Errands and Handwerkbeurs

Wow! It never rains when it pours! Have a couple of quiet weeks, and then suddenly a week where I’m out constantly and feel like I’m doing everything!

I had a few errands to run during the week and whilst out finally made it into the secret convent garden of Begijnhof Court. The Begijnhof is the only inner court in Amsterdam which was founded during the Middle Ages, and therefore lies within the Singel — the innermost canal of Amsterdam’s circular canal system. The Begijnhof is at medieval street level, which means a meter below the rest of the old city center.

There is a plethora of information on this place and it’s inhabitants if you’re so inclined to go searching and reading.

It was beautiful, serene, quiet and a perfect place for meditation … until the next tourist group walked through. So I didn’t spend long there, and vowed to go back and visit the chapel on another day. It’s not going anywhere after all.

I then walked through to Dam Square where there was a bagpipe player. This is remarkably incongruous with the country, and so I had to snap a picture to prove to you all that I’d seen him!

Opposite him was the regular Batman. (Palace backdrop is quite effective, don’t you agree?)

Then on Friday I packed myself up onto a train with a group of friends from knit night and we went off to Zwolle for a craft fair! The snow in Amsterdam had melted away under the drizzling rain which had set in; Not so once you got a little bit more East though!

If you squint really hard you can see a farm house in this picture. I swear!

I was glad we’d all been able to go on the Friday as if it was this packed when the general populace was at work, then I wasn’t so keen to be under the crush of people who would have turned up over the weekend!

I’ll think about whether or not to thank my “friends” later. They may have introduced me to a remarkably dangerous store that goes by the name of Bart and Francis.

650m cobweb weight baby alpaca cones, three for EUR15.

You better believe it came home with me! I’ll figure what I’m going to make with them later!

It was only then that my new “friends” introduced me to one of their friends Loret. But by then I was out of budget! And she had the most amazing packs of yarns in colour pallets inspired by the Dutch masters! Oh well. I know for next time that I still need to have money left to hand over to Loret!

The floors were filled not just with stalls that catered to every kind of craft, but there were classes too!

I might look into those for next year when I know the language a little better.

All in all, a spectacular way to spend the day! Thank you guys for taking me with you!