Bak(to the)fiets

Had to link to this blog with full-scale coverage of Amsterdam bike trends. 

http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/

My only correction: what the author calls an "industrial work basket with the child in the suicide position" -- a Bakfiets -- is actually made for children and used by thousands if not millions of Dutch moms and dads.

My first reaction to these was both admiration and dismay, but the dismay has dissipated. I am getting used to children without helmets. Have not heard of any terrible head injuries among children transported on parents' bikes. I think the bicycle culture is more important to keeping kids safe than the safety gear. These days, I actually let Clara (12) ride home from school alone on her bike. The Dutch style of parenting for independent children is slowly wearing off on me . . . .

Meanwhile, Clara has asked to bring her old, battered purple Dutch city bike back to the states with her in August. I'm looking into it.

Finally, a post from Dennis.

And well worth waiting for if you are planning a trip to Amsterdam. We have enjoyed quite a few visits from friends and family and are looking forward to a few more, so Dennis put together this travel guide, based on our experiences so far.

Being a lawyer with an organized mind, he writes in outline form. Unfortunately, this meant I could not upload The Hirsches' Guide to Amsterdam without losing all the formatting and while my love runs deep, it does not compel me to retype the whole thing. Therefore, it's a link. Enjoy!

Amsterdam is a very dirty girl

No, not that kind of dirty girl. This kind:

Can you see it? There's a canal behind all that garbage.

 

Overflowing recycling receptacle on my block. 

Also my block:

 

Don't you think the toilet looks rather clean in this context?

This strike, which is now over two weeks old, is the one thing that could make me happy the weather hasn't warmed up yet. We're still in winter coats, but at least the stink is not too bad! I think the municipal workers have made their point quite well. Apparently the city does too, as I hear they have reached an agreement with the city and will start cleaning up soon. I don't envy them that job!

In which our life abroad is revealed to be occasionally less than perfect

This is a quickie to let you all know I'm still alive. The south of France (Languedoc, to be exact) was fabu - even in unseasonably cold weather it is simply the most beautiful and charming area I have ever been. Pictures to come.


But even in the idyllic world that is our Semester Abroad, things are not always perfect. Amsterdam is in the midst of a sanitation workers' strike, which means our neighborhood is drowning in a mass of stinking, wet (it keeps raining) garbage and other household refuse. The city on garbage collection day is bad enough under normal circumstances, because people simply pile their garbage, some bagged and some not, on the curb. It's a trash-picker's haven -- I admit to furnishing our terrace this way -- but it's also downright gross. And at this point it is incredibly gross, about to become astonishingly so.

Add to this the fact that the construction project next door has kicked into high gear. To build anything in the soft, wet ground that is Amsterdam, you must drive giant steel pilings 30 feet into the ground. Many, many of them. You may or may not be able to imagine the sound and vibrations this produces, but suffice it to say, it is not possible to write in the house when this is going on. When it also results in the electricity being cut off all day, or -- worse! -- a loss of INTERNET CONNECTION on the eve of a four-day national holiday weekend, well, the situation can feel a little bit desperate.

I am going to post this before the hour of free wifi that comes with a purchase at my local cafe is up. I will try to remember that life was good before the internet and can be so again. I will take a hot bath and enjoy the quiet of a construction holiday. I will reassure my children that their friends will still be there when they can finally get back on facebook and AIM. We will play liar's dice again and continue reading aloud. When they go back to school on Monday, I will remind myself that the internet DISTRACTS me from my writing anyway. It will stop raining. The strike will end. And we will still be in an incredible city, with months of fun and travel still ahead.