched….

 

(above)… and hung up…

 

(above) Hand powered boat trailer…Better call a few friends to launch this one…

 

(above) At the boat ramp, it’s hand powered all the way…

 

(above) Here in Holland even the boats look like wooden shoes…That is some seriously thick, steam bent wood…

 

(above) Chain rub…

 

(above) Check the tiller and the plank to steer from…Also note the wooden shoes to wear…That’s how they do it…

 

(above) A pretty calm day…Overcast with a chance of rain…More typical than the sunny and warm weather we had all last week…

 

(above) I like this fence detail…

 

(above) Smokehouse flues…

 

(above) Algae never sleeps…

 

(above) Brick walkway transitions…

 

(above) As I said, the pavement here is brick…

 

(above) Call a window washer…

 

(above) Wagon wheel and a bicycle…

 

(above) Wall to wall brick…

 

(above) Brick arches keep the buildings equal distance apart…

 

(above) Daddy and daughter…

 

(above) Even the ice skates were like these…

 

(above) Inside the coopers shop…

 

(above) Need a haircut…???...

 

(above) Edge of a sail…

 

(above) Sailmakers supplies…

 

(above) Just like a hundred years ago…Grandpa and granddaughter…

 

(above) A formalish garden…

 

(above) Cheese delivery cart…

 

(above) Spindle turning Boris, endures another question about why he works alone and never works with the other men…

 

(above) “In which drawer did I leave my ‘vee runjz ruckerpater’…

 

(above) Another café had about a dozen of the hand painted tile murals…Impressive…

 

(above) Pharmacy…

 

(above) The skies opened up a few times…

 

(above) About two minutes after that previous shot…

 

(above) Thatched and tiled roofs… Pretty common to see…

 

(above) You were expecting this, now weren’t you…???...

 

(above) The windmill keeper ties up the vane for the night…And as the day gets later it’s time for us to go…

 

(above) BTW: On the other side of the historic village is a trailer park…

 

(above)On the train, I’m feeling camera shy…

 

(above) We took a train and bus back to Medemblik and found a nice restaurant to have a glass of wine and celebrate the day…A very good day…

 

 

Date: August 26, 2009

 

Present Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands

 

Today we say “Goodbye Medeblik” and “Hello Rotterdam”…!!!...

 

(above) See you next year…!!!...

 

(above) We rode a bus first, then ended up on a train on track to Rotterdam…The Holland countryside looks a lot like this…

 

(above) …and this…

 

(above) …and this…

 

(above) Every village seems to have a pretty big community garden…

 

(above) There is usually a small canal close to, well, everything…

 

(above) Again away from a village and into the country…

(above) See the trees bending, where would you put a wind generator…???…

 

(above) We made it to our train platform, where we wrestled our bags to the train door and Pam got out…And as soon as she got out the train door slammed closed and I was locked on the train…Quick thinking Pam grabbed her camera and shot this shot of the train pulling away with me on it, slamming every emergency stop button in my sight…Revelation: they don’t work…

 

(above) Pam then shot this self portrait after the train disappeared down the tracks…Whaaaaaaaa…..!!!!...

 

Luckily the end of the train line was the next stop, where it pauses for ten minutes then hits all the stops going back the other way…Pam was sitting pretty when the train door opened up, and we came together and had a special moment, reunited again……All part of the adventure…

 

We took a couple of city buses to near our hotel where I made reservations earlier in the day…

 

(above) Hotel Benelux Rotterdam…The online description sounded just fine…Double bed, private bath, plasma TV, WiFi internet, no elevator, ten minutes from the heart of the city…55 Euro per night…

 

(above) Once in the front door you are faced with a literal wall of stairs to get to the reception room… Steeper than ANY stairs I have ever climbed…My camera has a really wide lens and even it can’t capture the floor and the top of the steps in one shot…

 

We checked in, tired from travel…Our room was another two sets of stairs up…Steep up…With bulky bags…The tipping over factor was real…The room we had was small, really, really small…As small as you can imagine…No, make it smaller still…More like a cell…It also obviously had not been cleaned from the day before…Additionally, when Pam turned on the bathroom light, a loud POP happened and all the lights in the rooms went out…

 

Time to talk to the manager….

