Amsterdam in Black & White

Ok, so I'm two months late to wish you a Happy New Year. I'm sorry about that, but I hope all of you had an excellent New Year. Which really doesn't make any sense because what does that even mean? Am I wishing you a happy New Year day? Because the only thing that really matters is the Eve to New Year day. Am I wishing you a happy entire year? Because if I was I don't think I would say New Year. So let me re-phrase. I hope all of you had an excellent New Years Eve and here's to a happy 2010!

I spent my New Year's Eve in Holland. Technically, it started the States and then I landed in Holland mid-morning.

Pictures Here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bribergey/Amsterdam?feat=directlink

To give some background, Nat's uncle (mom's sister's husband) is Dutch, and his parents still live in Holland. They have a nice house in the village of Hilversum, a rather posh area about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam. So they generally spend the New Years in Holland visiting the family and lighting fireworks. You think I joke when I mention lighting fireworks, but in fact the Dutch have an oddly strong affinity for fireworks. Not only could you possibly hear them at any time of day or night for the week surrounding January 1st, but the stroke of midnight itself was like being in the middle of World War III. We spent the evening indoors due to the freezing temperatures outside, and enjoyed ourselves with lots of Wii, food and drink. We even built a large fire outside to prepare for the stroke of midnight. After the countdown on TV, I walked outside and honestly could not believe what I heard or saw. Literally every single person in the entire country must have been outside lighting a dozen fireworks at the same time repeatedly for about 15 minutes. The sky lit up as if it was dawn and the sound thundered louder than thunder itself. The Dutch know their fireworks and know how to have a good time. It was awesome.

Unfortunately, the Dutch are also slightly crazy...and I mean that literally. I was warned about the antics that would likely happen that night, and I have to admit I enjoyed it. It basically went like this. We heard loud fireworks. We lit loud fireworks. We lit a lot more fireworks. We saw a lot more fireworks. Someone threw a stack of firecrackers at my feet. A bottle rocket whizzed by my head. I lit a roman candle and pointed at the culprit, making sure to hit them at least once. Another stack of firecrackers were thrown at someone. Roman candles came at me. And so it went until the 4 dozen roman candles, literally thousands of firecrackers, and everything else was gone. I woke up to some burn marks in my jacket, and a bruised ear twice it's normal size. It was an awesome night.

As most New Year Days go, we spent it sleeping in, having a huge breakfast, and chilling out for the day. All of the family came over that night and we enjoyed a lot more food. I even got to watch the Ducks play in the Rose Bowl on the internet!

The highlight of the trip was our day spent in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, my camera has been having it's problems lately and I haven't been happy with the pictures that it produces. However, I found that if I took pictures in black & white, they turned out surprisingly nice! Since I had been to Amsterdam before, I thought it would be fun to take the entire days worth of pictures in black & white.

Despite it's obvious inappropriateness and extreme tackiness, Amsterdam really is a nice city. I once described Amsterdam as Europe's version of Vegas, but was corrected and told that Vegas is America's version of Amsterdam. A lot happens in this city, but no matter who you are, you'll find something you like. We spent most of the day walking the streets and then getting something warm to drink when we were too cold. We visited some of our favorite spots from last time, and when Nat's uncle and family joined us in the afternoon, he showed us some new spots. The streets were still littered with piles of firework debree, and we enjoyed a really chill day exploring the city and enjoying ourselves.

Nat and I decided to stay for dinner while the others went back, and we chose a cozy looking resturaunt that had some Dutch food on the menu. After we ordered our drinks, we were told that they only had two items left on the menu: the burger or the chicken satay. Although we were hoping for some more traditional food, I got the burger and Nat got the Satay and we were both very happy with the meal. I started the day with a classic Dutch breakfast of toast topped with ham, cheese and a few eggs over easy and was still reveling in it's goodness.

The rest of our trip was spent in Hilversum visiting the shops and having a nice meal in one of the local pubs/resturaunts. We had a really nice time, and as always it was dissapointing to leave. Although I should mention that to make room for Nat and I, we were put in a transformed garage where a bed had been placed. I should point out that this was a real garage, however it was made up very well for us and I was quite impressed. It wasn't even too cold...after the space heater was on for a while. I took the ferry back with Nat's family as they had taken the ferry there with their cars. The ferry was overnight and lasted about 8 hours, which was a bit weird but we slept during most of it. And as always, there is never any rest; we went straight in to work the morning we arrived back in London.

I hope you enjoy the black & white for something different. I'd love to hear your thoughts!