For the Love of Cycling

Perhaps the greatest gift that this country has given me is to take me back to cycling. Lots of childhood memories re-kindled..I have been enjoying it- daily riding a bike between my home and station in Haarlem. The other day it was amazing to ride in a light drizzle.

So the next logical thing to do was to go a step forward. There are lot of cycling routes to explore in this cycle loving nay cycling crazy country :) Decided to give it a try last Saturday (26th July). I was apprehensive about completing 35 kms…at one go. Never did it and had been out of touch for so long.

Anyways, through an expat group (http://expat.meetup.com/139/) I have joined, a group of French members organized this and quickly 10-15 people were ready to join the trip. Lot of mails passed around, details discussed, meeting points decided and there we were at Zaandam Station at 2pm ready to hit the road. Quite a few of us rented cycles from a shop (6.50 Euros till 11:30pm) near the station. The cycles provided were of Dutch make- typically these do not have hand brakes –instead the break system involves back pedaling. The first reaction was of bit of anxiety but the feelings quickly dissolved into sheer enjoyment once we started riding.

The weather was very hot to start with but gradually improved as clouds started gathering and infact towards the end there was a light drizzle while T & I were returning to the Zaandam station but as I said it’s a liberating feeling to bike in and feel the raindrops on your face.

Barring a few hiccups involving some misses, wrong turns, bumping into each other’s bikes and bags sliding off the carriers it was a smooth sail..People from different parts of the world- France, India, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Peru..(apologies if I missed some)…it was a big group …in all a great experience.

I would let the pictures do the talking in place of words…
Some of us left the place earlier seeing the dark clouds covering the sky swiftly. I, personally had a prior plan to go to Rotterdam for a bar-be-que at a friend’s place. But later came to know that the people who stayed back had some real adventure! Following is the report provided very helpfully by Venkat…:)

And for those who left the group early at Zaanse Schans, you missed the real fun and the most exciting part of the trip :-( It was such a blast that it overshadowed all the fun from the morning. I'll try to summarize it, but no words can capture all the great moments :-) All names are withheld to protect the privacy (and foolishness :-) ) of those involved!

After a nice cup of coffee & appletart at Zaanse Schans, the group started planning their way back to Zaandam station.

Two people tried to be over-smart, saying they are in a hurry and wanted to rush up ahead of the group, on their bikes. They eventually got lost, sent SOS messages and had to be finally rescued by a rescue team.

Meanwhile, not wanting to miss the fun, the main group also got lost, had to knock on some doors and ask for some directions from the ppl in the house, following which the group was back again in Zaanse Schans :-)

Trying a different route this time, the whole group, looking like a pack of confused chicken on the road, waved and stopped any soul passing by and asked for directions!

A bus driver was flagged down (with the bikes, on the road!) and he also gave some directions. (there were some ideas floating around, to wave off the next train passing by and ask for directions from the train driver!!!)

The group got lost again (for the umpteenth time), then asked for directions from a guy in his car, who was kind enough to accompany the group in his car, for a few hundred mtrs, to show a tricky and easy-to-miss-out path.

Not to be outdone with all the help from so many people, the group decided to lose their way and get confused again (what a great bunch of .....)

The group stopped by at a fire-station to say "hi" to a group of bored-looking fire-fighters.The fire-fighters, for a change, instead of dousing fire, were instigating fire in a small bonfire to keep themselves warm (in peak summer! What a country!!!) (Ana: Looks like they were on the right track because T & I also passed by a fire station and asked a bunch of fire-fighters for directions –apparently if they are loitering outside one, they have got to be fire fighters- though we cannot be sure!)

The fire-fighters joined the group in their "Fight for freedom", and gave a few more direction tips!

A few hundred meters ahead the group located the bike-route signs which we should have followed in the morning (so it means the whole day we were in wrong routes and lost :-0)

Just when it looked the group will finally make it to the Zandaam station, the chain/gear system of one of the bikes broke down!

There were some great moments in cutting away the string (with plastic knife) which got entangled in the gear!

While the bike is being repaired, to provide some entertainment to the rest of the bored people, a guy was doing some acrobatics with his bike while talking on his mobile! I was reminded of this advt by Simyo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdANTs-12ZQ

Finally it turned out that the bike could not be repaired and so we had the "Great push of the day", with the guy on his broken bike in the middle and two other on their bikes on either side of him, pushing him all the way to Zaandam station.

There were some rumors that the brakes also broke down in the bike and the "pushing team" tried to push off the guy on his bike, down a steep bridge, but luckily for the guy, it didn't work out !

Finally in Zaandam! The group went for a great dinner in a nice Indonesian restaurant! This was the most uneventful part of the day. But the food was excellent.

