Parents in Amsterdam
A very important event took place this weekend – for the first time since my move here fifteen months ago, my parents came to visit me in Amsterdam. I had placed quite a lot of importance upon this, mainly because like all children I cannot help but feel the need for the approval of my parents for what I have done with my life, of which my move to the Netherlands is obviously an important part. Clearly I wanted them to enjoy themselves, but also to leave with as favourable an impression of the country and its ways as I have.
In a very out-of-character move, I managed to be organised enough to meet them at Schiphol on Thursday morning, and had even bought a strippenkaart so that they could at once make use of public transport. We made it back to my house without a hitch, which I had also made extra efforts to get into a presentable state, free of clutter, and as clean as my mum’s own standards would demand. It seemed to have paid off, as we were soon enjoying a coffee and discussing plans for the coming days.
Sparing the details, we managed to get quite a lot done in less than four days; visits to the Van Gogh, FOAM, and Hermitage Museum, cycling out to the countryside beyond Noord, dinner in various restaurants that I would not be able to afford myself, a boat tour round the grachten (canals), and last but not least visits to various second-hand shops; this last being mainly for my dad’s benefit, but also of course for mine!
The only activity which caused a few problems was the hire of bicycles; here, they are usually the terugtraprem (back-pedal brake) type, which are almost unknown in Britain. My poor mum couldn’t really get the hang of stopping, which is of course a wee bit dangerous and certainly unsettling. Next time, it will need to be the hand-brake type.
All in all, a successful visit, or so I believe. Sunday ended up being a bit chaotic due to the trams being heavily disrupted by the Amsterdam Marathon, leading to a lot of hanging about for non-existent services and a lot of walking. Nevertheless, an enjoyable though slightly stressful weekend, and hopefully a nice introduction to the Netherlands for my dear old folks.
