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Yearly Archives for 2005

Crystal Clear

Crystal Clear Appel en AeerI have discovered my new favourite drink. It is Crystal Clear Appel en Peer (Zonder Koolzuur!). It is basically an artificial apple and pear juice, with no calories at all. It tastes like apple and pear juice would taste, if it was souped-up and made to taste more awesome. It has no bubbles, which is a plus, as here in Holland even iced tea has bubbles.

I was impressed and pleased a few years ago when that awesome tasting peach flavour was invented, and they put it into diet peach Lipton Ice Tea. That was an achievement and all, but the inventor of this pear flavouring should get a Nobel Prize. It is just like eating a pear, without all the unpleasantness. Until I discovered this drink, I didn’t even know that eating a pear had unpleasantness. By comparison, it does.

I am halfway through my third litre of the night and I bought them less than four hours ago. They were on sale at a local market, two for €1. I bought six bottles, leaving only two on the shelf. This was because my backpack could only hold six. I am a bit scared. What if the low price was to run out the stock? What if the product has been discontinued? What will I do? Nothing could fill the hole in my life created by the loss of Crystal Clear Appel en Peer.

PS – I said that it was artificial, but I was stretching the truth. According to the label it has 0.01% apple juice and 0.01% pear juice. So it is natural after all.

* I hate it when I have to use the euro symbol € as I have a non-European computer that has no euro key. Worse, it is a laptop so I cannot use Alt+0128, even with NumLk on. If any of my readers know of some fancy way to give me an instant-gratification euro symbol I would be very happy. I am almost at the point where I will write my own applet.

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Written on 03 August 2005 by darryn under Uncategorized with 1 Comment
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Hell’s Bells

The other night Kirsten and I were enjoying sitting outside at a cafe named Cafe ‘t Smalle, right on the edge of Egelantiersgracht, where it joins Prinsengracht (gracht means canal). I was literally 20cm from the edge. A very picturesque place, I wished I had brought my camera for the folks back home.

During our hourlong stay, no less than four small boats docked at the cafe to get beers, some drank them on their boat whilst others managed to get a table outside. What a life! Kirsten and I decided that we must get a boat.

There was a short bit of rain, but being the true Amsterdammers that we now are, we did not get up. No other tables did either. It would be crazy to give up an outside table during summertime and in ‘good weather’.

The Westerkerk bells chimed on the hour, and after four chimes, both of us sang danana danana dununun-un which, as you recognise, is the start of AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells. We must be getting a bit homesick if we’re grasping at any Aussie reference we can find. And yes, I have started listening to AC/DC sometimes. Anyway, we now know that AC/DC sampled the Westerkerk for Hell’s Bells.

Now playing: AC - Hells Bells

Popularity: 2% [?]

Written on 03 August 2005 by darryn under Uncategorized with No Comments
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WTF ?!

This site is not associated with me, but to the casual observer it might seem so.

onthelab.net

Anyway I sent off an email to the owner, not a cease-and-desist or anything, just hoping to become less confused. Will report in the comments, or perhaps he will.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Written on 27 July 2005 by darryn under Uncategorized with 2 Comments
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vierdaagse

Kirsten is currently walking in the gruelling vierdaagse (four-dayer) 160km walk around the 2000 year old Roman city of Nijmegen. At this point, after a day and a half, she is still going strong and even enjoying herself.


You can track their progress:


Kirsten
Marjolein
Michel


I will be putting some photos up when I return to Amsterdam later today.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Written on 19 July 2005 by darryn under Uncategorized with No Comments
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Things I like about Holland

Whenever I write anything that could be interpreted as negative about life here in Holland it provokes a swift and powerful response. I thought I might take the time to list some of the things that I like.

Food

  • kroketten (and bitterballen) tasty fried snackfood that fills the role of an Aussie meat pie.
  • erwtensoep (snert) the Dutch pea and ham soup. Traditionally a Winter food, I get comments for eating it in Summer. Stevige! (hearty!). I love it.
  • rookworst smoked sausage. Great with erwtensoep.
  • stamppotten (especially hutspot) mashed potato dishes with something else mashed into them. For example, hutspot is mashed potato with carrot and onion mashed in.
  • vla! the Dutch custard. It is available in many different flavours and comes in a 1 litre carton. Yoghurt is also available like this, and quite cheap.
  • slavink skinless sausages wrapped in bacon.
  • patat halfway between chips and french fries, patat are best served with mayonnaise. There are many types, such as patatje oorlog (with mayonnaise, satay sauce and chopped raw onions; oorlog means ‘war’), patatje speciaal (with mayonnaise, curry sauce and chopped raw onion) but I like them with just mayonnaise.
  • beer what can I say? Dutch beer absolutely shits on Aussie beer. I am also starting to prefer the 250ml glasses, on the few times I have ordered a pint I have felt that it was a ridiculously large beer.
  • coffee as promised, Dutch coffee turns out to be very good. It is filtered coffee, not espresso, and is so good that I now drink it black.

