A couple of Blogs

Friday 13 July

We arrived at Putten station around 10.15 by courtesy shuttle, to find that the ticket vending machines all required debit cards we didn’t have. While we were mucking around with this, the train pulled in on the other side. We knew (without breaking our backs) that we couldn’t possibly make it across the tracks in time. After it pulled off, a uniformed bus driver appeared around the corner. He spoke good English and told us to get out of the rain and have a coffee while we waited for the next train. He and the coffee shop owner were very interested in our travels, and when we came to pay, the bus driver told us it was his shout. It appeared we might be able to buy a ticket on the train or at Amersfoot where we were changing trains to Amsterdam.

The next train arrived half an hour after the missed one. We’d managed by then to get ourselves and our luggage over the tracks by walking over the crossing nearby. We weren’t going to climb the viaduct bridge!

When we reached Amersfoot the same problem occurred with the ticket vending machine. This wasn’t going to be easy. The first conductor we’d seen appeared about five minutes before our train arrived in Amsterdam. I explained our predicament and he told me it would be a 35 euro each fine. When I looked amazed, he retracted and said we would be able to buy a ticket once in Amsterdam.


Amsterdam station was busy. I left S in charge of the bags while I sorted the tickets and found where the trams left from. There’s a couple of small white buildings outside the train station where you can buy discount tickets for a number of days on the trams.  For the first time I’ve encountered it, you don’t queue, but cluster, holding a little white ticket with a number until you are called to a particular window to get the service you want. The second white building is a tourist information office, where you find maps etc. It was all very helpful and efficient, in its own way. You need to be careful as you scoot across the multiplicity of tram tracks to the right shelter…and don’t count on looking just one way. Trams and bicycles are everywhere and come out of nowhere.

The Number 9 Tram took us to the stop Plantage, where Tineke was waiting to take us to her friend Analiese’s apartment. It’s a lovely place overlooking a small park and canal and it is very peaceful.

Sophie had arrived in Amsterdam about the same time, and we’d arranged to meet at her hostel. It was a happy reunion and we were soon back on the pavements, first looking for food, then Ann Frank’s house. Tim, her friend, had already done a bit of scouting, and knew the street where all the eating places were. On the way, we spotted a sign to the “Ann Frank Huis”, so after food, followed the signs. It wasn’t hard to miss. There were queues for ages. It was better to skip the look through the house, and settle on a canal ride. This turned out to be a good choice as it gave us all a lovely view over the harbour and the mesh of canals as well as some of the sights. 
We certainly had insight into how this part of the world lived in the 17^th century. After the ride, we randomly walked around a number of streets and found a table outside a bar. No sooner had we sat down when an old friend and employee of S’s (Alex) walked over the canal bridge,  heading to the same bar where we were seated, to meet his family! He was with his wife and in-laws over for the weekend for a change of scene from London. We were soon seated at a table of 8 Kiwis. It was nice to hear of some of the places nearby which might also be worth a visit from the in-laws who had been holidaying for about five weeks.

After a couple of beers, and a shared apple pie, Sophie’s friend Julia was arriving, so we bundled off to meet her! We decided that the next day, we might all meet up again and do some galleries and museums. Sophie had enjoyed poking her head in some of the small galleries around town as we’d been walking. We said farewells, and headed for a local supermarket to pick up some cheeses, breads, olives and wine for tea. We sat around with Tineke and talked about some possibilities over the next few days. Outside, a large grey heron perched itself on the roof of one of the small boats parked outside. He’s a clumsy and very slow moving creature, not bothered too much about what’s happening around him. He just observes. All in all a most enjoyable day, and beyond all else it has been great seeing my girl again.

Saturday 14 July

The plan was to meet Sophie and Julia around 10 at the van Gogh Museum; however, this was amended to 11 by both parties. Here at Tineke’s we were quite tired and the peacefulness of the flat lulled us into a few extra hours sleep. Over at the hostel, Sophie discovered the queues to the shower would make her at least an hour late.

Finally we were all together and queued up outside the museum by around 11.30. There’d been a massive thunderstorm in the morning and it was still raining so we’d made an emergency stop for an umbrella and clearer directions, as we’d got a little disorientated getting there.  While Sophie and Julia made it around the museum in record time, S and I really took in each painting. At around 1 we let the girls move on to their next planned activity and we stayed on until 2, then met TIneke outside. We discovered we’d missed going through the new wing of the museum- a beautifully designed building by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The renovated Stedelijk Museum (not open at the moment) is also incredibly impressive. You feel like you are walking under a giant aircraft with its massive fibreglass underbelly (locally known as the “bath tube”). Other people too are impressed by it’s shape as while we were walking beside it, a film crew were filming models for fashion week.  After some deliberation about where to eat, Tineke led us to the famous American Hotel for a late lunch and a beer. We sat in a corner window and watched the magnificent fountain and the people passing by. We’d been able to find a wireless network and we needed to book a hotel for Monday and Tuesday.  All this takes time, so our plans to visit the Hermitage Museum were unable to be realised. We settled for a walk home combined with a bit of browsing.  We walked through the smartest shopping street in Amsterdam, and on to the Amsterdam Archives housed in an old bank. It’s a grand old building, and the tile work speaks volumes. We strode down another narrow canal street where people were pumping water from their basements after the morning deluge, then passed more small galleries and an antique store which Tineke was drawn into. At the back of the store, there hung a number of small chandeliers and Tineke was taken by one which reminded her of her grandmother’s. “How much?” she asked. “350 Euro”, came the reply. She will think about it. The canals were starting to fill up with party barges. You hear them first as soft background mumbling then a loud roar of laughter and general conviviality, and sometimes there is music playing. Mostly the young are dressed in suits and smart party dresses and the average age looks about 25.

We settled on the idea of having a simple dinner in, and so stopped in a supermarket for supplies. Tineke cooked a very tasty chicken and leek dish with salad on the side. The party barges continued to float by outside our living room window and the grey heron reappeared on the lawn. We watched him for an hour or two move from the grass to the roof of a car, then back to the side of the canal. The last of the evening light invited us out for another stroll and we were fascinated to find a family of rabbits casually having their evening meal on a grass verge beside a busy street and the old military academy buildings. These buildings now house a tropical museum (the museum of the Dutch colonies).

At about 1.30am I had a panic text from Sophie. Her passport has been stolen. Here’s hoping the process of getting a temporary one is not going to be arduous or over-expensive. She’s done the right thing and seen the police about it. Poor soul, it’s given her a real fright.