Borneo-Sporenburg

Now that my 'stint' in Holland is very close to its due date, there was still one last thing in Amsterdam I had my heart on seeing. Before I had left South Africa, I was reading 'False Flat: Why Dutch Design is so Good’. A good chunk of one of the books chapter was dedicated to Borneo-Sporenburg, a new take on traditional Dutch canal housing designed by West8 Architects. I had set aside some time in my day to see it, and actually had some trouble locating the dock itself. Turns out, I was pretty much in front of it, I just had to lower my expectations in reality from the perfectly cropped images I had seen in the design books and blogs.

‘Two peninsulas in the eastern part of the Amsterdam docks, were to be exploited for water-related activities, as well as2500 low-rise dwelling units, with a density of 100 units per hectare. For anew interpretation of the traditional Dutch canal house, West 8 suggested new types of three-storey, ground-accessed houses deviating from the usual terraced house in being strongly oriented to the private realm by incorporating patio sand roof gardens. By repeating this type in a great variety of dwelling modes and with maximum architectural variation, an animated street elevation emerges with a focus on the individual. At a larger scale, a delicately balanced relationship exists between the repetition of the individual dwellings, the roof scape and the great scale of the docks. Three immense sculptural blocks take their place as landmarks in the vast expanse of houses.’-West8 Architects

 

An eager beaver and beach burn

 After all the rain we had been experiencing the past couple of days (seriously, three days non stop), I leapt at the opportunity to visit the beach on seeing the weather report read anything other than rain.

 

The train from Bergen op Zoom to Vlissingen is about a hour away, and a leisurely stroll to the beach town's boulevard from the station. There was a nice cool breeze blowing,  cooling the day of. This however concealed the fact that it was actually sweltering hot, and as I lay on the beach ( thinking I'm getting a sweet tan), I was in fact being scorched.

 

However,my body's reddened (or lobster like)  appearance didn't last very long. Overnight I managed to become tanned once again after a whole year of missing out on summer and it's safe to say I am no longer a pasty European.

 

Brief non bullshit friendships

Nataliia and I met in a somewhat unconventional manner, although in this day and age I suppose it is all the more normal.

 

I had recently relocated to a new town, of Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands, and because I got Thursdays  from work off, was wanting to meet up with a local for a bike ride, or perhaps a coffee in one of the cafe's. I had sent out a few simple messages on couchsurfing and awaited responses, but not thinking much of it.

 

I received an email via the website the next day from, none other than Nataliia, who is originally from the Ukraine, and was at the time living with her Dutch boyfriend in the town. She, however, was not one of the recipients I had sent a message to, but had sent talmost the same message to me, wanting to meet for a coffee, or a chat. There was something about the situation that gave me a good feeling about this, and so we met up the following Thursday. We continued to meet up every week, at the same cafe' and had grown close in the matter of a few weeks.

 

She has since then moved away from Bergen op Zoom, and is currently living her dream of seeing Paris and travelling the rest of Europe. Although our friendship was short lived by her departure, whenever a Thursday approaches, I think of her fondly...

SPRING IN MY STEP

There's nothing better than seeing all the blossoms bloom in the springtime, especially after my first European winter (which in actual fact wasn't even as cold as it usually is) . Its all quite strange experiencing the spring season in March and April when back in South Africa, it usually comes around  in September. Regardless, there isn't a sunny day that passes where I don't have my camera in hand, ready to photograph all the beautiful flowers blossoming ,being sold or being sat amongst. I also haven't yet had the chance to see the tulips at Keukenhof, so this is my version...

IT'S A CONCRETE JUNGLE OUT THERE



Because Rotterdam was completely wiped out during the war, it's anything but your traditional Dutch looking city. Skyscrapers tower over the canals and uber modern architecture adorns every building. The Erasmus Bridge is an iconic piece of architecture that is located about 5 minutes from the Rotterdam Centraal station by Metro. Oh and did I mention the city has it's own metro, I fucking love the metro. Its just so European.

I had been told many stories of Rotterdam, some good, some bad and some neutral. I thought to myself that there is no possible way somebody couldn't love a city as modern and up to date as this one. But I kind of get it now. There is not a single trace of the traditional Dutch architecture that you see in the rest of the Netherlands, which makes the city that much more colder (besides the weather of course). Regardless, I still stood in awe of the buildings and felt quite insignificant next to them...

WELKOM THUIS...

As I write this post, I am looking out of my cottage window in Driebergen, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Oh life is good...

With regard to the previous statement, I don't think I have ever been more exhausted in my life. An 8 hour flight with not a wink of sleep, followed by a connecting flight from Dubai to Amsterdam. I honestly can say that it feels like I am floating form exhaustion. Maybe this is the feeling everyone is talking about when they refer to being on cloud nine?

Its only been 1 day, yet I have met some incredible people thus far. I would say the best part of my journey thus far was the incredibly warm welcome I got at the airport with Reinoud and Basti showering me with flowers, hugs and a 'welkom thuis' balloon. Obviously with all the commotion we were causing my host family were able to spot me and more hugs and welcomes preceded. The days events were followed by a tour around town by Willemijn on the' bakfiets' with the 2 boys and myself  and Jeep following  closely. I didn't say much throughout the entire bike ride as I was in such awe of the beauty of the forests, walkways and general atmosphere of the town. I'm going to like it here, I can tell...

DAYS ARE DRAWING CLOSER...

From today, it's exactly a month till I fly out to The Netherlands, and excitement is starting to build.I received my flight confirmation a few days ago knowing that I am flying Emirates, via Dubai obviously, and am over the moon that I get to take a 30kg bag! I sound like such a girl when I say that but I honestly don't know what to pack so my entire cupboad will have to tag along with me.

It's also exactly 1 week till my work contract finishes, so today marks alot of count downs. From there, its buyig a couple of necessitys, a huge bag being one of them and getting hold of my unabridged birth certificate ( which has taken 2 months already). You have to love South African home affairs.

Some of my Dutch friends have this saying, ' Hopakeetjies' ho-pah-kay-chis, which basically means 'Lets do this/hell yeah'. But according to them its hards to translate, you have to truelly experience what it means. I only hope I will get the chance to experience a Hopajeetjies moment...maybe even a few...

CIRCA 1999...

Here you have it! I suppose I was always meant to travel to Holland and have an adventure, wouldn't' you say?. This photo actually dates back 15 years ago, when I did a presentation on Holland for my Grade 3 class. I remember it like it was yesterday! Some of the souvenirs I showed were ones that my parents brought back from a trip to Amsterdam and I still have the ceramic houses that now sit on my mantelpiece. In less than a month I wont need to look back at this image to remind me of Holland, all Ill have to do is look out my window...