Europe 2015

Well, I loved my visit to Utrera, which is a twenty minute train ride out of Seville. It is a really ,picturesque town of 50,000 people and one expat kiwi called Linda. She arrived in Utrera six months ago to follow the urgings of her heart and create a new beginning for herself with a new partner in an unknown land. It is a real credit to her that she has overcome all of the obstacles that life has thrown her way. She could not speak Spanish, had no job in a place where unemployment is high, had nowhere to live, and virtually no money. She trained for and got a position teaching English, and eventually secured a really nice studio apartment at a price she could afford. From a fairly sheltered existence in New Zealand she has learned to stand on her own two feet, and has learned that as long as you have food, shelter, and warmth, together with a passion for someone or something, all your needs are taken care of. Everything else is merely surplus to that. Everyone who knows the risks that Linda took to follow her heart, would and should be as proud of her achievements, her courage and perseverance, as I am. Life is still a struggle for her but she is a much stronger person, able to cope and flourish and begin to enjoy the fruits of her struggle. Looking at the pictures I have posted, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that everybody spends all their time eating and drinking in the cafe/bars located on every streetcorner. Well I suppose it would be possible, the drinks and the tapas are really cheap. The reality is that Linda wanted to show me her favourite places and plates of tapas that she had tried maybe once a week with teacher friends from the English schools in the town. It is a way of life, where whole families meet on certain days and nights to socialise and have a nice time, but it is one she cannot yet afford. I was lucky not to have called there last week when the temperatures reached 40 degrees and it was scorching hot. This week it only hit about 35 degrees, but was 30 degrees at 8pm and only dropped to 24 degrees during the night. Linda is lucky to have airconditioning and will really get the benefit of that over the next 3 months of summer. I was sorry to leave Utrera, and head back into the big city, but we will see what I can squeeze into this week....

8pm on way to main square

Waiting for the kitchen to open at 8.30pm

Streets are full of families at 9pm

4 or 5 tapas to share

10pm and the night is still young, for some...

view from town centre up Linda's street

1832 the date Linda's apartments refurbished

Linda's room near entry gate

Inside courtyard of apartment complex

Reading on the windowseat at Linda's

one end of studio, kitchen, tv, wardrobe/storage

other end of studio, bathroom/laundry on left

middle of studio, table and couch

Theatre 100m up the street

Guess what play is on at the theatre?

Spanish breakfast, ham and olive oil on toast

11am small glasses of Anise after breakfast

500 or 600 year old town wall nesting swallows

town square at 8am

town square at 8 am

haven't got a clue/sign outside cafe

One of those amazing streetviews

Linda lives in the furthest building on left

streetview

600 year old church near castle

other side

amazing view of church belltower

Enrique Montoya, Utreran gypsy flamenco guitarist

nice shady cafe/bar garden by statue

My warm calamari and blackrice with aoli, yum

together with goatscheese with honey & balsamic

Exquisite alley/street

beautiful entry

inside alley

other end

handmade decorations for corpus christi festival

Convent where Linda is on the waiting list

moorish window high in convent wall

Utrera 14th century castle

showing its age

Moorish water feature below castle

I'm 66 years old and have never attended a classical music concert, so when an opportunity turned up to see a free lunchtime recital at the Amsterdam Concert hall I joined the waiting line an hour before it started. They only let the first 400 in and often people are turned away. I thought it was a good idea because a nighttime concert would need flasher clothes than I have in my suitcase and would cost a minimum of $40 a seat. At least, having experienced about 45 minutes of virtuoso instrumental mastery, I know now what all the fuss is about. It was a spellbinding experience to watch and hear seven individuals play with such precision and passion. The sound from any one or combination of the instruments in turn filled the room with a powerful clarity of colour and tone that it became an emotional experience just to hear them. It was tempting to close the eyes and be carried away by the wonderful sounds, but watching each individual musician bobbing and weaving in their own inimitable way as they poured their heart and soul into their performances, added to the experience. The incredible imagination of the composer becomes apparent when you hear how the different instruments weave in and out of the melody strands and blend together seamlessly to create a whole that is so much more than its individual parts. I now stand in awe of the minds and imagination of classical composers. After all that excitement I got a bit peckish and headed off to my favourite little cafe for a healthy lunch of mushroom soup with a chicken and bacon sandwich. The lunch I had there yesterday was a not so healthy burger and fries with mayonaise. I have added a couple of photos of the nice place I'm staying, and some I took the other day when I took the free ferry from behind the railway station to the northern suburbs, and a very interesting building dedicated to the history of film. It is a spectacular building and has a large open restaurant complex as well as a number of luxurious picture theatres which showcase an eclectic mix of old and new arthouse films from all over world. I spent an hour looking through an exhibition showing the development of film from its earliest days and saw some amazing early short film clips I hadn't seen before. Finally I couldn't leave Amsterdam without commenting on the bike culture. I thought Tokyo was the capital of bikeriding, but I was wrong, riding a bike in Amsterdam is done by 70 percent of the population. Nobody wears helmets or lycra and dress only in what they will wear when they arrive. On both edges of the road is a pavement, then a two wide dedicated bike lane, then another pavement. This separates bikes from both cars and pedestrians, and they make the most of it with whole families beong transported from place to place clinging onto mum or dad on multiseat bikes. Even 50cc motorbikes are allowed to travel around helmetless in bike lanes. If I had been prepared with my camera I could have taken some crazy photos. The nicest one I saw was yesterday walking on the way to the local supermarket, when I was passed by a couple in their late seventies riding in the bike lane. She was riding her mobility scooter and he was riding beside her, barely keeping up, on a noisy old 50cc suzuki. It looked like their daily outing. As it was I took a few photos today of unusual bikes parked outside the local shops, just to give an idea of what sights can be seen everyday in Amsterdam. Tomorrow night I fly onto Seville and go from 12 degree days to 35 degree days. That should be interesting. However I've got 10 days of clothing to wash and a bit of settling in to do before I can manage another blog so It might be a few days...

