Packing Up

We are now in the midst of saying our goodbyes and packing up. I'm feeling the excitment, finally. My last day in work was last Friday. What a feeling it is to throw out all the crap I've collected in my drawers over the last three years. I didn't even mind giving back my iPhone, not even a little bit. I said my goodbyes to my desk and a few of us headed to Hannekes Boom, a lovely bar close to Amsterdam Centraal station. It looks over the water with a fabulous view of the old customs house and the Nemo Science musuem. Safe to say we didn't recognise the one that was one too many but I do recall saying to someone at some stage that this was the 'tipping point'. It was.

The Saturday night was himselfs going away drinks; a house party. I was seriously struggling from the night before but I made a good go of it. I managed to stay awake and functioning until 3. Although, I do admit I was found around this time curled into a sleepy little ball on the couch cuddling my iPad. I have to say that I admire the way the Dutch think about the gifts they give. Basically, 'the boys' came up with giving himself a care package; a Munich survival kit. He got good Dutch cheese, Utrechtse brewed beers along with a Munich guide book and a first aid kit. I can't imagine Irish men being that thoughtful. Although saying that, they did give him a Playboy and some wet wipes. Boys will be boys I suppose.

Sunday we went cycling over to the pancake house to sure our hangover. The area there, Rhijnauwen, is beautiful and covered in bunkers from both world wars. Himself said the area was an important strategic point to defend from the Germans and that all the bunkers were built here with the Rhijnauwen river acting a natural barrier. It's quite a spectacular place and just twenty minutes cycling outside of Utrecht. It was also nice to just be outside near some nature and animals. Amsterdam is covered in green parks but nothing beats the actual countryside. We were able to cycle past fields of cows and sheep. At one point we stopped to take a picture of sheep walking in single file along a stream. We were talking about how if one sheep gets an idea to do something the rest of them will do the same. Although, being a sheep, you wouldn't get ideas very often so if one of them did think of something, you'd do it like.

The beginning of the beginning

I started the packing. There isn't much to do in fairness especially since I'm coming back in a couple months. Just need to clear my room and throw away anything I won't be thrilled to see when I come back. It's such therapy to throw away a load of crap. I love it. I made 3 trips down to the skips. One for genuine rubbish, one for old clothes and one for a load of cardboard boxes that were squatting rent-free in the closet. 

My room is bare now. All that's left is my furniture and clothes and to give the floor a good thorough cleaning. Which reminds me, was in himselfs house at the weekend. We were woken up to a mad flurry of feathers; a magpie was throwing itself up against the window desperately trying to find a way out. It not being my house, himself, on autopilot, put his contacts in and stuck his legs in his trousers which he put on backwards. He noticed straight away and just as if he was leaving the house for work, went about putting them on the right way. Which made me laugh because I'm pretty sure the magpie wouldn't have noticed. Anyway, as soon as his feet touched the ground floor the bird was out the window. But not before he deposited a fair amount of, eh, deposit, all over the couch. Actually, all over the couch, walls, radiator, floor, laptop and curtains. Putrid. The look on his face was priceless. I must have giggled for a solid 15 minutes at him daintily trying to clean it up holding the sponge with as little fingers as possible and not vomit at the same time. 

How and ever, he had the last laugh. I ended up cleaning it up for him. What?! He wasn't doing it properly.

 

Happy in Holland

Myself and himself are leaving Holland in ten days. Confirmed. We'll both head to Munich where he'll stay for 7 months and I'll go on my way from there. This countdown period is killing me. I've been saying lately that I wish leaving day was either tomorrow or three months away. One or the other. 

But the plan is to come back to Holland, specifically Amsterdam. I'm not done with the place yet and i feel sad leaving. The last couple of weeks has seen me show a couple of visitors around the place and that always makes you look at it in a different way. Even himself, who's Dutch, said so after giving some Irish friends of mine a cycling tour of the city. Amsterdam is just one of those places with a particular personality. I find it hard to put my finger on it. It's super relaxed and there's always something to do. Actually, it's the kind of place that no matter what you do you are missing out on something. Which makes paying the expensive rent annoying because you're never in the fecking house. 

To give you a taste of what I'm talking about, I made a list below of the nice things I've been up to the last couple of weeks. 

Pluk de nacht

Twice this week I've made a visit to this special little outdoor film festival. It was named as one of the top ten outdoor cinemas in Europe, right behind a hot-tub cinema in London, I think. But then, it would be tough enough to beat a hot-tub cinema. Both times I hadn't a clue what was on the agenda but it hardly mattered. Thursday evening we turned up at 7.30 to get a place with our reserved deck chairs even though the movies don't start til the sun goes down. No matter. You can bring your own food and drinks and chat away in a lovely, lively atmosphere. They play great independent movies, let you play interactive games on screen and with the crowd and even have a bllind-date, two person deck chair. Bliss. 

De parade

Tough one to explain. It's a pretty random, circus-like, theatre festival with a lot of alcohol, good food and music. Oh and not to mention a silent disco. The entry is a pricey 15eur but you won't regret it. Even if you don't attend the many little short performances you will soak up the lively atmosphere in Martin Luther King park on the Amstel. 

