Life has its little hiccups……I was so keen to blog; for the opportunity to write, as well as share photographic impressions of Holland … When I made my hotel/pension choices, in addition to ‘cheap and clean’, internet capability was an obvious must.  Pension Maaike in Noordwijk, my stop after Amsterdam, clearly advertised WiFi in every room….Well, of course, the internet was ‘down’ and the ‘man-who-knows-what-to-do’ was on holiday….Although I eventually found another place willing to let me send some quick emails, blogging wasn’t an option.

So, I will start where I left off…the ‘bleeping’ Royal Taste Hotel stairs….Getting my suitcase from the fourth floor to street level was a step by step, breath-gulping, drag and bump affair….Luckily, at the bottom, I was able to park my luggage in the pub for the few hours I had before collecting my rental car.  I had decided that the Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt), the largest of its kind in Holland, would be a fun place to wander and shoot. So I pulled up my hood and again hit the wet Amsterdam cobblestone. This market is an amazing place ! Stall after stall after stall of blooming flowers, bulbs of all proportions (tiny up to grapefruit-size), and seed packages by the thousands….My overwhelming sensation was of colour and bustle:  tourists jostling to get out of the rain and collect souvenirs; locals trying to have a chat while buying flowers, and everyone oogling over the bulbs….Plus many, like me, trying to photograph the scene. A good time…

After the protection of the market, it was damn cold outside. The Canal boat cruise which had been lower on my ‘to do’ list started looking like a really good (= warm) idea…The boats are totally enclosed  with glass, and provide an entirely different perspective of town. On the street there are bikes parked literally everywhere, and locked to anything available. One of the funnier sights, more obvious from the water, were the number of bikes hanging along the inside of the canal and bridge walls, just above the water. Premium spots, but a tad trickier to park.

Before I headed back to the airport to get my car rental (a very cute, deep purple Fiat Panda) I wandered around the Jordaan district of town which is renowned for it trendy older homes and smaller, tree-lined canals….Not disappointed…very quaint and photo-worthy !

My drive to Noordwijk was only an hour, but positioned me well for an early start the next morning at Keukenhof Gardens…The tulip extravaganza extraordinaire….Photo-heaven !!!  I spent 9 hours shooting there the next day…..I was one of the first through the gate when it opened, and had maybe an hour and a half of relative ‘people free’ shooting…but after that the crowds descended and it got packed…I didn’t manage to see the entire place, but what a delight the flowers were. The horticulturists are geniuses; ‘playing’ with colour, height, texture, and shape so beautifully. I was so engrossed that I somehow managed to burn through nearly 900 frames ! Whoops !…That adds a little more  time to my post-production…

The next day it poured again, and the winds were so high I didn’t even try to go back and shoot the  fields lined with tulip colours…My tripod wouldn’t have held against the wind. Disappointing.

It took most of the day to travel the 250 miles to Maastricht, where my sister Sally and her family now live. Great roads, but construction and an accident slowed the pace significantly. Today has been spent relaxing and enjoying family. Tomorrow is the  celebration of Dutch Queen’s birthday  so we will see how Maastricht observes the occasion.

A quick follow-up re my  ‘Stairs of the Netherlands’ obsession. It turns out that my whinging about the Royal Taste was premature…The real danger lurked at the Pension Maaike . My room, again on the top floor, again reached via very steep, windy and narrow stairs, was a floor above the loo….requiring descent and ascent of said stairs at night in near pitch black conditions. I only had to do it once, which was enough; by the 2nd night I found my flashlight and the light switch.

It  happens every time : I race around at home  getting work completed and preparing to leave; get in a state because I’m afraid of flying; spend the entire flight mentally willing the plane to stay in the sky and be free from terrorist attack…..and am a crazy wreck by the time I land the plane safely. As we touched down in Amsterdam yesterday, I was totally exhausted but very grateful for the flight crews’ skills.

Schiphol Airport got my suitcase (weighing exactly the allowed 23 kg; loaded with tripod, any camera gear that could survive checked luggage, and a few clothes) to me in record time and I headed to buy my train ticket to get into Amsterdam’s centre. Now as some of you know, prior to any trip I scour the internet and travel books for the savy tips which will get me to places more efficiently and less expensively…I had a couple of ‘good clues’ for the train ticket scenario…which ended up costing me an extra half hour of wandering and saving me nothing…(Thank you Trip Advisor)…The train did get me to the central station, which I knew from my web-combing was just over a km from my little (‘little’ in no way equals ’boutique’) hotel in the Red Light (RL) district. I spent that distance trying to lessen the racket my wheeled suitcase and carry-on were making on the cobbled roads…I’m sure the population of Amsterdam just loves tourists with pull-y luggage.

There was no doubt when I had reached the RL district…By 4 pm the store front windows were starting to fill with women of every shape and appearance…clad in bra and underpants..I don’t know if the underwear thing gets lost after dark…I will spare everyone from my political rant about the sexual exploitation of women…..

I make all my room booking arrangements at least a couple of months before the trip. My goal is to find interesting, slightly quirky, places which meet two criteria: clean and cheap. With a little searching these places do exist. The Royal Taste Hotel faces one of Amsterdam’s many canals; check-in happens at the ground floor pub…Choosing a single room in this kind of set-up often means a room on the top floor, which predictably is only accessible by flights of steep stairs…The Royal Taste has outdone itself…Tugging my gear up steps that steepened and narrowed with every floor was a joy. However, at the top was my clean bed, so once I caught my breath all was forgiven.

After a straight 21 hours of sleep, with  jet-lag behind me; time to explore. My new rain poncho worked well in the  afternoon’s downpour…a good buy: protect your camera, but have it ready when needed…Perhaps not the ultimate fashion statement, but functional.

I wandered over to Dam Square, which is a popular meeting spot in the old town.  It houses the Royal Palace, the National War Monument, and a few very nice looking hotels…Today there was also a small fair complete with ferris wheel, and a scary house….The old world architecture and ‘new’ world carnival rides were an interesting mix. Lots of bikes and tiny cars, people with umbrellas, enticing snackeries and slippery cobblestone. A couple of blocks away,  nearer my hotel, the main businesses are overwhelmingly sex and porn showrooms with the odd marijuana/coffee shop establishment.

The rain limited my shooting…but hopefully the images give you a sense of atmosphere, and how bloody steep those stairs to my room are.

Flying into Amsterdam early next Tuesday, and hoping to get an aerial view (and photographs) of all the tulip fields !!  More blog and images once I start exploring.