AMSTERDAM’S BEST PARKS – my top five

Cycling in the Amsterdamse Bos. There are over 50km of paths to choose from.

Most visitors to Amsterdam discover the beautiful Vondelpark. It’s already several metres below sea level and sinking all the time, possibly under the weight of the 20 million feet that tramp through it each year.

It’s not the only park in town, and those who have time shouldn’t overlook some of the city’s other leafy and lively open spaces.

AMSTERDAM AUTUMN – splashes of colour and colourful splashes

We’ll be sorry to say ‘Tot ziens’ to our Vondelpark.

We’re coming to the end of our European stay for the year. The days are getting shorter and chillier. Usually we’re well back in the swelter of a Sydney summer by now, so it’s been a bonus to be here to see the autumn in.

Amsterdam isn’t New England or Canada. There are few maple trees turning glorious red, so the prevailing autumn colours here are those of the elms, poplars and plane trees – yellow and brown, the prevailing Dutch drizzle soon turning fallen leaves to grey sludge on the paths.

But this year’s weather has been unusually mild, so taking the camera for a stroll through the Vondelpark is rewarded with a few colourful snaps…

FAKING THE CITY TO SURF – by running it in Amsterdam

They’re off! Photo: Sydney Morning Herald

It’s exactly ten years since last I finished Sydney’s City to Surf race from the city centre to famous Bondi Beach. Time to do it again.

One problem – I’ll be in Amsterdam, not in Sydney, on the big day.

So I’ve had to devise a 14km virtual reality City to Surf route in a town which has no true city centre, no surf and nothing remotely like Heartbreak Hill, the steep stretch halfway along the course that causes so many hopefuls to ‘hit the wall’.

THREE ARTY REASONS TO LOVE AMSTERDAM

One of Peter Erftemeijer’s “Three figures in the street”.

A gentleman plucks at my sleeve as we’re leaving the excellent NeighbourFood market by the Westergasfabriek. ‘Excuse me, sir, I’m a poet.’

My companions move on quickly, but he has me trapped. He’s polite, well-dressed and well-spoken. Seems ok.

‘I’ve written a poem about that statue over there, and I’d like to recite it to you.’

I know the statue, pictured above. The poet continues, reciting his short poem to an audience of one. He’s not a beggar, he’s a real poet, one of forty taking part in Juni Gedicht (June Poetry), an event sponsored by the local council.

KIDS IN THE PARK – King’s Day, Holland

If nobody buys them I’ll eat them myself.

So here we go. After the royal succession last year, Koninginnedag (‘Queen’s Day’) has become Koningsdag, as Willem Alexander’s birthday is celebrated with a festival of orange across the nation.

The actual day of W-A’s birth, 26th April, is conveniently close to when the event used to be celebrated, former queen Juliana’s birthday, 30th April. (The King’s mum, Beatrix, was born in January, when the weather is generally not conducive to a giant street party.)

Amsterdam’s ever lovely Vondelpark is reserved for the kids of the city to earn some pocket money by performing, running games of skill and chance and selling surplus Barbies and Bob the Builder DVDs.

My camera was there too, for a fun day out.

SHADES OF GREY – Vondelpark, Amsterdam

Oh dear, it was cold out on the Schinkel Canal!

There is something to be said for jetlag. If you can’t sleep you may as well get up and get outside, and at such an early hour you’ll practically have the world to yourself.

This is fine if you have a camera over your shoulder and Amsterdam’s Vondelpark waiting for you just across the canal.

The Vondelpark was waiting for spring. It may have been in the air, but it was as yet undetectable to the naked eye. The park was mostly grey, so I kept it that way.