 

Not masking my directness of concern, I said the room was simply unacceptable…The manager had that dumb puppy look, with his head tilted to the side…I won’t re-tell the whole conversation, but it ended up us getting another room, one floor down…If it had been earlier, and had we not been exhausted, we would have looked elsewhere, but the neighborhood gave me the “this is a dangerous place” vibe…And I’m not prone to that…

 

I figured we would get in to the room early and spend the night locked in…The next day, get out when the streets felt safe and get to the good part of town, spend the day in the city, then get back before dark and lock in again…Saw the same strategy used brilliantly in “The Night Of The Living Dead” with the zombies…One must have a plan…This one worked before…Or did it…???...I fell asleep before the movie ended… Hmmmmmm…???...

 

OK, back to the room…

(above) The “bigger”, “cleaner” room…The plasma TV is on the wall…Window looking out over the street corner below, where a fight almost just happened between rival immigrant groups…Really…The room has no internet signal and I’m leery to test the air conditioning based on the upstairs electrical episode..…The bathroom has the world’s smallest sink, and the shower curtain is missing 80% of the shower curtain rings…

 

I am wondering if I should give the hotel Benelux bonus points or take away points for having a liquor store next to the hotel entrance…???...This time, it’s a definite reduction in rating… Other than that, it’s close to perfect…!!!...

 

(above) Except for that thing called “Safety”… I have some concerns…Ignore the water stains ( I hope that’s what it is) on the ceiling tiles, and only one light tube working...My concern is the smoke detector with a plastic bag over it to keep the crack fumes from setting it off... Just doesn’t seem right…OK, maybe not crack, but I would lay even money on it…That or weed…

 

(above) My view while writing this…Picture the smears and smudges as dirtier…We both won’t touch the walls or put our bare feet on the floor…

 

My travel philosophy comes from a 1970’s Rod Stewart song…In ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’ Rod sings: “…Make the best out of the bad, just laugh it off, you didn’t have to come here anyway”…

 

(above) Sing it Pam…” Make the best out of the bad……….”

 

 

 

 

Date: August 27, 2009

 

Present Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands

 

Today we get to the safe part of Rotterdam and see what it’s like…

 

(above) We did our “Great Escape” from the Hotel Benelux environs via rail tram…Off the tram, we wandered around looking for good coffee…Saw this pre-WWII church framed between two modern buildings…That church is leaning hard to the left…

 

(above) The stores were setting out stuff while we searched for an open café…Holland is a fashion leader, take note of what will be hip in your neighborhood soon…You can thank me later…

 

(above) Most of Rotterdam was flattened by bombing in WWII…The post war architecture is pretty messed up…A jumble of horrible styles thrown together in a random pattern...Example # 1: Arched windows set upside down next to a “WTF is that ?”…

 

(above) Example # 2: Next to upside down window building is a mockery of the Museum Pompidou in Paris…No flow, just weird…We walked on…

 

(above) Pam found a store just for her…

 

(above) We soon found coffee in this chocolate shop…Check out the chocolate tools…Nice camera shadow, eh…???...

 

(above) Chocolate high heels…Pam wants to know where is the champagne…???...

 

(above) Atypically, we wandered the shopping zone and saw what over 200,000 euro buys these days…Aston Martin…Last time I saw one of these, it was with the top down, with a waxed up surfboard against the seats on the Isle of Jersey…

 

(above) Directly across the street was this bad boy…

 

(above) Around another corner was this…Rotterdam likes big metal…

 

(above) There are many specialty stores on the streets here…Cuban and lesser cigars…

 

(above) A model train store…EXPENSIVE…A string of five train cars can cost close to 2,000 euro…That’s just the trains, add in the track, accessories and scenery and you could have bought a couple of round the world plane tickets…

 

(above) Cast metal cars…

 

(above) Remember the old toy steam engines… Got ‘em here…They make ‘em here in Holland…

 

(above) Pro-quality, hobbyist table saws…They cost as much as my contractor grade saws…

 

(above) Back outside, a chain designed to discourage sitting…

 

 

(above) We went to the Rotterdam Maritime Museum…This is the oldest model ship in Europe…Circa 1500…

 

(above) The museum tracks the history of all things boat through the eons…

 

(above) There are a bunch of paintings similar to this…

 

(above) And a lot of ship models on display…

 

(above) Party ON…!!!...

 

(above) They have halls with details of the uber-yachts on display…

 

(above) Ceiling panel from the boat above…

 

(above) Wall panel…Suede and copper wire…

 

(above) The model ships are all pretty cool…

 

(above) A WWII Victory ship…We spent a couple hours in here going through all the stuff… I’ve seen better and worse museums…

 

(above) Back outside, we checked out a century old sailing ship…

 

(above) You gotta use more elbow grease to get it to shine…

 

(above) Boat, water, tender…

 

(above) We walked along the waterfront for a while…

 

(above) Local color…

 

(above) Still working…

 

(above) Lots of boats, mostly big…

 

(above) Steering ‘em as they have for centuries…

 

(above) I haven’t seen one of these in a while…

 

(above) The guy who used to sell the rivets got rich…

 

(above) Simon, is one of those yours…???...Is it a Bob’s Special…???...