The Concertgebouw

the small concerthall seats 400

waiting for the musicians to appear

Taking their first bow

Violinists were the stars of the show

ensemble walk off after their first encore

beating the crowds who were still clapping

my little cafe by the Rijksmuseum

same price as burger king combo

today's healthier lunch

North shore to the EYE on free ferry

getting closer

walking into the EYE film institute

looking back to city

fits a dog and/or couple of kids

kids seat behind, toddler seat in front

This one with two wheeled front

two kids on the back

high perch behind

armchair seat behind

old bike with flowers

very comfortable bed

My desk

bathroom with heated tile floor

power shower

living area

dining room

amazing kitchen

On a 12 degree cold showery morning in Amsterdam I took a tram that dropped me off infront of the Rijksmuseum (State museum). It was 10am and I expected to have to do some queueing to get inside, but I got lucky and chose a morning when the two hour queues slept in. This was my first museum for the year and I paid my 17.5 euros ( $26 ) for a ticket knowing that they had just spent 10 years and 375 million euro renovating the place for my visit. The other factor that influenced my choice of museum to visit was that they allowed photos to be taken inside. I would have been mad if I'd have paid the same to visit the Van Gogh museum up the road and been told that taking photographs was forbidden ( as it was I got a photo of a Van Gogh self portrait in the Rijksmuseum, although I think he moved when I shot it because it came out blurry). Anyway It pays to do your homework. I loved the long line of Miffys in the courtyard of the Museum, and was intrigued by the pair of 10 foot black children? standing in the pond that is used as a skating rink in winter. I tried to find out more about them but couldn't find any information except that the pond is used for temporary installations. The iconic I AMSTERDAM sign was fun too, and not as easy to climb onto as it looked. I watched a couple of people try to get ontop of it for a photoshoot but gave up when it was too high to climb. The museum is a good one and showcases 900 years of Dutch historical artifacts from 1100 to 2000 on four floors of a grand old building. It took me 3 hours to check it out and I was glad of the couches and benchseats scattered throughout the building. You could as you walked through spot a celebrity piece of artwork by the crowds of people that surrounded it. Both the Vermeer Milkmaid and the Van Gogh self portrait were only small paintings, but exuded that star quality. It was like walking into a room and spotting a famous celebrity in amongst all the others. You just knew it had to be the real thing. Rembrandts works were not as appealing to me. Apart from the shear size and brashness of the artworks, it was obvious he was such a prolific masterful painter that he could turn out dozens of well executed paintings, to order. For me real art happens when someone creates something that moves me emotionally or aesthetically in a way that is unique to that person and that piece of work. I haven't yet seen a Rembrandt that did that for me. Mind you they are beautiful big paintings which contain lots and lots of details ( but no 'Where's Wally', I looked )

Iconic I amsterdam sign

In front of museum

line of Miffys in front of museum

Room after room filled with exotica

gives an idea of the size of the paintings

'The Night Watch' could be small but

Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' in context

large and lifelike

Fabulous replica

amazing detail

lots of dutch religious icons

Carved angels

Salome's prize?

Bust of Christ

lifesize and lifelike carved and painted figures

Old woman praying

needs a bottle of heineken to be authentic

One end of long picture

and the other end

Life size carved bust of loved one is just spooky

Only their mother could love this lot..

