Amsterdam
Official Brunger tour no. 17
Easter 2015
Once satiated with spicy produce, we headed over to our favourite games arena bar venue, which Mr Brunger thoroughly approved of. As you can see from his earnestly protruding thumb.
Of course, with our appetite whetted from the previous night's visit, we more or less headed straight for the free basketball game. We had no idea why it was free, but it made it a compelling choice for the evening as we tried to better our previous scores, straining every sinew to perfect the smoothness of the 'collect ball, throw ball' mantra. The straighter the shot the quicker it seemed to come back out so there was a benefit in taking a little time, but not too much, and it occasionally took a random diversion.
Of course, as ever with these types of games, we started to become ever more agitated in the quest for the top score. It was usually fairly clear from the first 10 seconds whether a record attempt might be possible, so if this standard was not reached, the rest of the round was rather disappointing. I finally managed, with one of my last attempts, to get to the high score I had predicted at some point, which I think was 36 (which meant 18 baskets in 30 seconds, maybe? That seems a lot - maybe it wasn't quite that.).
Here you can see Paul on a couple of occasions, patiently (or probably not) waiting for the ball to return, his score on an impressive 30. I think his record may have been 32 or 34 in the end, i.e. not far off 36. It was more or less pot luck which of us managed to break our already tough record.
This is what the some of the rest of the games area looked like. We didn't play on these as much the second time round, although we did give the basketball game a break on occasions to let others play. I seem to remember playing Dutch scrabble or something.
The next morning, on Easter Saturday, had a feeling of the morning after the night before. We wandered out into a slightly damp, slightly dull day, to find that not many others had done the same. This market was yet to really get going into terms of customers, for example. I think we stopped somewhere local for some more eggs (Benedict this time, rather than the previous stream of puns).
So we wandered here, to this building that Paul looks up perhaps wistfully at, and wandered there.
We found a windmill, which of course is a very Dutch thing to do. (Windmill spotting is a Dutch national pastime.)
We'd ventured a little way out of town, where the waterways open up somewhat. And the clouds were beginning to break.
All that wandering was making us a bit peckish and low on energy, so we stopped for a shot of sugar before venturing on.
Here, on the right, is where people have put, over the years, a lot of locks. I don't *think* it's a 'lock' pun, despite all the waterways. Probably someone just started it and away it went.
Another nice scenic canal plus bike shot for you. Thought you might have been missing them.
Here, we watched amused and in eager anticipation, as someone parked rather closer to the canal than we felt was wise. It was somewhat of a careful shuffle out of the driver's seat for this gentleman, something that scarcely seemed possible given his proximity to the water's edge. Unfortunately, we weren't given what we speculated, and secretly hoped, might happen.
Oh go on then, another canal, this time tree-and-boat-lined.
I do not know what this building is. Sorry.
You know when there's something that you had never heard of that you didn't know you were missing? It turns out that was candy freaks.
This building gave the rather shocking revelation that all of the stocks in the world were priced at zero. Bit disappointing if you have any, but a great time to buy,
And for lunch: more croquettes. I figured I may as well get my fill while I was here.
After our rather meandering morning, and with my flight time getting ever closer, we debated what to do with the rest of the first half of the afternoon. I expressed a keenness to go on a pedalo, if we could, and Paul confirmed that we did have enough time. Paul was first aboard, with an air of having done this before on top of the "well, slap my thigh" pose.
So here we are, on the good ship pedalo, with trusty Lieutenant Brunger, looking either distant or sleepy. There wasn't too much room to take photos, partly because I was not so keen to have my phone suspended too far over the water. Or indeed at all.
The pedalo gave us some alternate viewpoints along the way, with this of a grand looking building saying "Holland Gelder Land Zeeland", for no reason that I can fathom.
We did manage to generate a fairly modest audience of two birds.
This low hanging willow (I presume) tree provided some comedy value as I tried to get Paul caught up in it. Nearly worked too.
As time ticked on, we felt it was probably prudent for us to start heading home. That just left me, in charge of HMS 814, the task of parking up. Which is easier said than done, particularly given there weren't many spaces left for me to put the thing.
"Where to park, where to park...". A considerable number of shuffling manoeuvres later and I finally had her home, much to the relief of all concerned.
Whilst waiting for a tram back to Paul's flat, I did have time for this photo. Of a big building.
There followed a slightly frenetic journey, once packed, via a couple of trams and a train, to the airport. I duly noted at the train station the presence of approximately two million bikes. An impressive sight. And in the end, I made it, with not loads of time to spare, but enough. Who wants to wait at the gate for ages anyway?
On my return home, I thought it was only fitting that I tucked into a Dutch beer, and one that I probably didn't have whilst away.
So that was nice, wasn't it? Away from the family, it was a chance to chill for a couple of days, soaking in the atmosphere of Amsterdam, seeing some of the sights, doing whatever took our fancy (apart from those ladies in the windows, of course).
Back to the Secret Portal.