Amsterdam Update

OK. We have had a little hecticness (a word?....it is now) which is my feeble excuse for not having posted anything for a few days........that and the fact I am not there yet....

BUT

Everything is taking shape. I have my ticket for the boat. I have my ticket for the plane. I have my 'inbetween England hotel' booked - to be paid for on arrival. And I also have my Amsterdam 'night before I get my apartment hotel' booked.

2 weeks to go until I set sail on the (hopefully) calm Irish sea for Liverpool. I say hopefully; 2 days ago we had gale force winds and the sea looked like whipped cream.

One Month til Amsterdam

My little blog was 1 month old yesterday: and today it is precisely 1 month until we go to Amsterdam

The time is FLYING past; we have organised our place to stay; an apartment through AIRBNB which is fantastic.

As for everything else, it's pretty much up in the air at the moment. I know the 'desired route' We'll take the boat from here to Liverpool; and then the next day fly EASYJET from Liverpool to Amsterdam.

As with many things in life, money is now the question. Our outwards journeys for the two of us are actually just over £100 one way. Then we would have the hotel in Liverpool on top. I have penciled in the BASESTAY which is about £60.00 per night, right in the centre of Liverpool, very new, very modern and we had a lovely stay there last August.

..there is a slight question if Andrew will be going ahead of me......either way. The countdown is most certainly on!

The Toilet is BACK!!!

It's a different colour

It's 3 foot to the left of where it normally sits

But the Magical Disappearing Reappearing Toilet is Back for the weekend!!!!

Amsterdam webcam now!!!!!!.............................. what am I saying??

The Confusing Mystery of the Disappearing Reappearing Toilet

So a few posts ago I connected a link to a webcam in Amsterdam

This webcam is in the Koningsplein in Amsterdam (you can access if by clicking on those words)

It's great because you can hear and see real time live streaming from Amsterdam

My father also viewed this and has been enjoying the sites and sounds of people passing by, bike and trams ringing through the streets. Until a couple of days ago...........When I noticed a strange statue type monument feature that I hadn't noticed before.........

This concrete looking structure suddenly appeared just to the right of the man in the white T Shirt, in the above picture. I just guessed that I hadn't been very observant before.

Then.......... a couple of men who were walking together, stopped and stepped onto this 'momument'............it was a urinal!!

I spoke to my father, told him to go on-line, click on the webcam and see for himself. He hadn't noticed it before either. We then spent a highly inappropriate 10 minutes fascinated, watching people hop on and off this magical toilet; very cleverly designed so you couldn't 'see anything you shouldn't'

Mind you; there did seem to be an unwritten etiquette that it was perfectly acceptable to turn around to the passing crowds whilst fastening your trousers...........strange.

Then 2 days later...it was gone!! Where did it come from? Why was it there? Where did it go?

Then it was back!!! Where did it come from again?           Now it's gone..........AGAIN?

Besides being very confusing........why would you place an open public toilet in front of a popular webcam?

....have a look......and if it's there.....I bet you play the 'who's gonna pee next' game....

Touring Amsterdam by BIKE

As the snow clears, let's think of easier times on the streets of Amsterdam; when cycling around the city is less likely to result in slipping on ice and spreading your face across the road.

I've found a city tour on bicycle that looks quite good. For around £19.00, you can spend 3 hours visiting the local tourist attractions and little connecting areas, accompanied by a tour guide. The price includes bike and helmet hire.

You see, this seems like a really good idea for a normal, physically coordinated human being......for me, I'm not so sure. I hired one of Paris' "Bike Rental Program" bikes about 4 years ago; the VELIB. I 'rode' from my apartment a few blocks away to a restaurant. Must have fallen off about 15 times, nearly got hit my a car twice and generally irritated and embarrassed my friend who ended up pushing his bike most of the way, as it was the easiest way to 'supervise me'

..........maybe I could do an Amsterdam Bike Tour...........with a little practice first. Otherwise I would ruin 3 hours for everyone else!

Trying To Get To The Airport In Amsterdam

WOW!.......now this is NOT what you need when you're counting down the time until your flight leaves!

Double click on the below screen to be linked to the video on YouTube

While it looks like conditions will remain below freezing during the day, with a minimum of -12 degrees at night...the next few days promise to have clear skies so hopefully no more snow fall....

Keep warm!

Winter 2012 in Amsterdam

This is a beautiful video, taken yesterday 3rd February in Amsterdam by a chap called Anthony

Very nice work :)

Let it Snow!!!

So a few days ago I wrote a post about the weather in Amsterdam. I found a very helpful graph that showed the average temperatures year round in Amsterdam; and then 2 days ago that ALL WENT OFF GRAPH, BIG STYLE!

Eastern Europe has seen the worst cold spell in many many years.

In Amsterdam boats have been restricted in movement along many of the canals, there has been choas on the roads and many train services have been cancelled or reduced to minimal service.

With temperatures of around -5 dgrees, 14cm of snow did fall in some places; but in greater Amsterdam, this was only about 4cm, which has lead to a very common reaction amongst residents that I have read about many times in the UK.......namely anger at the transport services that they were not more prepared or able to avoid cancellations or delays. 

Being from a small Island, we often get ridiculed when everything grinds to a halt with very little snow. The point is though, it only takes a problem in a very small section of railway or road to force an entire route closure. 

Let's make snowmen and enjoy it!