Queen Ann, a royal white widow at 15

Marriage of Ann 9 and William of Orange 14

Allegory for winter- warming her hands over coals

Stunning Vermeer's... Milkmaid

Van Gogh self portrait, he must have moved

Hundreds of cabinets of Dutch Pottery

They belong together

Mondrian 1

Mondrian 2

Found this fella behind railway station

One look at the pictures I took at the markets yesterday and the answer is obvious. After a few hours the drizzle stopped and by 2pm the sun was shining again. A few of these photos were taken a couple of days ago when it was really sunny. I really like Amsterdam. The people are friendly, usually smiling, and the scenery is totally unique. Maybe that is why the streets can get really crowded with tourists from all over Europe and the world. As you walk around, following the mob, it is interesting to listen in on different conversations and figure out where the speaker comes from. I've heard lots of French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, German, many of the dialects of Great Britain, and languages of the countries of Eastern Europe. These voices seem at times to make you forget where you are and drown out the voices of the locals. It's only when you head out into the suburbs that Dutch once again reasserts itself as the common tongue. The buildings in town look like they belong in Amsterdam, but opposite the Centraal Station is a stunner. The Grand Hotel Amrath was built as offices for a group of shipping companies in the Early 20th century in a uniquely Dutch Art Nouveau style. Over the years it had many different lives but In 2007 the refurbished building reopened as a luxurious 5 star hotel. It is supposed to be as grand inside as it is on the outside and for rooms starting at two hundred euro a night it would need to be. I just found out that they do a tour of the building with a cup of tea and a sandwich for about $60. I'll think about it. The canals are very cool and many of them have houseboats on them. Not just in the city but also throughout the suburbs can be seen cute little homes situated on canals, most have a small boat tethered on the canal. It could be an idyllic lifestyle for some. My first day wandering around the streets was a long one. I got lost twice. It was my fault because I was too cheap to buy a 2 euro map. Lesson learned and it was the first purchase I made before wandering the streets yesterday ( when I didn't get lost ). My first day also was also the first time I checked out the local supermarket chains for ready to eat meals and snacks and was pleasantly surprised at what I was able to buy. What I didn't expect to find were two things. The first was ONTBIJTKOEK also known as Breakfast Cake. Wow who would have thought that someone could invent a special cake for breakfast. It comes in a rectangular sliced block and has the texture of a madeira cake, but tastes of ginger, molasses and cinnamon. It is cheap as chips to buy and it is very yummy spread with butter. The second thing that I got excited about was a 500ml bottle of orange juice with a screw on metal cap. Imagine my surprise when I took the top off and had a gulp of what tasted first of all of bananas and then an aftertaste of orange. When I read the label it said that the bottle held all the natural goodness of six oranges and one banana. I wonder who the first person was who said "I know how about making the orange juice taste of bananas" ...

albert cuyp market

more market

more market

more market

another market selling only tulip bulbs

very cool "The Grand Hotel Amrath"

I became obsessed with the building

detailing by the entrance

incredible detailing

more of same

and more

St Nicholas Basilica

The Weeping Tower built 1481

calliope playing beautiful waltzes loudly

Tourists in Dam Square

Dam Square

buildings opposite Railway station

another day, another canal

shopping street leading into city centre

Maybe I'll book this next time.

canal view

more canal views

canal view

Rembrandt Square

lifesize statues

Centraal Station from afar

Centraal station

unique buildings everywhere

like this cheese shop

mild, medium, tasty anyone

refreshingly blunt dutchness

After a grey and cold morning this afternoon saw the sun make an appearance, so I grabbed my warmest hoodie and caught a bus to a place called Zaanse Schans. It's just on the outskirts of Zaandam where I am staying and is a put together traditional Dutch village next to a handful of working windmills on the banks of the Zaandam river. It is a stunning location and showcases all that is quintessentially Dutch. Coachloads of smiling tourists turn up everyday to take photos and today was no exception, the place was crowded. I walked around for about an hour enjoying the beautiful views and then decided to try and take a few photos of Zaandam town centre on the way home. The sun stayed out and I got a few shots of the quirky buildings that have been built recently to attract people to the township, which is only 20 minutes by bus into the centre of Amsterdam. Finding accommodation here was a bonus because otherwise I may never have got to see this ridiculously quaint little town. Yesterday I spent five hours walking around and occasionally getting lost in the winding streets of Amsterdam, but I thought that it would be nice to showcase the area close to where I am staying first....

Working windmills on Zaandam river

another stunning view

a green one

a grey one

they had spare tiles so.....

Inntel hotel in centre of Zaandam

Zaandam railway station and council offices

Canal runs down centre of main street

Zaandam

Zaandam

canalside houses in Zaandam