New Zealanders have long been fervent All Blacks supporters. My Darling says nothing is noisier or more partisan than JW and I watching an All Blacks match.
Yeah, right. Except the Orange brigade, that is. The World Cup build-up in the Netherlands was intense and orchestrated, as Nederlanders got themselves ready for the event. All is Orange here.
Today, at our stamcafe the Coach House Inn, I watched Nederland play Brazil in the quarter-finals round. Saturday is a normal shopping day, but most small businesses closed before the game started. Everyone wore something orange. I never thought I would ever see a little orange number, but now I have – some women even wore little orange dresses. After all, sport is a serious matter, especially when the national team is playing.
Brazil was expected to win by all the world except the Dutch, and even some of those admitted to pessimism. Hans the proprietor had the big screen going in the bar, and set up a TV screen in his terrace. I sat there with a large extended family and watched the action. They all had orange banners, balloons that said “Hup Holland Hup”, and orange horns to blow or play. Hans and his part-time assistant served food and beer throughout the game. The family was even more entertaining than the game, abusing the referee’s decisions when they went against Holland, gasping with horror when Brazil scored or even looked like scoring, cheering when a Brazilian was red-carded, roaring and blowing horns when Holland scored, moaning and swearing when Holland missed opportunities. And at the end, screaming and hugging and kissing everything that moved. Two-one to Holland – Brazil was knocked out of the competition.
Immediately, we heard the dreaded three-note sound of an ambulance siren. Pity, I thought, when there is so much celebration. But not to worry, there was no emergency. As the ambulance came into sight, the driver had his hand on the horn, and his fellow paramedics were leaning out the windows, waving and cheering.
Everyone knew that Holland was a step closer to the final. Every bus that passed honked continuously, the drivers and passengers waving as they passed. Car drivers, normally sedate, flew Dutch flags and orange balloons and bunting, revved their engines and honked their horns. Groups of youths on bicycles hooted and whistled and made as much noise as possible. We have written before about how the Dutch celebrate, but this topped anything I have seen so far. If this is what we get when Nederland beats Brazil, what will happen if (when) Nederland takes the cup?
The NZ rugby, racing and beer culture is often criticised. It takes a healthy dose of a soccer, speed-skating and Genever gin culture to put that into perspective.
Footnote:
NZ, with three draws, was unlucky not to proceed into the second round of the World cup. Hans told me that in 1982, Italy also drew in the first three games, but proceeded to the second round and eventually won the cup that year. Oh, what might have been…
Tags: celebrations, Dutch, football, Haarlem, Orange Craze, the Coach House Inn
All will be very orange in the Netherlands for the World Cup 2010
The World Cup is coming!
and we are so very sad to announce that we will miss all the madness as we will be in New Zealand for a very special small persons birthday, and other family gatherings, during the very mad times ahead for those here in the Netherlands.
I know it will be mad times – because already the world is steadily becoming increasingly orange. Now I know we have seen orange here before for Koninginnedag and so on – but this will be much bigger than anything we have experienced so far here in the Netherlands.
And now the Horse has new shoes – new Orange clogs, and the little cafe (pub for the English) closest to us is covered in Orange – that is it is now a seriously Orange building.
The outside walls are covered in orange plastic – all over except the windows, the flowers are orange, there are orange pennants, orange balloons, orange plastic wrapped around the posts like a fence at the side of the road and I am sure if we made it inside the door that the inside is bound to be very orange as well.
There you are – I do have a photograph of this wonderful old building – I do not know its age, but it is far older than any we have in Auckland City, New Zealand and it is positively orange. I will hunt out further orangeness – for you all to see – if I have the time and before we leave for New Zealand very sadly, very soon.
It hasn’t actually even started yet – has it? the world cup I mean, really, properly.
The orangeness certainly has.
The madness begins.
