I wondered down towards the Spaarne quite early. Sinterklaas was to arrive at 1pm by boat.

I started from the house and went to the Spaarne via the Grote Markt where there was much activity and many Zwarte Pieten. And there were excited children everywhere. I then wandered down to the Spaarne to pick a spot to stand and watch from and maybe get some reasonable pictures. The children everywhere were dressed either as Sinterklaas and mostly as Zwarte Piet.

It was really surround sound frivolity. The Zwarte Piet were riding many different sizes and styles of bicycles, a few skate boards, roller blades etc. There were boats on the river full of excited children and Zwarte Pieten. It is just as well everybody loves Zwarte Piet because there were so many of them.

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So it wasn’t a dismal day at all – it was wet, grey and colourful, and fun for everyone. And we wandered into Den Uiver to recover from the excitment and remained till the Jazz began. It was Sunday after all and jazz begins at 5pm.

Sinterklaas arrives today at 1pm by boat and will alight at the Teylers Museum after travelling along the Spaarne on his journey from Spain. And we will be there and record what we can of this event as a Mormor and a Grandad from New Zealand. I was born in Denmark – hence Mormor, Grandad was born and bred in New Zealand.

We did not know about Sinterklaas in November 2008. We were in Delft when we saw our first Zwarte Piet (from behind), and then we tried to find out all we could. We did not discover enough as we did have enough information to begin with. Our reading skills were nix, nil so we could not extract enough from the local papers and for all we knew that lone Zwarte Piet in Delft may have been a local actor from a show or ?? Of course the shop windows were full of them, Pebernoten were everywhere, but we still missed the arrival and departure so didn’t understand the significance.

In 2009 we stumbled upon the parade on the day Sinterklaas arrived in Haarlem. He was riding his grey horse and had many Zwarte Pieten helpers. We also stumbled upon his farewell from Haarlem in early December – and it was such fun.

Today we will be there ready.

What to do when you are on the other side of the world and feeling sad?  Go to Rotterdam on a Saturday, of course.  So we went, on an overcast Saturday morning, to look at the architecture of Rotterdam and (we thought) to see, close-up, one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the sea-wall defences of Rotterdam’s harbour and beyond.  These things allow the marine wetlands to remain marine, but can be closed in times of storm-surge to protect the land from the worst of the North-sea fury.  Fury indeed – in 1212, a storm-surge flood killed 60,00o people here.  Since the ninth century, there have been twenty-eight major flooding events, each one killing thousands of people.  That’s nearly three times per century.  The last biggie was in 1953, with 1800 deaths.

So we were keen to see first-hand what the Dutch have come up with to protect themselves and the natural environment at the same time.  Alas – our research was inadequate – we arrived in Rotterdam at ten AM to find out that the defences are actually 96 km from Rotterdam, and that the next public transport opportunity would have us arrive at three PM.  And that the whole shebang is closed to the public at 5:30 PM.  We also found that they all-day guided tours of all of the sea defences, but only on a Wednesday!  (Oh well, we will plan a break later this month and go there on a Tuesday evening, do the tour on the Wednesday and carry on to Belgium to visit Brugge and Antwerp and maybe Ghent.)  So, what to do next, in Rotterdam with no other plans?

We had a coffee, then went to an information centre where we found that there is a Matariki exhibition of Maori artefacts in one of the main centres.  What a fine irony, we thought, let’s go there.  Bugger – one has to make an appointment two days in advance.  (Sigh) – add that to the plans for the return visit.

OK, that leaves the architecture.  When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940, they gave the Dutch an ultimatum – surrender or we’ll bomb Rotterdam into oblivion.  The Dutch, knowing what the Germans had done in other countries, and without air defences, did the wise thing – they surrendered.  The Nazis went on ahead and destroyed Rotterdam anyway, with no apparent reason other than to demonstrate to the rest of the world that they could.  After the war, Rotterdam was rebuilt in a modern style.  Now, there are two ways to do build large-scale in a modern style.  One is to do it as cheaply and unimaginatively as possible – that’s what the Belgians did in Brussels, a town so ugly that the French coined the term “Bruxellation” to mean any very ugly urban reconstruction.  Brussels in not in our Belgium “must-see” list.  The other way is to insist on high standards in both aspects of architecture – functional engineering and art.  That’s what they did in Rotterdam.  And in their own way, the buildings of Rotterdam are as admirable as the fine old buildings of our beloved Haarlem.  We saw, we marvelled, we photographed, until we grew hungry.

On a whim, we turned away from the complex of buildings close to the station, toward the centre of town.  On the way was an Irish pub called O’Sheas Rotterdam showing the Bledisloe Cup match on a huge screen.  We had a table with a great view of the action, ate lunch and had a couple of drinks – dry whites for my Darling and pints of Guinness for me.  Served in plastic glasses, for heaven’s sake, as there was a Carribean summer carnival beginning in town, and the police didn’t want drunken hoons using beer or wine-glasses as weapons.  While we were there enjoying the food, atmosphere and the game along with a group of very happy Kiwis and some very quiet others (Ockers, perhaps?), four armed police arrived.  One stood outside while the other three went through the bar to ensure nobody was drinking from a glass.  The All Blacks triumphed over the Wallabies, to our great pleasure, and on screen Graham Henry raised his arms in delight while Robbie Deans frowned.

It feels very satisfying, to be half-way around the world and and able to watch the Bledisloe, especially when you did not even know it was on at that time.  And especially when the ABs win.

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…

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.

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

My Characters from Koninginnedag – Queens Day – Birthday Celebration