May

Before I get into what I have been up to the past couple of weeks, I am going to start with today. This afternoon I got on a train and headed west for 20km, arriving in the town of Haarlem which sits halfway between Amsterdam and the coast. A short 15 minute train ride takes you to a whole new world. I love this country. Most of the photos throughout this post were taken in Haarlem.

Toward the end of April I spent a day with Marta, my Italian manager at the cruise terminal. We spent the day meeting with the vendors whose products I will be selling this summer as part of my new position.

As we were heading all over town, we decided to use our bikes. I was a little apprehensive about this plan because my bike was deteriorating at an alarming rate. I had warned Marta that it makes a lot of curious sounds and would, quite frankly, be embarrassing. She couldn’t imagine it was as bad as I had made it out to be and brushed off my warnings.

She wasn’t embarrassed as we rode through town with people looking as I peddled by. She was far too busy laughing and in disbelief that a bike this crappy was still able to be ridden. At the end of that day I retired it.

The back fender had broken free from the rods that held it in place and rested on the back wheel. When the bike was in motion it spent most of the time in the air wagging like a tail, periodically bouncing on the back tire. This made a rubbing sound.

The chain was rusty and made a grinding sound. The chain guard was loose and made a rattling sound. The kickstand was also loose and made contact with the pedals each time around making a clicking sound.

When I would encounter any sort of incline of any grade, my chain would skip on the teeth of the cogs replicating the sound of a car backfiring. With each rotation of the pedals, it would skip at least once, drawing more attention than any of the other sounds it constantly made.

The front brake worked at 50% capacity and the cable to the back brake had long since seized up. Two of the three gears still worked, unfortunately they were the two used for going up or down a hill. The gear used for travelling at grade no longer worked.

Fed up, I locked up my bike in front of my building where it had lived over the past year. I didn’t go back to it for almost two weeks as I didn’t know what to do with it. When I finally did, I couldn’t find it. I went to the spot where I had last parked it, but the bike in that spot was no mine. Upon further investigation I saw what was left of my bike lock sitting on the ground, having been cut in two. Some thief had seen my bike fit for being stolen! I stood there in disbelief and finally started to laugh. Being in possession of my bike was punishment enough… he got what he deserved.

The first cruise turnaround went well. I escorted a group of American from the terminal to the Marriott where I had less than two hours with them. In that time I sold over €800 worth of excursion. Then I had to escort another group to the ship as they had opted to spend a few days in Amsterdam before the cruise. That same weekend Nina came to visit and brought a friend with her who hadn’t been here before. While I worked the two of them enjoyed some of Amsterdam’s shopping opportunities. After work I met them at a café for a drink and cake.

Two months ago I was asked to participate in an interview for the BCIT newsletter. The piece, as brief as it is, is now online and available on their website.

I found a new expatriate group, this one specifically aimed at Canadians in Amsterdam. Ironically their monthly meet was on the same day as the BC election. Of the 10 people who showed up at the bar for the meet, only half were Canadians. The other half were Dutch (and one French guy) who had been to Canada or wanted to visit. Of the four other Canadians, two I already knew from Kent’s poker games. Nonetheless, it was nice to chat about Canada with some Canadians.

As for the election, there really isn’t too much to say. The outcome is exactly what I was expecting and I think anyone who thought anything else would have happened has their head in the clouds.

Carol James spent the entire election bashing Campbell, focusing on the negative and making promises for the future that she couldn’t back up with realistic figures or funding.

Campbell, on the other hand, didn’t let James’ goading get to him. He kept focused and showed that he was the only real choice. Now, I say that as someone who isn’t sure if I would have voted for him (this time) myself. But at least he showed a little leadership, something James hasn’t done and seems ill-equipped to do.

The STV vote was also predictable. When multiple analysts spend 30+ minutes trying to explain a system that requires a mathematician to explain the inner workings of, you have a problem. It was too complicated for its own good and the “yes” side wasn’t being totally honest about the outcome. The BC model was based on Ireland’s version (not Israel’s where they have true proportionate representation) and in Ireland they only have 2 parties elected. The chance of independents and Greens being election with the model of STV we were voting on was not that much higher then their chance at being elected with the current system.