Tags: celebrations, football, Haarlem, koninginnedag, Orange Craze, Orange Crazy, pennants, soccer, World Cup 2010
Not ice skaters – too warm for ice now, but roller skaters, roller bladers, inline skaters – I think those are all terms to cover the fast moving people we met on Nassaulaan this evening.
We were minding our own business. We had been for a quiet walk around town for about an hour, across to the Spaarne and back across the Grote Markt and home down Nassaulaan. Suddenly we saw coming towards us a traffic officer with flashing lights, and we scurried across the road at the bridge over Niewe Gracht – because we thought he was going to be going somewhere in a very big hurry. Easy assumption because when the flashing lights go on they usually are hell bent on getting somewhere pretty quickly.
Not this one, he seemed to be coasting along with his lights flashing and we did not have to scurry at all. We stopped to see what he was up to – rubber neckers – that is us. We watched, and suddenly there were people with whistles and orange vests and skates of some kind or other. Well what would you think, were they on some sort of exercise – learning about crowd control or something. One stopped at Niewe Gracht on each side of the intersection of the bridge and others went past us and stopped at the other side of the bridge – one at each side of the intersection on that side. And then they came – Hundreds of people, all shapes and sizes, in all sorts of gear, normal clothes, sports clothes, clowns clothes (they were gorgeous), orange vests, whistles and wheels – skates, inline skates, roller skates, and roller blades – and they just kept on coming.
All ages, all sizes, all shapes, some crash helmets and knee pads, and elbow pads, and shorts, and skirts and skates – at great speed – like lemmings – they flowed by us while we stood on the bridge and watched open mouthed.
Hundreds more it seems – suddenly we jumped into action – camera – oh s…………. no camera, camera phone, maybe but it was a bit dimm – the light, I mean. Best Beloved took some photos with his phone and he will upload them tomorrow if he can and I shall post them if any are okay.
From what we could tell -there is be an event – and I don’t know, maybe this was a warmup. When we see the paper tomorrow, maybe we will know more. Best Beloved is managing reading the local papers quite well now – so if it is there we will report back.
Eventually all the skating people had gone by – and the orange vested, whistle blower skaters fell in behind – and they continued away up Nassaulaan – at great speed.
It is amazing what you meet in Haarlem in the evening when out on a quiet walk on a beautiful evening.
There was a young man – just a little way along the bridge – and he said “That was cool, that was so cool” – I agree, yes it was cool.
Tags: Haarlem, Nassaulaan, news, roller blades, roller skates, skaters, skating, Spaarne, walk, weather
It was last Sunday. We were well rested, and the effects of this spring seemed to have lessened a bit for us both.
It was nearly a great day – this Bison hunting day.
We left home reasonably early, and as we always do we took clothes for the rain, and clothes for the wind. We had to stop about 1k from home to add clothes to protect from the wind.
Now Morgan has given us both a special Swiss bag for carrying across the body over one shoulder and it has pockets for everything. It is a great thing for hiking as they do in Switzerland and for cycling as we do here in the Netherlands.
Mine contained my little Samsung camera to take those all important Bison photos, my puffer for my asthma, my strepsils for my sore throat, and my sun tan lotion for the sun, tissues for you know what, and did I say it already; probably, but I also took my little Samsung camera to take the all important Bison photos.
I know you are saying out there – what am I on about.
Well, I added a sleeveless sweater vest thing to stop the wind. I took off the wonderful Swiss bag, the gift from Morgan, put on my Vest thing, and reduced the affect of the wind. I rode off happily without my Swiss bag, my camera, my puffer, my suntan lotion, my strepsils, my tissues, and oh dear, my camera.
We rode for nearly 5k’s before we realised. That is we rode to our destination – the Bison Park, well it isn’t called the Bison Park, but just now I cannot remember what it is called. But we rode there all the same, stopped the bikes, started to lock them up and I realised I didn’t have the bag, the wonderful Swiss bag from Morgan.
and that Best Beloved rode gallantly back to see if he could find the bag – not a hope.