 

(above) We got on this boat for a Rotterdam harbor tour…

 

(above) The iconic Rotterdam Bridge, one of many crossing over the multitude of canals…

 

(above) Newer buildings tower beside the main canal…

 

(above) It was kind of cool with barges passing us on their way to work…

 

(above) We passed a few too…

 

(above) This barge was long…This is the front half…

 

(above) …this is the rear…

 

(above) Another working barge…

 

(above) Nice reflection in the window…

 

(above) The day was pleasant…Not warm, not cold…A contributing factor to the pleasantness is the warmish wind…

 

(above) Cranes in the distance…

 

(above) Windmills down a side canal…All so Dutch…

 

(above) Rotterdam is the third biggest port in the world…And ports move a lot of containers…

 

(above) Millions of ‘em…

 

(above) Maybe billions…

 

(above) They go onto these GIGANTIC cargo ships…

 

(above) Those containers on deck are each about ten feet tall…You do the math…

 

(above) The cranes obviously look like skeletal dinosaurs…

 

(above) Closer to town, an ambitious building cantilever…

 

(above) Perfect lighting for this shot of The Rotterdam…Once the pride of the Netherlands as a cruise ship, now a luxury hotel…

 

(above) Again a weird balance of architecture…The classic old shipping company is dwarfed by the gleaming modern towers…

 

(above) Late afternoon on the water…A pretty nice day in a just OK city…

 

(above) Pam getting one last shot in before we disembark and find dinner, then attempt to get into our hotel room alive just one more time…I hope you hear from us again…If not, adios amigos…!!!...

 

 

 

 

 

Date: August 28, 2009

 

Present Location: Delft, Netherlands

 

Well, we survived the Hotel Benelux…Today we get out of Rotterdam and go to Delft, a reputed cool place to be…

 

(above) We rode on a tram across Rotterdam to the train station, bought tickets to Delft and got on the train…In front of us were a couple kids with newspaper hats on…The kind we used to make as kids…Kids still do that here…

 

(above) The train ride from Rotterdam to Delft was so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to drink a double espresso before we got there…Outside the train station in Delft, witness the prime means of transpo here in Holland…

 

(above) A ten minute walk from the station is our hotel…

 

(above) A step up in hall décor...This vs. broken glass on the floor…

 

(above) Our room in the Hotel De Koophandel…

 

(above) We are not worthy…

 

(above) Outside for a walk…Classic rides on both sides of the canal…

 

(above) We went in to one of the numerous classic Delft style pottery studios where Kretel was doing as she has for over four decades…She can do this in her sleep…Handcuffed…

 

(above) She did the bird platter…

 

(above) One of the painting worktops…When did you last see a Formica desk that was worn through…???...I could show you several…Check out Kretel above, well on her way to wearing out desk # 85…

 

(above) Back on the bricks…The newer of the two main churches in town...New means only started in the 1396…

 

(above) Between the buildings, Pam stands in a virtual wind tunnel…

 

(above) Delft is a popular place to get hitched…

 

(above) First is the carriage ride to City Hall…

 

(above) Then the Bentley to ride away in…

 

(above) The wedding party has to fit in this stretched RR…

 

(above) Of course Pam insists on sitting in the wooden hot tub fully clothed…

 

(above) I am so embarrassed…Pity the fool…

 

(above) Pam writing here: Nieuwe Kerk surprises us…From top down it looks like a cathedral…Standing on your head the ceiling looks like the inside of a wooden boat…So says Paul with blood rushing to his head…:Pam out…

 

(above)  Pews awaiting parishioners…

 

(above) The floors here are amazing…Carved stone burial vaults…

 

(above) Skulls make me go “ Eeeewwwwwwww”…

 

(above) This guy had to be famous…

 

(above) A painted cathedral ceiling, kinda different than most..