Cocktails at the beach

In Holland, if you are lucky enough to get a few good days of beach worthy weather then by all means, go. Dutch beaches are great. The best ones, I think, are more to the north but require time and effort to get to. After a long day at work, I would suggest catching the train from Amsterdam Centraal out to Zandvoort (30 mins at the most) and setting up base at one of the many, many bars there. We sat from 7 til well after the sun went down and even had a paddle in the cold sea.

Pancakes 

Having a Dutch boyfriend, I have the luxury of spending some quality time with a real-life Dutch family in their natural habitat. This weekend I went along to the birthday celebration of my boyfriends grandmother, congratulating not just her but the whole family on her new age. Yeah, I don't get it either. Anyway, we went to a beautiful little pancake house, 'Theehuis Rijnauwen', in the Utrechtse countryside just outside Utrecht. We sat bravely out under a watery sky and watched as people went by on the river in their kayaks. Gezellig. 

BBQ in the park

Doesn't require much explanation. Pick a park, get yourself a disposable BBQ, some snacks and beers and call some friends. Done. 

Multiple boat rides on the canals

The best way to enjoy Amsterdam is from the water. The city seems even more relaxed and beautiful from this perspective. Twice now I've booked an electrical powered boat, max 6 people, to spend a couple of hours. In one word; fabulous.

Festivals 

A colleague of mine read to me the other day from a newspaper; 'Amsterdam's level of festivals has stabilized for the first time in 4 years.' Yup, that's what it said. Not the economy or house prices or crime levels. There were 4 dance festivals alone in Amsterdam last weekend. Myself and herself went to 'Loveland' and were probably the only ones in attendance not under chemical influence. That was fine, we danced ourselves silly for 6 hours in a row on top of swimming pool to Fedde le Grand and DJ Sasha. That's how we roll. 

The above make my decision to return after my travels easy. I do love Ireland but Amsterdam, and indeed Holland, is a special place. I'll be here for a while yet.

...but let's see how things pan out because you never know after all...

This is bigger than me

Everything is under control. Only a couple of more weeks left in the country and I have mostly everything done or is scheduled to be done. Vaccinations underway, roommate found for my room, notice handed into work and flights booked.

Everything is under control. Nothing left to do but sit back and relax. 

I can’t relax. This is what happens when my brain has a couple of minutes to itself. It starts exploring everything that I should/could/would be doing in this and that circumstance. I’m only glad that I have most of my initial travel plans made and there isn’t too much room to change them all around.

Why would I change my plans? In the words of my parents, ‘Why would you give up a well paid job?’ Well, because I’m not happy. ‘Not being happy is hardly a reason to quit your job!’ I have to say they have a point in ‘these times of austerity’ around the world and starving babies in Africa. And so I’m wondering if I’m acting like a spoiled child wanting to quit school because it doesn’t thrill me out of bed every morning like it used to.

Nah it’s bigger than that. Fuck, the whole decision is bigger than me. I’m leaving in September to see what non-European parts of the world look like and I’m even doing a spot of volunteering for two months. I want my brain to reboot. I want to feel excited about the world and I want to do some things that actually seem like they matter.

At this point in time, my wandering brain has to bow down to the feeling that traveling from September onwards is something that I cannot say no to. Like I said, the decision is bigger than me now.  I have no idea what the output will be at the end of it but it’s bound to put some pep in my step. 

Canal Cruising

Yesterday was spent cruising along Amsterdams famous canals in a boat. I cannot think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. I am paying for it today with one of the worst hangovers in history. That's a story for another day.

We rented a fairly big boat for the afternoon to celebrate a colleagues birthday, getting on at Rokin. I won't describe the route because I can't remember but we did a good round of the city canals ending up with a jaunt down the Amstel which was glorious in the sun.

What I will tell you is that on the boat there were two Irish girls, a few Dutch, a handful of Americans, two kiwi couples and a Chinese mom and son combo. Too much fun cruising around, making cocktails, blaring loud music and shouting at other boats. 

A canal boat cruise is mandatory in Amsterdam when the sun is out. Let's be honest, it doesn't happen very often. 

Sunshine in Amsterdam

After posting about our little mini-break in Belgium I have to go ahead and talk about Amsterdam in the sun. Amsterdam would be the perfect city in the world if only the weather stayed warm and sunny. It's glorious in the sun. It's made for having dinner in the park with friends or taking a boat on the canals for the evening. Everyone is hoping that this year will be the year the weather turns around. Here's hoping.

Erasmus Park, Amsterdam

So what did I do that made the most of the weather? Not much. And it was fabulous. Myself and the bestie motored to Erasmus park around the corner from my house for about mid-day (might as well not interrupt the usual Saturday morning lie-in just because it's sunny), threw on some sun cream and stayed put until dinner time.

The next day I went back to claim my spot beside the canal, this time boyfriend in tow with a couple of baby sized badminton rackets to keep him busy. We ended our Sunday evening with a must-have selection of BBQ meats courtesy of Mr. Albert Heijn cooked on a foil disposable BBQ. Now, that's the life.