We were introduced to a new market by friends today, the Sunday Market at Westergasfabriek. Being cold and wet, I think we spent more time inside than out, though there were some beautiful things to see, and food to sample all over!
As you can see, the weather doesn’t put anyone off, they just rug up for it. It’s a very popular market. I think it doesn’t hurt that it’s only on once a month rather than every week like some other markets.
It’s a hand-made and crafters market, which reminded me a lot of the Bus Depot Market in Canberra. There were a fair few similar stalls!
It was also a wonderful place to begin the mammoth task of Giftmas shopping for 2012!
It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, just in case the world doesn’t come to an end.
Vondel Park has been dressed in it’s best for Autumn. It is the perfect time of year to rug up, pick up a camera, and head outside!
The first thing we spied were some of last seasons birds nests. Empty now of course. I wonder if they’ll get re-used next year?
There is still sunlight ti be found. So long as you’re patient about waiting for it!
This couple and thier dog made a picture perfect moment while feeding the ducks.
Only, it became evident mere seconds after this photo was taken that the dog wasn’t theirs. It’s owner came up on a bicycle, lead in hand trying to capture the wayward beast, who it turned out was after the bread being fed to the ducks!
So many beautiful houses surround the park.
I was thoroughly excited to finally find a tree that was changing colours through reds and purples. Leaves here (so far) seem to predominantly go to yellow, then brown.
Another beautiful street full of houses.
One final tree in all it’s Autumn glory.
How are you enjoying, or celebrating your season’s changing?
I still have the hugest grin on my face! And I can’t get the songs out of my head! We went and saw MADNESS at the Heineken Music Hall. It was incredible!!!
The support band began at 8pm, and had an awesome brass section! (As I guess you’d have to to support MADNESS successfully) They were so full of energy that my dodgy phone photo is all blurry.
I’m really looking forward to going to see a band in Amsterdam and knowing what they are saying/singing! Though when they broke into the chorus of one song with “donder op”, I was put in mind of a luncheon earlier this year with our adopted father in law! 😉
The crowd was enormous, well behaved, in good spirits, and surprisingly of all ages!
And as the house lights went down, and the band came out, the amount of little LCD screens recording the show was remarkably impressive! No issues with taking pictures here!
I guess they have realised that they actually can’t take peoples phones off them or stop the pictures being taken. Besides, the amount that I saw being forwarded directly to twitter? It seemed like remarkably good marketing!
One of the lead singers made the comment at the end of the night that one girl in the front row hadn’t watched any of the show, but if we wanted video footage of the entire performance, to catch up with her outside!
They played all the old favourites that I remembered from *cough* years ago, and everyone was singing along! (Or screaming. Yes, me too.) Though I must admit, seeing over 40 year old guys in suits singing about teen angst was remarkably amusing!
There were two singers breaks during the show, and I only mention them because they went so far beyond the bounds of awesome, that I had to share! The first, the lead guitar stayed on stage, took over a microphone and quite admirably performed Highway to Hell (with the ENTIRE audience singing along!), and the second all the band was on stage bringing their own special MADNESS magic to “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. Oh. WOW. 0_o
Enough blather from me though. Enjoy my own small slice of footage, and pogo along with the rest of the audience to the end of Our House!
The chill in the air doesn’t stop the real tourists from making it out to see the sights! Oh no! We have done it! We have been to see the Hermitage Amsterdam. As opposed to the Hermitage St Petersburg, which we would have to travel to Russia for. And will, mind you, just not this time!
I have been wanting to go here for a while, and with the Museum Cards we bought back in July, not only were we able to skip the queues of people, but we also got in free!
There are two main exhibitions on at the moment. The Impressionists, and the Van Gogh Museum is in residence owing to the refurbishment of its usual gallery down near the Rijksmuseum.
Unfortunately you find out pretty quickly (when you get told off, or you hear someone else being told off) that you’re not permitted to take photos in the Hermitage. I don’t really understand this rule, but I’m also no in a position to question it, so there you go. They do let you buy postcards of some of the works though.
It was such a moving experience for me, to be standing in a room full of Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, Degas, and Rodin! All of the pieces were so influential in my childhood, and internally I thanked my wonderful mother for giving me such an appreciation for art and history. I wished she had been there next to me to share it with.
The Van Gogh section had a LOT more people in it, and it suddenly occurred to me that there are usually queues down the street out the front of its regular museum. So I just was grateful I could get close enough to see anything. I have always loved some of Vincent’s pieces, but until I walked through, I’d really had no idea how prolific he was, nor how many styles he worked in and mastered after just deciding to become an artist!
I shall be going back to visit the Hermitage again soon, before the Impressionist exhibition moves on.
Last week involved a lot of things that didn’t photograph well. But the on the weekend Himself took part in Mud Masters.
Basically it was a 6km (or 12km) obstacle course through mud. Made all the more entertaining because the day dawned in Amsterdam 12C and raining.
But there were thousands of people participating, and all the people who were in the preceding waves and had completed the run were smiling. It was just hard to miss that they were all wrapped in silver hypothermia blankets too …
Himself completed the course in just over an hour, which, given the conditions was remarkably good! I was grateful that by the time he finished the sun briefly shone to assist in warming him up a bit!
You did have the option of having all the excess mud hosed off you at the end via fire hose though if you wished …
After all that excitement we took Sunday at a very relaxed pace, and after ambling our way around the local park, Him on his roller blades, and me on my scooter, we sat down in a local cafe for some refreshments.
ghoti industries 