It was 11 pm when the dinner was over. Some people took the train to Amsterdam and further on. But there were two crazy guys who thought they'll complete the whole trip on bike and decided to finish the rest of journey from Zaandam to Amsterdam by bike, even though it was raining, dark in the night and no directions :-)

After getting lost around Zaandam centrum (again!!) for about 30 mins, the duo decided to call it a day and hopped on to the next train to Amsterdam. (Ana: Maybe I should opt for another title for this post: Lost, Losing in Zaandam or Lost Cyclists Day out!!)

Curtains down !!!!!

Next time I am going to stay till the end…it would be fun to be a part of such sheer madness and craziness… Keep tuned in more of this!!

In case interested the full set of pics are posted at: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/anamandal/Cycling_Zaan

Punctuality of the non-rounded times!

I know the title doesnt make any sense- its just that I thought it sounds appropriately different and vague to motivate people to read this post on a boring subject of "punctuality".

The whole world knows the Dutch obsession with punctuality. I got to see it last week after barely managing to hop on to my connecting train from Amsterdam Central to Haarlem. Unfortunate for another guy, because he was a few seconds too late- the door had started closing. The train did not start moving before at least 10 seconds after the whistle was blown and doors closed- but the poor guy’s pleas to open the door fell on the deaf ears of the railway officer who was right there.

What is it with this Dutch obsession with time to last nano seconds and sometimes being so strict in implementing it that it borders on rudeness? Don’t get me wrong, I admire this quality- who else can appreciate this better than someone who has lived all her life in India?

We Indians are used to and accept (+/-) 10 minutes (mostly plus) tolerance range as normal for a given appointment or schedule. It is normal for trains to run 2-3 hours late, almost a commitment by airlines to delay their flights minimum by half an hour, cinema shows do not start on time and city buses- lets not even talk about them because they do not follow any time table! Having lived through this, once you land in Netherlands- amongst other things- this adherance to punctuality is bound to impress you.

But sometimes I do not get the "attention-to-details" till last minute philosophy. For example what is this with non-rounded time schedules? 8:06am, 8:37am- I mean I wonder however did they arrive at such accurate timing because it works quite well.

I think they deputed some people to especially undertake this job of actually traveling on the trains, metros and buses to note down the exact travel time precise to the last second to prepare the time table!

But how the heck do they account for uncertainties like traffic jam (oh yes there are lots of ‘em). It boggles me- maybe they can get all these agencies GVB, NS all ISO certified if they are not already certified!

One another place which is obsessed with time- rather clocks- I have heard is Switzerland. Clocks and watches in all shapes and sizes and designs are integral part of this country's landscape. Gotta go there to see it myself. Have to pick a swiss watch- how cool will that be. Oh no look at the time it is 6:07 pm - another beautiful non-rounded time ....Love it!

Our Hockey Day out in Rotterdam

A few weeks back a dutch colleague was kind enougha to invite us to see a friendly match between the Dutch team and the Indian team. So 3 of us left office early to reach Rotterdam from Amsterdam which is a good hour away by train.

We got a little late- so much so that C (who invited us) had to go ahead to the match instead of the original plan to pick us up from the station. As it is we were feeling guilty of being late and did not want her to miss the match.

By the time we reached, 2 goals had already been scored including the only one that the Indian women would, in the entire match. Earlier, we had made it clear to C that we have to support India- even though we appreciated her hospitality to which she replied cheerfully with the customary Dutch frankness- “Oh by all means! In any case Holland is going to beat the crap out of you guys ‘coz Indian women are not playing that great!” So much for the graciousness of being a host :)

Well, we also knew this for a fact but still we had to be patriots and “Chak De India” is till fresh in our minds.

So we reach the staduim and call C to take us inside. Her first comment on seeing us, “Guys if we have a date- I f**king expect you to be on time or is it just habitual of Indians?” Uhh Ummm…heeehee..this is embarassing to say the least. But I already adore this woman!!

We quickly settle down and guess what? we are the only 3 Indians in the entire stadium! The first Indian name tag we see is “Pushpa” and S does a Rajesh Khanna “Pushpa”…then there’s Ranjita…and several others. We are shouting at top of our voices at every opportunity we get (which are not too many) but everytime we cheer - people around us give us amused glances but we care a hoot- it is the first time for me in a stadium and I am loving it. After a few times when people turned back to look at us- we actually wave our arms and shout, “Yes here we are!!” It is crazy, silly but so energizing- we hardly care that the Holland team is butchering the Indian team. Finally we lose- 4-1. But guys have a field day looking at the toned & fit Dutch girls!!