Work is going well. My role has almost exclusively shifted to screening, vetting and interviewing candidates. I have now started to interview the candidates who are already in Amsterdam in person at the office, opposed to over the phone. This has added a different element to my job as it makes rejecting them a lot harder as they are now “real” people sitting in front of me. It’s a good thing I have always been considered such a tactful person ;)

Dad arrived in Europe a week ago for two weeks of meetings and conferences. I met him for dinner along with one of his colleagues from Vancouver who I had met on multiple occasions. We went to a Belgian restaurant Dad was scouting for a large dinner later in the week. I had been their the previous week with Nina and her friend and had a better experience when I went with Dad.

The concept of this restaurant is unique. They have one menu, but they serve it in three different ways, each one associated with a different dining atmosphere. When I went the previous week we had chosen the “Dining Room” style which is a la carte dining with normal portion sizes. With Dad we chose “Belgian Baroque” which involved the same menu served in much smaller portions. You choose multiple starter and mains which are placed in the middle of the table and everyone shares. The third style is “Gastronomic” which is the same menu served as a five course tasting menu over three hours. Each atmosphere involves a totally different style of table settings, glassware, cutlery and plates. They aren’t in different rooms either, so the tables on either side may be dining in a completely different fashion to you. The quality of food was excellent, as it should be, it’s Belgian. And conveniently for me, the restaurant was ten doors down from my office where I had been up until it was time to meet.

Last weekend I went to Germany to see Nina. As her parents now spend the weekends on their boat, we have full run of her apartment as well as theirs. A bakery how opened up directly below her building which has added a certain level of temptation to staying there. The smells waft up through the floors and when we woke up in the mornings, the smell of baking exhaust tickled our nostrils. I went downstairs to get fresh croissants for breakfast almost like I was a brainwashed zombie.

Nina is part of a theatre club in Aachen that she performed with on a few occasions. She is still active in their community and likes to volunteer whenever they perform a play. Last year we helped sell and take tickets at the door. This weekend we gave them half our Sunday and arrived early to assist with the breakfast they served before the morning performance. We cleaned up, set up for the intermission and sold beverages.

As it was a beautiful day, when we got back to her apartment we jumped in the car and drove to a neighbouring community that sports a massive strip mine. There is a lookout area with a full explanation of what is going on. As large as it is, it is hard to believe it is actually in motion. It is slowly moving across this part of Germany. Over a 30 year period it is migrating over a 20 km area displacing anything in its path. Highways and rivers are diverted, towns are demolished, people are misplaced and the underground water table in the area has been artificially lowered by a 100 metres. The government has empowered this operation by forcing everyone to sell their homes, albeit at higher than market rates. The mining company replicates the towns it gobbles up so the people have a new place to live. The 20 km track of land is shaped like a ‘U’ with a large coal power plant at the centre of the open-end of the ‘U’. The mine starting on one side and is working its way to the other. We then went to a serene lake with lush greenery surrounding it. It is on a piece of land that was part of the same mine 10 years ago, but how now recovered and been turned into an artificial lake with boating and windsurfing.

Monday I headed back to Amsterdam and went straight from the train station to my office along the Herengracht canal in the centre of the city. I worked until 7pm and walked a few blocks to the hotel where Dad, and now Andrew, were staying as we were going out for dinner together. They were sitting in the pub with many of the other people in attendance at their conference. I saw a few familiar faces like Martin Charlwood and Michelle. But the highlight was meeting one of the franchise owners from London.

A couple of years ago Dad had asked me if I wanted to contribute a painting to an auction that would be held in Paris at a Uniglobe convention. I created something I now wish I had photographed. It was inspired by a picture frame I found that had the space for 4 pictures with one on each side and two smaller ones in the centre stacked one above the other. If you can imagine, the spacing between the pictures would actually create the shape of an ‘H’. I bought 4 small canvasses and created an abstract piece that spanned the 4 canvases, stuck them in the frame, and sent it off with Dad. One of the delegates loved it so much, he kept bidding on it until it was his. Afterwards, he learned it was painted by John’s son as he hadn’t known that during the bidding process. He just really liked it. I got to meet this man, which was a big honour for me as he was one of a handful of people who have bought my paintings without knowing me first. Dad says that shouldn’t matter, and maybe it shouldn’t, but it does to me. I am always more proud of selling paintings to strangers than to someone I know. For some reason, it just feels more pure.

