King's Day, Amsterdam: seen and heard

Photo by Jannik on Unsplash

On King's Day in Amsterdam, I took a walk around the city in the morning - before the big parties start and as people set up their vrijmarkt flea markets. Here's what I saw and heard:

• A woman with a red, white and blue coat - classier than the orange looks
• A shot-to-go stand
• A sign for MINI VEGAN SALT BARS (no clue)
• An Italian woman with giant glasses selling hand knitted hats
• Guys peeing against trees, a woman squat down between two cars (11am!)
• Nearby, a cute kid selling her jewellery
• A sign for a 'Transcendental Toilet'
• A woman with an orange moustache shimmying to Shakira
• An American tourist looking at a hot dog stand declaring, 'yeah, that's solid'

A random trip from Amsterdam

I read and wrote about a book on Experimental Travel in 2011 with great ideas to do some of the experiments. And then, I never did any of them! Until now, more than a decade later.

I took a random trip from Amsterdam Centraal - using random number generators to determine my journey.

My instructions were:

• Go to Amsterdam Centraal. Use a random number to choose a platform.
  
  
• Then, use a random number between 1 and 120 to choose how long to stay on the train. Get off at the next stop.
  
  
• Random number 1 and 60. Walk for that long, with random left / right turns
  

Today I started at the train station. Using the random number generator to choose the platform brought me to two platforms that are not currently in use. The third try brought me to the train that just goes to the airport. So instead, I jumped on the train on the adjoining platform which was leaving at that time.

Then, I used the random number generator to work out the duration I should stay on the train = 60 minutes. I'd get off at the next stop after that, which was Anna Paulowna (after 63 minutes).

This was actually a bit exciting for me, as Anna Paulowna is a Dutch town I've not yet visited. Looking it up later, I learn it's named after Anna Paulownapolder, the reclaimed land on which the town is built. That land is named for Anna Paulowna, the Russian wife of Dutch King William II.

The train went through the flat landscapes of Noord Holland, passing fields with cows and sheep and occasional glimpses of tulip fields in full bloom.

Arriving there, I saw: 

- A street festooned with Dutch flags on each home

- A boat and a convertible sportscar for sale

- Three Buddhist monks in bright yellow robes eating ice-creams

- A flower festival in full swing. The 'Bloemendagen' (Flower Days) are in their 70th year

- Two people cycling around, dressed as the two Dutch kissing figures

- Floral tributes to musical acts like Freddie Mercury and, eh, Taylor Swift

- A lovely flower garden with tulips and daffodils. Some varieties were named after cultural figures like Judith Leyster or Giuseppe Verdi or places like Brazil, Île-de-France or Monte Carlo.

After walking around for around an hour, I made my way back to the train station through very residential neighbourhoods, happy to have seen these flowers. A very pleasing random trip! 

Overhead: London streets

Photo by Ana Paula Grimaldi on Unsplash

I was recently in London. As I walked around, I heard the following:

• I don't think we need many offences to send him to prison, but the more the merrier!
  
  
• And then I'm gonna die on the spot
  
  
• I'm not cool, am I?
  
  
• Do you know what a chicken wing is? Do you?!
  
  
• I didn't go to Paris to hang out with them!