After the match, we head towards the VIP pavilion to meet the Indian team (and hopefully the Dutch team as well). We could dare to imagine this possible only here- back home the security itself would have been impossible to break. The lady standing there stops us for our VIP pass but when we tell her we are from India and want to speak with the Indian team, her reaction is, “What the hell! Go Go in …doesn’t matter” How refreshing…so we go inside and try to chat with the girls. We can’t believe how shy they are! It is a task to even make them look at us. Only one girl is responsive and gives her autograph. As usual for the consultants that we are we can't resist and start giving them tips on how to play- hah! What are we thinking of? Surely it cannot be the beers we had guzzled.

More never-done-before silly things happen subsequently. We practice shooting balls in the goal with hockey stick. Then C buys us T-shirts with the Holland team’s picture and we actually chase the players for signatures and photographs! God we are like kids running around- considering we were never interested in hockey ever! But the spirit of the things is intoxicating.

Seeing me watching the guys posing with all the hot players for pics. C is like; “Don’t worry honey, let them enjoy, we will have more eye candy for us coz next we are watching the Spain Vs Argentina men’s match. (Long sigh- yeah right).

So next we head for the real match which is the Champoin’s trophy match for Men. There is a group of giggling pre-teen and early teenage girls sitting on the front bench. C’s pearl of a comment, “ Look at them- they just hit puberty and realized they are women seeing the big boys play.” I almost roll off my seat laughing!

It is getting a little late and I start feeling hungry – we have plans for dinner (C has made reservations) but the guys want to stay for the entire match. So I am a little lost when suddenly one of the guys asks me, “So which one is your favourite”. I look at him blankly but quickly recovering tell him, “It’s a little difficult to figure out who is handsome from so far.” What I really had in mind was that there is nothing handsome about men running around with sticks in hand and especially the Spanish players who are wearing red sleeveless jerseys with Princess written in the front!

During the entire afternoon & evening we keep thinking and discussing that we ought to join some sport or game. We feel the rush of team spirit, playing in the outdoors- as we felt in our childhood. How long it has been since we did this? All of us are slobs- some of us do try to be regular with gym but playing a sport in a team is something else. Its not only good for your body but also spirit.

The post match dinner was at one of the oldest restaurants in the city called De pijp. The structure, the construction, furniture everything was as old as 1940. This place was like a garage bar in the pre-war times. It survived the world war II bombing which destroyed 90% of Rotterdam. A cosy little place with ground nuts peels all over the floor- it turned out to be a tradition to eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. Reminded us of India! The walls were covered with hundreds of ties and photographs of the fraternity. Unfortunately they weren’t serving chicken and we had to eat vegetarian food. But nonetheless, the entire experience was something special and cannot thank C enough. And the next time we have a date- I am going to make sure we avoid our Indian-ness and adhere to Dutch punctuality.

The Famous Blooms of Holland

I just realised that I am not really doing justice to the title of this blog. This was supposed to be a journal of my experiences in Netherlands or Holland. So shaking of my lethargy I have decided to actually arrange my experiences of travelling through this beautiful and historical country. Initial exploration has been entirely as a tourist. What else would you expect from an expat? In first couple of weeks I covered all the top touristy places/ tours at a frantic pace since everybody kept telling me good sunny weather does not last too long here so had to make the most of it! I will put my experiences post by post. So here goes the first entry ...

I started off with the great Keukenhof flower park. Made it just in time. This place is open from March to Mid May only, when the tulips are in full bloom. In addition to the artificial garden/ park maintained, there is also an option of taking a boat ride in the waterways cutting across the big fields of flowers. I regret missing the ride but we were too late!

Flowers in all hues and color spread all across- till wherever the eyes can see. The main protagonist being the tulips in this flowery opera ! The park has a small pond in the center and some very interesting sculptures. There are small cafés in case you get hungry or thirsty during your almost 2-3 hours of walk through the entire place.

There is a area where they have put swings etc to serve as children’s play area and nurseries are scattered throughout.

They even have an area with futons, bean bags and mattresses thrown around to rest your weary bones- if you please!

But the most breathtaking sight is a magnificent windmill right next to the spot from where the boat rides to the fields begin. This was my first encounter with one of the key emblems of Holland. Set against the clear blue sky there it was- old –its fan wheel rotating lazily. One can go up and see the view from top.

Not only this, each year they have a place reserved where they create a theme park. This year being Chinese garden..

Normally there is a flower parade once a year in April which is held from Noordwijk to Haarlem which is known as the bulb region of Holland. This is a major tourist attraction especially because there is a beach near Noordwijk and Haarlem is one of the charming and oldest cities (some say older than even Amsterdam itself) of Netherlands. (BTW yours truly lives in Haarlem!).

A central point to go to Keukenhof is to take bus 58 from Schiphol Airport- the international airport of Netherlands. I also discovered that the management also runs a booking counter at Schiphol which has shuttle services to the place.