 

(above) After our New Church visit, we walked along a canal to the Old Church…Door at water level…Watch that first step…

 

(above) Inside of the Old Church now…This pile of stone and brick was started in 1246…It burned down a few times and was re-stacked and given new paint as needed…Like your house…

 

(above) Nice use of the space…

 

(above) Stained glass filtered light tints the stone floor…

 

(above) If this was in the USA there is no way you would be allowed to walk on these historic carvings…Here, only golf shoes are a no no…

 

(above) Artsy shot # 956…

 

(above) Pam asks “See the boats?”…Paul says “Good carpentry up high…

 

(above) …and on the pulpit staircase”…

 

(above) Shot during one of the re-builds…Big wood…

 

(above) Feeling churched-out, we hit the bricks again…Careful how you park, you could end up in the drink…

 

(above) More elaborate chain work…

 

(above) A bike fished out of the canal mud…

 

(above) City Hall and the New Church…

 

(above) Dinner tonight was chicken with fruit…Can you say ”Nom nom”…???...

 

(above) Dinnertime view…

 

(above) A short walk after dinner over a 1500’s bridge and towers…

 

(above) Last light on a breezy day…

 

(above) We walked around and went into Big Church #3 where a brass ensemble was giving a concert…Nice way to end the day listening to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”…

 

 

 

Date: August 29, 2009

 

Present Location: Delft, Netherlands

 

Today our plan is to rent bikes and cruise…

 

(above) Walking towards the rental shop…

 

(above) Turned a corner and found a very, very cool street market just getting started for the day…

 

(above) Holland and flowers go together like Holland and wooden shoes…

 

(above) The canals were lined with canopied stall and over a few bridges were folks who just spread out tarps…So much high quality stuff out for sale…We scored a bunch of non-touristy things, some for gifts, some for us…

 

(above) Perfect stocking stuffers at Christmas…???...

 

(above) I wandered into an acupuncture/ traditional Chinese medicine store…

 

(above) In a pub they had these traditional old time medicine cases stacked…

 

(above) Tell me you didn’t see the garage doors…

 

(above) A break at a pastry shop…More snit than I’ve ever seen at once…

 

(above) Trees gave their souls for these…

 

(above) This place is a traditional mix the paints with pigments and dyes store…Never saw anything like it…Old skool to da max…

 

(above) Same as everywhere…

 

 

 

 

 

(above) Dinner was next door to our hotel…A traditional Dutch joint…I fanged on the pork, vegs, etc…Double yummy…

 

(above) Pam got into a frenzy on this seafood bomb…

 

(above) Feeding frenzy Dutch style…

 

We never got out butts on bike seats but had a groovy time just wandering aimlessly…Every trip needs a few days like this…

 

 

 

Date: August 30, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Today is the Holland Backyard Shapers gathering at a beach on the North Sea…Sounds culturally interesting...

 

(above) After checking out of our hotel in Delft, we pulled the rolling luggage to the train station ten minutes away…Did I tell you that Holland is a cycling nation…???...

 

(above) This bike has been in the rack for long enough to have a vine get wrapped around the frame…

 

(above) We bought our train tickets and waited for the Ol’#9 to come choogling along…

 

(above) Clackety clack…Time for a snack…Choo Choo Choocolate…Mmmmmm…

 

(above) Photo tip…Shoot pictures from moving cars or trains at 1/2000th of a second…

 

(above) Moving along at freeway speeds…

 

(above) The day was brightening up the closer we got to the beach…

 

(above) Had to do a train transfer here…They named the district in NYC after here…That finishes today’s history lesson, now go play…

 

(above) Within an hour we are at Beverwik, minutes from the North Sea (I usually do not remember the names of 79% of these places, as if that matters)…The overall experience level of the NL surfers is exhibited by the way the board is racked…Of all the ways to do it, this is the worst…

 

(above) While waiting for our ride to the beach to show, Mr. & Mrs. Yellowslicker focus on you…Yeah, how’ve you been…???...Been a while since we heard from you…Things still going swimmingly…???...

 

(above) Jacco from the workshop last week arrived in time and soon we were at the beach…However finding a place to park was time consuming…Jacco dropped us and his stuff off near where we wanted to be, then went and parked his van…over a km away…that is how busy the beach was…

 

(above) I climbed the dune and looked around…In the distance you see the kite surfer’s kites…I started at one end of the beach and started counting them and stopped at 75… Today was a nice pleasant day, but pretty windy…The locals say that today is a very good day for here…

 

(above) As we walked the jetty road to the beach there was this sign…The influence of Swaylock’s is global… I’m curious what we will find…

 

(above) Holland…???...Tiki head…???...Bamboo hut dog house…???...