But the best thing that happened on this day is that there were no Bison to be seen anywhere. So the camera wasn’t needed.
But I would like 4gb memory card back
So if you found the bag – you can have it, I just want the photos I have not downloaded from our boat day the day before.
So if you have the bag and camera and all the other bits and pieces in it – we can swap – I will give you the charger for the camera battery and you will give me the 4gb card with the photos on it still.
Message for Morgan don’t buy us another bag. We can replace it ourselves, as well as the camera. I just hope we get the memory card back.
Tags: asthma, bag, bicycles, Bike Rides, Bison, Camera, cycling, Haarlem, Kennemer Duinen, Kennemer Dunes, memory card, Parnassia, Samsung, spring, Swiss Bag, Switzerland, weather, wind
In New Zealand – people mess about in boats and then they take them out and sail, or row, drive or whatever else one does to move a boat on the waves. And of course it is usually on the ocean waves which makes it not messing about in boats. It might also be in an inner harbour, or up a river or on a large lake. BUT you do have to concentrate in New Zealand – you don’t generally stoodge about. If you stoodge about you are at risk and people die every year because they were just too laid back.
Well, here in the Netherlands one really does stoodge about, or mess about in boats. We have seen it many many times – walking over the many bridges over many canals, and we have experienced it personally as well.
We did do a RIB (rubber inflatable Boat) trip last year – 6 of us in a RIB riding around the canals and up the Spaarne River and it was fun, but it was not just messing about in boats – we had a time frame and people who were leaving to catch planes. Of course it was fun and we will do it again ourselves – which may well qualify as messing about in boats.
And of course we have been on canal tours – but that is also not messing about in boats.
On Saturday we were going to ride our bikes slowly up beside the Spaarne and listen to live jazz at the Cafe Terras in the afternoon at Fort Zuid. It was to be a test to see how we are both doing as this spring has affected us both quite negatively.
But as it happens we changed our plans as we were invited for a ride around the canals in a private boat. Now that was really messing about in a boat. We had lovely food, lovely company and a tour by two wonderful locals who know the canals and all of Haarlem extremely well. The boat was quite large, has sleeping accommodation for up to 5, small bathroom, kitchenette etc. It also has a Coots nest (black and white bird a bit like a pukeko) on the platform by the rudder. An exceptional living arrangement.
This tour was fabulous. We were told all about the buildings lining the canals including one which used to belong to Napoleon, and many other interesting facts. We also passed a small boat – maybe 15 to 20 feet and I will update that figure after confering with Best Beloved.
When these two were very young and in love the took a boat of such size and shape – across the English Channel and up the Thames. Wow! it was a very small boat – not designed for ocean travel. It clearly made it because these two are still together and they still mess about in boats. It seems that they were a little nervous in parts of that earlier journey.
We explored to the end of the canals where this boat was too substantial to go under the bridges and continue. I seem to think we have done that before in the RIB – although in the RIB we pressed on regardless – laying flat in it, so that we could negotiate under the bridges. This boat was too big for the little bridges, and we jiggled and jiggled (don’t know that that is a nautical term) around so the boat could turn and go back where from whence it came.
We drank lovely Rose and ate Cheese sticks, nuts and fishy stuff on melba toast and just simply enjoyed a lovely few hours messing about in a boat.
And we saw Haarlem with new eyes – odd for us really because we see most things with new eyes. But from a boat the world is a different place.
I actually enjoyed messing about in this boat with Best Beloved and these lovely locals.
Thank you
Tags: birds nest, boat, boat tour, Cafe Terras Fort Zuid, canal, Coot, house, Jazz, Napoleon, RIB, Rubber Inflatable Boat, Wind in the Willows
I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday so Best Beloved took a bike ride out towards Parnassia alone – looking for the entry to the Downs where there is a walk to “MAYBE” see the bison in the park. He did find the entry after riding past it and back again, and then he did walk into the park a bit to check it out for us.