Flowers in all hues and color spread all across- till wherever the eyes can see. The main protagonist being the tulips in this flowery soap opera! The park has a small pond in the center and some very interesting sculptures. There are small cafés in case you get hungry or thirsty during your almost 2-3 hours of walk through the entire place.

There is a area where they have put swings etc to serve as children’s play area and nurseries scattered throughout.

They even have an area with futons, bean bags and mattresses thrown around to rest your weary bones- if you please!

But the most breathtaking sight is a magnificent windmill right next to the spot from where the boat rides to the fields begin. This was my first encounter with one of the key emblems of Holland. Set against the clear blue sky there it was,- old –its fan wheel rotating lazily. One can go up and see the view from top.

Not only this, each year they have a place reserved where they create a theme park. This year being Chinese garden..

Normally there is a flower parade once a year in April which is held from Noordwijk to Haarlem which is known as the bulb region of Holland. This is a major tourist attraction especially because there is a beach near Noordwijk and Haarlem is one of the charming and oldest cities (some say older than even Amsterdam itself) of Netherlands. (BTW yours truly lives in Haarlem!).

A central point to go to Keukenhof is to take bus 58 from Schiphol Airport- the international airport of Netherlands. I also discovered that the management runs a booking counter at Schiphol which has shuttle services to the place.

Up close & Personal with the Dutch POLITIE

My quest for assimilating in this country continues.

So last friday a dutch colleague says that a friend (who by the way is a hot air hostess) is going to run for a 10km run for raising some funds and whether we want to go for cheering her up. Now, the guy normally with whom I hang around was of course all eager...(he had met that woman earlier). Since I did not have any plans for anything anyways and thinking about the not-so-attractive option of spending a friday evening doing nothing I agreed. More than anything this was a chance to meet some local people and probably explore building those dutch connections I have been long thinking about. So the proposer researched and downloaded all the info on how to reach the place-complete with map, bus schedules etc. Trusting her blindly we just took the print outs and embarked on this journey (you would understand a little later why am I calling this a journey- be patient).

So we get off the last stop at a place at 9 pm which though beautiful looked like pretty much in middle of nowhere. Dont get me wrong there were houses, buildings around (signs of civilization) but the human angle was very much missing. No signs of any race or runners-hmm we do some walking around and literally stop some cyclists to enquire, but nobody has a clue! It is quite apparent that the run is not the "talk of the town" or we are way off mark the destination.

We are acutely aware that time is running out fast and soon it will be over (the run I mean) we start running in a direction we randomly select. So there we are 2 people in formal suits with bags on their back running without any idea whatseover of where we were headed to in the twilights zone. Probably sub-consciously this was our way of participating in some kind of run at least. :) We couldnt even call a taxi because we do not have any idea what we are going to tell the driver as to where to take us. As per the print out we were at our destination but not really.

After running for I suppose 1 km we see this guy and girl cop team cycling towards us. Running the risk of getting arrested for behaving suspiciously (what will you call running in formal clothes at dusk on a lonely stretch?), frantically we wave them to stop and between catching our breaths manage to ask them about some run happening somewhere! Come to think of it how absurd it would have sounded-this stupid run could have been happening anywhere in Amsterdam. Corny as it may sound the guy cop says, "Run eh? Cant help you- dont have a clue- in any case I dont like running!" I think to myself, "Dude, how the hell are you maintaining that bod of yours?" Anyways, we had luck on our side- (yeah the eternal optimist-thats me). There was a police station in sight and we just headed there. This is where the cultural gap changes into a grand canyon!

We walk in and it looks like a bloody hotel reception- maybe not a 5-star at least a 4-star! Believe you me, the entire set seemed to have popped out of eye candy pop video. All the police personnel- young in 20s -cute looking and smiling faces! So one of them comes to us and we rattle of our predicament- he smiles and says;" Let me call my colleagues in other part of the city to find out" (I swear the hotel industry can learn a few things from the police here on customer care and service orientation- considering our encounters in restaurants & hotels here have been less than delightful). So this officer (oh my!) comes back to us after barely a minute or so and tells us exactly where this run is -which of course as we had already realized is not nearby. The 2nd best part comes next "Do you want me to call a taxi for you?"- he offers. We are like "yes please" and then the best part, after calling for the taxi he tells us while we are waiting for the taxi why dont we help ourselves with tea, coffee etc from the machine.

Long after taking the taxi we kept on comparing this exp. with the exp. of police and going to a police station in India. Why there has to be so much of a difference? Why in India we have to cringe at the mere thought of going to police while here it was such a delightful exp. that probably I would want to hang out in my friendly neighbourhood police station whenevr I am getting bored. I can picture myself going in and asking ;" Where is the most happening party thi week?" and they telling me "Give us a moment and I will check with my colleagues". Ha!

If you are thinking I have forgotten about the actual event of the evening which is meeting those people- no I have not but then I am reserving that for the next time.