I didn't see Al Gore predict this one

Another prominent feature of dutch society, besides bikes, is water. Water is everywhere here. Canals in cities, lakes all over the place, and ditches in farm fields. Its all planned of course though...all these waterways were man made. This is especially evident if you look at a satellite image of Holland - you'll see rural areas covered by long rectangles. These rectangles are not made evident by tree lines or big fences-- its by little canal drainage ditches.

Well, this weekend there is a big storm blowing through off the North Sea. There are worries of flooding, as a third of the Netherlands is below sea level. Besides the normal wind and rain of a 'typical fall storm', they are worried about the storm surge, and the rising sea level. For the first time since 1976 that the entire coast of the Netherlands is on alert. The water barrier in Rotterdam was closed for the first time ever since it was built over 10 years ago.

My first hand experiences of this storm that I can report to you: riding a bike without a rain jacket or hat in the dark with the wind blowing is really not my idea of a fun time. Rain + dark + glasses + steam = you can't see a damn thing. You get soaking wet before you go anywhere, and you can't go anywhere fast because the wind is blowing so dang hard. And in typical mocking manner: it stops raining momentarily at the moment you reach home.

And luckily for me, I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building, so hopefully I am above sea level by this point! :-)

I think the threat of attack by a big giant wave calls for an elevation to CODE RED in the FREAK EVERYONE OUT WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE table below (otherwise described as the "threat-based, color-coded system so that protective measures can be implemented to reduce the likelihood or impact of an attack" system).

Haven't seen this in awhile...

Get out the Hy-vent rain jackets and rain pants...its raining again in Holland!

For the first time in 48 days, it rained on Sunday. It hasn't rained here since March...this is extremely unusual. Of course, all this rain now is good for the plants and grass...but not for bike riding. I really did enjoy the lack of rain, and I started taking it for granted. But, on Monday as I was riding back from the gym in the rain, I did realize that I missed the smell of rain in the air. And, rain is what makes Holland, Holland. You wouldn't have all these canals, lakes, ducks, geese, fenders on bikes, umbrellas, and covered bus stops if it didn't rain here all the time. Well, its been over 2 days now of rain, I'm ready for the sun again.

I'm sorry I didn't update lately. I was having problems signing in to blogger and I could not get to my page to post something new. I did want to write about this past weekend though.

On May 4th, the Netherlands 'celebrates' Memorial Day, remembering specifically all those who died in WWII, and all wars in general too. This is commemorated by 2 minutes of silence at 8pm. In Utrecht, there is usually a large gathering of people on the Domplein (the square in front of the large church in Utrecht- the Dom) to remember and have a moment of silence. This year I did not get to this service, but I was out playing basketball at a park with M and some of his bball mates. And what struck me was that they kept asking me what time it was. At 745pm, the Dom's bell started ringing. At about 8 they all stopped playing and sat on the side of the court. At first, since I'm so oblivious to everything, I just thought they wanted to take a break. But after the bells stopped at 8, and no one was talking, it then struck me that, oh, these guys are paying their respects, 2 minutes of silence. And then at 8:02, it was back to playing. I thought this to be rather impressive and significant... a bunch of Dutch guys in their mid-20's, who don't seem to care one way or the other about many things...are so respectful for this day and those who have died in the war, actually stop their game of bball for a moment of silence.

The following day, May 5th, is Liberation Day, and the festivities are much more visible and fabulous. This anniversary marks the end of German occupation in WWII. Holland was mostly liberated by the Canadians in 1945. On this day, now a national holiday (only since 1990), festivals are held all over the country. Large all-day musical concerts/festivals are held in many of the larger cities. This year, the Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation day) Festival in Utrecht was a good one. My favorite Dutch band, Racoon, (like there's a bunch to choose from!!) played first, at 1:15pm, and only for 30 minutes unfortunately. But I was there and ready and excited. Racoon was great and it was fun times. In typical dutch fashion, M and I brought our own beer and snacks and shared with the 3 other friends who were with us, right before the concert. Also in typical Dutch fashion, the porta-potties were 50cents per use!!! That's robbery! What happened to our freedom!?? Even funnier- you could buy a 'day pass' for 2 euros, and use the porta-potties as many times as you wanted through-out the day! haha!!

So, we stayed til about 430, and my knees were killing me from standing up for the last 4 hrs. In that time we listened to a reggae band and some other DJs who were playing. M loves reggae and he was dancing like crazy. Ya-mon. We also enjoyed an ice cream.

Today I worked over 4 hours at the hostel and once again, checked in a bunch of Italians. Those Italians...they like Holland...and I think I know the reason why.

I will try to keep blogging as long as Blogger lets me!

PS- Purple Crocodile has updated! See the link on the right hand column.