General

  • beautiful 17th Century architecture every city I visit has amazing old buildings, churches and beautiful large open squares.
  • fietspaden (bike roads) see my previous post, but I must repeat that these are awesome. Too bad it would not work in Sydney with our distances and hilly terrain.
  • parks there are parks everywhere, from my house there are at least six large parks within a 10 minute bike ride.
  • not hot Summer can be spent outdoors without risk of death.
  • relaxed atmosphere compared to the hustle and bustle of Sydney.
  • good public transport the trams and trains are frequent and go everywhere.
  • canals I like living in a city/country that is full of canals, maybe not as good as Sydney Harbour but picturesque nonetheless. The nearest canal to my house is less than 50m away.
  • abundant water the Dutch have the opposite problem to the Australians: they are always trying to get rid of excess water. It took a while to get used to it, I still feel strange running the tap while I clean my teeth.
  • unlimited downloads bittorrent!
  • short SMS numbers an ad might say “SMS ‘crazy frog’ to 68”. That is the phone number. 68. They have this in Turkey as well.
  • Town Squares, cobbled streets Rustic charm, love the town squares and the terras that goes with them.
  • everyone enjoys the sun when the sun comes out, the nation goes outdoors to soak up the rare and precious non-lethal rays.
  • proximity to Europe I can travel widely relatively cheaply.
  • my apartment one of the nicest places I have lived. Cheapest rent since 1997.

BTW I am sick of writing and saying The Netherlands all the time. Since I live in the province of Noord Holland I am now using Holland as the country’s name. Maybe sometimes I will say NL.

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Written on 06 July 2005 by darryn under personal with 1 Comment
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de langste dag van het jaar

Today, June 21st, was the longest day of the year. Here in Amsterdam it did not get fully dark until after 11pm. Coming from Sydney I am not used to such things and it is taking a bit of getting used to. The long days are not good for sleeping, how can I go to bed when it is still daytime? I am more likely to go to bed at 2am, when it has been dark for a few hours and really seems like night time. I am glad that I am not traditionally employed at the moment as this could be a real problem with a 9 to 5 job. Long days also mean more time to spend outdoors on the warm summer nights, going for bike rides and seeing the city. It also gives us more time to enjoy the terras, where every cafe has their tables outside in the street or square, like the Australian al fresco.

I am loving the bike riding here (fietsen). Within Amsterdam it is my only form of transport. The flat land is perfect for riding, and the Dutch have embraced it wholeheartedly. Every road has a corresponding bike road, usually painted red and separated from the car road. Bikes have right of way over cars and pedestrians although perhaps not trams. Special bike roads mean special traffic management: every corner with normal traffic lights also has bike traffic lights! Most places have bike racks but if not there is always somewhere to chain up the bike, and chain up you must; according to the Lonely Planet each bike is stolen an average of twice per year. I have a pretty fancy bike so I have to take extra care. Regardless of this small risk, cycling is by far the best form of transport on a nice day. You can get anywhere and it is door-to-door. For Kirsten’s birthday we went to a restaurant that was about 5km from our house. As there was no room in her parents’ car, Michel and I rode to the restaurant. We had finished our first beer by the time that the car people arrived. Cycling is the fastest transport.

When I am cooped up inside working all day and start to hit that mid-afternoon slump, all I have to do is go for a ride and I feel reinvigorated and happy and find that i work much better.

Back on the subject of Summer, I have found that the Dutch definition of ‘Summer’ and ‘hot’ differ from that back home. The definition of a Heat Wave is five consecutive days with a maximum of over 25

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Written on 21 June 2005 by darryn under personal with No Comments
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Anakin’s father

Kip and I were watching Revenge of the Sith the other night and she came to a startling conclusion. It is her suspicion that Palpatine is Anakin’s father.

1) Anakin was “spawned by the midichlorians”.

2) Palpatine can use the Dark Side to influence the midichlorians to “create life”.

3) Profit

[Update] I have corrected this theory and posted it at Pinkjoint: Anakin’s Father.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Written on 18 June 2005 by darryn under Uncategorized with 10 Comments
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Seasonal Variation

Here in Amsterdam, it is Summer. In Sydney it is Winter. In Amsterdam the temperature is 11

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Written on 11 June 2005 by darryn under personal with No Comments
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Six days in London: Day 1

The first thing that I noticed, on descent into London, was a rich brown haze as far as the eye could see. The second thing that I noticed was that the queue for passport control was over 45 minutes long. 45 minutes later I learned why as I was grilled for 3 minutes by the passport lady who was trying to get me to admit that I was visiting to get an illegal job. The queueing was just a taste of London life, as I discovered in the next long queue, to buy a train tickeet from the airport to the city. For the two of us this cost £50 (AUD120) for the 30 minute trip. On the trip I noticed that there was something weird about the landscape, it was certainly different. It clicked first with Kirsten: it was the hills. England, unlike the Netherlands, has topography.