 

(above) The beach scene was not what I was expecting…

 

(above) Jacco recognized some faces and we went over…

 

(above) Backyard shapers from Holland had their works out to show and tell…

 

(above) The spectrum of methods was represented…

 

(above) Foam of many types, sandwich boards, solid wood and hollow wood were all there…

 

(above) Open mindedness is a Dutch trait…

 

(above) Eef had his paipos and handboards here too…

 

(above) While I talked boards, Pam found a warm soft place to relax…

 

(above) There were plenty of places to do just that…

 

(above) I went down closer to the beach to see how the surf was…

 

(above) This is the North Sea…Not a place that perfect surf happens very often…Storms are pretty intense here and the sea is small so wave period is pretty short…Offshore winds are almost non-existent…The Dutch surfers take what they get and are really stoked to have a day like today…I respect that…

 

Messy is how I would call the conditions today, but for Holland today was a pretty good day… Yesterday was bigger with Victory At Sea conditions…Today the size is better for surfing…Good enough for them, good enough for me…

 

(above) I walked back to the board gathering and decided on what to surf…I thought that a handboard would be the most fun, given the conditions…I was right…The waves had four to five foot faces, peaky and short, but there were a lot of waves to ride…In the water (21c temp) were over 100 surfers with a wide range of beginners trying to get a drop and turn in…I saw one pretty good wave ridden, but for most, it was something to do on a sunny day with some size…I stayed out for about an hour and had a pretty good time…

 

(above) When I got back to the Gathering it was group picture time…

 

See that doorway to the far left with a guy in the door…???...That is the co-ed changing room…No gender specific rooms, just a dry covered place with a bench to change from clothes to naked to wetsuits and back again…Just as many women as men surf here and everybody just goes about the clothes removal and covering process as it should be…No big deal…

 

(above) Yes, that is a bomb on the beach…Been here for decades…

 

(above) Something for the kids to play on…

 

(above) Down the beach these sand sailors were screaming over the hard packed…

 

(above) Every so often one would flip…All part of the fun…

 

(above) Just a nice day for a Sunday drive…

 

(above) The big thing over there is one of europe’s largest steel mills…It’s a few km away and I have a wide lens on the camera which makes that steam or smoke release look a lot smaller than it is…It was HUGE…Going off all day long…

 

(above) Next to the jetty is the main shipping channel that goes to Amsterdam…Big barges, cargo and cruise liners would be coming and going all day long…

 

(above) On the sand the kids have their skate ramp…

 

(above) We went to the beach restaurant for a drink and a bite…Could be a beach restaurant anywhere…

 

(above) Surfer Dave and Eef, the organizers of the Sway Day…Two really interesting guys on a bunch of levels…easy to talk for hours with ‘em…

 

(above) Pam appreciates her Irish Coffee after a relaxing day on the beach…

 

(above) We ordered some food…

 

(above) …and watched the afternoon shift to evening…

 

(above) On the walls of the restaurant was this picture showing one of the better days of surf here… 

 

(above) Pam and I have had another great day…

 

(above) And it was all made possible by Jacco who arranged to get us here and back to Amsterdam…

 

(above) We needed to hit the road and walked back to the van…

 

(above) The wind generators easily get your attention…

 

(above) These things were spinning steadily all day…they say the speed at the tips is around 200 mph…

 

(above) The end of another fine day…Life is good.

 

 

 

Date: August 31 – September 1, 2009

 

Present Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

We are back in Amsterdam for a couple days before we head home…

 

After a morning of going through our bags and repacking we hit the street…

 

(above)  Back to the bike rental shop for a couple bikes to use until we are ready to leave…

 

(above)  We rode through some areas we had not seen yet…

 

(above)  Down at the big canal…This river boat that is LLLOOONNNGGG…Basically a floating river hotel… 

 

(above)  Rooms with views…I have to hope they have more style inside than they do outside…

 

(above)  Further down the pier, a real-deal cruiser…

 

(above)  Too big for me…

 

(above)  Back on the bikes…Affordable modular housing near the water…

 

(above)  The day was perfect for riding bikes…We just wandered around without a map or a plan…Here is a barge we smelled way before we saw it…Loaded with wood chips…


(above)  Riding a bike, one can develop a thirst… 

 

(above)  …as well as a hunger…Irish dinner along a canal…We talked about what a great trip this has been…From Australia to Holland and soon our way home again, we both fully agreed that this is the best time we have had together as a couple…And that covers a few years…

 

(above)  While we ate, these type of boats would go along the canal… 

 

 

(above)  Walking back to our hotel…In a park were these elephants all the same, all different…

 

 (above)  Good art…

 

(above)  I might use this as my new passport photo…

 

Speaking of…This is the end of the Australia / Holland trip report…I hope you have had a bit of fun reading these…I do photographing and writing ‘em out…

 

Until next time, remember there will always be…More later,

 

Paul