Wednesday evening Nina travelled up to Amsterdam and Thursday we spent the day with Andrew and Dad who had stayed on for an extra day. We retraced some of the territory Dad and I had covered when he was here in February. We visited a Cathedral next to Centraal Station and an art-deco hotel that used to house the offices of steamship operators. It wouldn't be totally unreasonable to think of the Marine Building, although this one was dominated by wrought iron and glass on the inside. Truly, a one of a kind building.

We went to the Jewish Historical Museum that Mom had visited when she was here last Fall. We spent a few hours wandering through the old synagogue/museum and then headed across the road to the Portuguese Synagogue. It was a striking old wooden building, something unusual for a building of its age. Most buildings built in the 16th century had long since burned down, but this building was well preserved.

We headed back toward town and found a patio in Rembrandt Plein to sit and enjoy a cappuccino. On the way back toward the centre of town we finally came across a herring stand; something Dad had been eagerly looking for. Nina was quite put off by the selection of fish on display and manned the camera while the three of us indulged in some street-side fish.

We headed into the centre along the canals and found a nicer patio where we sat in the sun and enjoyed an afternoon drink. It was strange to realize that this was only the second time Nina had met either of them. In fact, Dad and Andrew really only knew her from my blog postings. So it was nice to have a day together to get acquainted.

Before long the day was over so we went back to their hotel to freshen up before going for dinner. After which we split up and Nina and I headed back to my apartment. But it wasn’t a sad goodbye as I would see them both again in one month.

Nina stayed on Friday, which I took off from work, and then headed home on Saturday morning as she planned to spend the weekend volunteering again for her theatre group. With a weekend at my disposal, I was trying to decide what I would like to do. Nina suggested heading to the coast for the day as I had said that was something I would like to do at some point. I also wanted to visit Haarlem as I had heard it was a beautiful old town.

I escorted Nina to the train station and waited until she had gotten on her train. I boarded my train a few minutes later and headed in the opposite direction. Haarlem is a smaller community, sporting 150,000 people and it dates back to the 10th century. It is also the capital of the province of Noord (North) Holland.

As it’s so close to Amsterdam, many people live there and make the 15 minute commute into the city to work. I can see why they enjoy living there, it was beautiful. A lot smaller and quieter than Amsterdam, still of a size that can be considered quaint, and the timing of my trip was ideal as the greenery was in full bloom. A river snakes through the old town and a few small canals break off from it and head in their own direction, maintaining the beauty that comes from water-side communities.

In the centre of the old town is their cathedral. This one was not overly ornate, but I found it quite fetching. It sported the grandest organ I have seen, which someone was playing. I sat in a pew captivated by the sounds emanating from the 5068 pipes that made up this wondrous instrument. According to the literature handed out when I paid my €2 entrance fee, Mozart had played on this very organ at the age of 10 (in 1766) as had the German composer Händel.

The ceiling was made from wood and the floor was entirely composed of 1500 black gravestones. There was something about this building that I found very calming and I enjoyed sitting there taking in its astounding size (108 metres long).

A large square dominated the land around the cathedral and was occupied by a Saturday market. I found the fish vendor and bought some friend fish piece to lunch on.

As I walked through town I came across the “new” church. I found this odd as it looked as old as the grand cathedral I had visited earlier. Upon further inspection I discovered it had opened in 1613 whereas the cathedral had opened in 1580. I guess 33 years is the difference between new and old to these people.

New York was originally called New Amsterdam and was populated by the Dutch. So it’s no great surprise there is a community outside of Amsterdam called Haarlem and there is a community in New York called Harlem. The main difference is the Dutch version is worth visiting.

The cats in Haarlem are much friendlier than anywhere else I have been. I know how odd that sounds, but it really appeared to be true. As I wandered down lanes with people sitting outside their homes in the sun, I encountered 10 cats and 8 of them were friendly and let me pet them. It’s a wonder I had any time to take all these pictures.

As I walked back to the train station I came across Haarlem’s Synagogue. It was marked on the map which was the only reason I was able to spot it at all. It was in a residential community and looked like an old house. The only thing that gave away that it was a house of worship was the top floor windows. I went up to the front door where there was a very subtle sign announcing the name of the Synagogue. It would be very easy to walk right past it unaware it was even there.

It was exciting exploring a new corner of Holland and a little odd that I could walk back to their train station and be back in familiar surrounds within the half hour. I will really miss this country.