We arrived at Victoria Station and joined another long queue to buy our weekly train/tube tickets. Another £50 for the two of us, we had spent £100 (AUD240) in the first 45 minutes in England. I should mention at this point that it seems that Londoners love queues, it is the only explanation. For the rest of this post, if I say that we did something, assume that we joined a long queue to do it unless I specifically say otherwise.


We got the tube to Mel and Jem’s local station, South Ealing, and began the short downhill walk to their house. We stopped on the way at a local pub to try the famous English ale. The warm beer had no head and tasted horrible. No wonder that most of the taps were for imported beers. Unlike Australia, every pub in London sold Fosters on tap. The Czech barmaid came over to our table for a chat, turns out that she doesn’t like English beer either.


After our disappointing drink we made it to Mel and Jem’s house and let ourselves in. Since we had risen so early to catch our flight, we made up the futon and had a nice hour nap, with the TV showing the quality movie One Million Years BC.


Refreshed, we caught the tube to Leicester Square, ready to fulfill one of my London goals: to see Revenge of the Sith without subtitles. There was a cinema (the Orion?) that had a 5 story high Star Wars poster, so we paid our £34 (AUD80) for two tickets. As you are probably already aware, the movie was very good, the best since Empire. No need to review it here, suffice to say I will be watching it again.


We met Mel at her office on Trafalgar Square and after hugs she took us to her work-local bar which was a bit yuppified. They did not have any English beers at all, so Mel introduced us to her favourite beer to which she had become addicted whilst living in Vancouver. After the second pint Jem called, he had finished work, and would we like to meet him for a drink?


We got the packed tube to Ealing Broadway, where we met Jem for another of those tasty Canadian beers whoase name I forget. All too soon it was closing time (11PM!). Since none of us had eaten yet we went to A Nepalese (Indian) restaurant. Very good quality food, and in contrast to that in NL, it was actually spicy. The meal was cheap, which is a London word for ridiculously expensive. With our bellies full we got on a double-decker bus back to Mel and Jem’s place, sitting up the top right at the windscreen, pretty cool.

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Written on 09 June 2005 by darryn under personal with 1 Comment
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Roy Rodgers and our first guests

Henk and Bea arrived on the Friday night before Koninginnedag to bring over our suitcases and bikes, so that we were almost moved in. We cooked them a tasty curry in return. Michel called us and invited us out for a quiet drink, so Henk and Bea were pleased to join us. We caught the tram into the Centrum and found our way through the crowd to the cafe he mentioned, on Brouwersgraacht. I don’t think that Henk and Bea were prepared for what we met, which was several streets absolutely packed with people, it was like being in a moshpit. There was a stage set up in the square with the band Rodgers playing covers of popular 80’s songs.

Only being able to contact Michel by SMS, we negotiated a meeting point and he led us through the close-packed crowd to their spot, not far from the stage. Then Kip and Michel went off to the cafe to get us some beers. They got back about 15 minutes later with a tray full of 250ml beers, one each. The disposable plastic glasses had a €1 deposit each! Needless to say a 250ml beer doesn’t last very long and 5 minutes later someone else made the hazardous journey to the bar. Meanwhile the Rodgers continued playing 80’s pop to the delight of the Dutch audience who were dancing eurostyle with big grins on their faces.

Now it was my turn to get some beers. Marjolein came with me, and the density of the crowd required a new tactic. Being large, I took the icebreaker role and pushed through the crowd with Marjolein in my slipstream. Marjolein advised that it is easier to get the beers inside so we did just that, emerging from the smoky den in 5 minutes with a tray of fresh beers and a few extras. This is where the real challenge presented itself: how do we get 10 beers 50 metres through a crowd that had no possible pathways? The answer was of course a modified icebreaker technique.

I led the way, holding two beers up at head height in front of me, Marjolein behind doing the same with the tray. I kept saying a pre-emptive “Sorry!” in a loud voice (this is not rude at all in NL) and we were bale to get about 70% of the beer to the group. My jacket and forearms were a bit sticky afterwards.

Henk and Bea made their apologies and went home at this point, and not long later we also moved on. The girls had to break the seal so Michel and I found a place to chat during the girls’ 35 minute queueing experience. Their work done, the girls joined us on a walk through the city, passing other hubs of activity where different cafes had entertainment (and outside beer taps).

We got to Amsterdam Centraal in about 15 minutes and decided to cab it. The <10 minute cab ride back to Watergraafsmeer cost almost €20! Mental Note: no more cabs.

Michel and Marjolein stayed with us, christening their beds and being our first house guests. We all got to bed at around 3am, M&M glad that they didn’t have to get up at 6:30 with Kip and I.

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Written on 01 June 2005 by darryn under personal with No Comments
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