BUT
it was raining so much that he gave up and came home. That is okay because when we next go to check out the Bison on a good fine day, we will know exactly where to go.
But
the reason for the title of this wee rave – is that Best Beloved rode across a main road – on the green light for the bikes; as you should, and as you do, and a young woman with flowing flaxen hair rode by him. It started to rain and she continued to ride and nonchalently took our her umbrella, unfurled it and continued to ride on in the rain with the umbrella protecting her.
Now Best Beloved has a widget – and this flaxen haired young woman rode by at over 21k’s per hour.
He came home feeling tired, less fit than he had when he left, and just a bit wet.
Tags: Bike Rides, Haarlem, Kennemer Duinen, Kennemer Dunes, Parnassia, umbrella, water, weather
Did you missed the Flower Parade?
Watch the compilation video of TV West. It does take 25 minutes and is spoken in Dutch. But don’t let that put you off. You can just turn the sound down or off, So press the arrow on the screen and go.
Flowers and floats speak their own universal language – They are beautiful, interesting, the floral scent is in the air and it is overwhelming, the colours dramatic, the designs interesting with the theme of – “Travel through Europe” for this Bloemencorsodag – or the annual flower parade to Haarlem.
Come to the Netherlands or in Europe in April and May next year and be in Haarlem or on the route for the parade, and to view the floats, stay for Queens Day, be here for Remembrance Day on the 4th of May, in fact plan a holiday here – you will not be disappointed. Be here for Spring – it is the greatest time for the Keukenhof Gardens Spring season. Be brave – Just hire a bike and ride around. 
Of course when I say you will have the greatest time in spring – You will; but it would not matter when you come – you will have a wonderful time.
You cannot be disappointed here in the Netherlands.
A little look in English for those who might think about Coming to Keukenhof
Tags: annual flower parade, Bike Rides, bikes, Bloemencorsodag, bloemencorsoroute, celebrations, Dutch, floats, flowers, hire a bike, holiday, Keukenhof Gardens, video
My Characters from Koninginnedag – Queens Day – Birthday Celebration
There was much orange about as well as Red White and Blue. The Dutch flag flew with the pennant of the House of Orange flying proudly above it. Orange ballons, orange food, orange clothing and orange hats and some really interesting people in Orange.
Tags: celebrations, Characters, Dutch, Haarlem, koninginnedag, Queens Day
Trip through Europe by flower parade
Tags: annual flower parade, Bike Rides, Bloemencorsodag, bloemencorsoroute, celebrations, flowers, Haarlem, Hillegom, the Coach House Inn
Big Band on Bikes in Haarlem – orchestra on Bikes doesn’t sound right somehow.
We had biked quietly to Hillegom in the late afternoon, and we watched the flower parade come through. We also had priviledged seats – seats that we had discovered when arrived in Hillegom – about 9.5 k’s from home in Haarlem. We had a great view, and to our seat, we had great service for food and wine which is really important when you are sitting for about 3 hours, first of all waiting, and then watching a fanatastical floral fantasy fleet flitter by. They drove by really, but there was enough floral aroma to keep the fleet floating by in the light late afternoon breeze.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO TELL YOU where these seats were but they were great and we want them next year. So there.
We watched the entire flower parade come through Hillegom and then we rode back to Haarlem, we had dinner at The Coach House Inn and waited for the parade to arrive there.
And it did.
The Big Band came by playing their instruments and they were riding their bikes.
This orchestra did not ride through Hillegom. It seems sensible that the bands and marching teams change on the journey as it is a long way to walk but we were stunned when the orchestra whizzed by on the bikes playing their instruments – WOW. And now we have the video of the band on bikes courstesy of Paul and Jenny from Australia.Watch the wibbling wobbling drummer that caused us all to hold our breath briefly.
Tags: annual flower parade, Band on Bikes, Bike Rides, Bloemencorsodag, Bloemmencorso Route, celebrations, Dutch, flowers, the Coach House Inn
