Maritime Museum

22 May 2011 - The Maritime Museum in Amsterdam is undergoing a major renovation (in fact most Amsterdam seem to undergo a major renovation... ). The Museum is to reopen before the end of the year. Initially the Museum catered for about 40,000 visitors per year, but the good collection and the 350 years-old historical building attracted annually more than 200,000 visitors in recent years. The layout and interior have to be changed to cope with the increase of visitors. A climate control system will also be installed. The Museam reckons that visitor numbers will further double in the coming years. After the renovation the visitors will enter through the courtyard, which is now almost completed. Visitors will be invited to explore the Museum through different routes and different exhibitions, so it will not get too crowded. Go & see! It looks beautiful.

Living on Water

31 Jan 2011 - Dutch people love to live on water. Most tourists visiting Amsterdam are fascinated by the numerous houseboats in the canals, but houseboats can also be found in other parts of the country. Amsterdam-north now has the first floating office. Attika Architects is a Dutch agency specializing in the design of  floating homes and offices. Attika developed a floating office for the Amsterdam Water company. The company invited Attika for the project as it was in need for a flexible office that could grow with the company's needs. The office offers the possibility to dock about 20 smaller boats. The offices are on the upper floor, while the ground floor has a lobby and a visitors annex meeting room. There is also a level under water, mainly consisting of showers and dressing rooms for the water engineers. The building is environmentally friendly and re-circulates water. It was shipped to its first location on January 26, 2011.

City Parks

21 Nov 2010 - Lonely Planet has published a Top Ten of city parks. The argument goes that it is all nice and well to be working on the - let's say - 34th floor of your air-conditioned office building, but the question is if we really now what the world out there, and in particular nature out there, is all about. Most office workaholics would not really care, so it is good to know that the city park is just around the corner in most urban jungles. No surprise but the list is topped by New York's Central Park. It's iconic, endearing and cinematic, and shady lanes and strawberry fields (forever). London has St. James's Park and Paris has the Jardin du Luxembourg. The list goes on with Sdney, Beijing, Singapore and Barcelona mentioned, but what about Amsterdam's Vondelpark. Maybe it's on the small side to make the list, but it has everything a good city park needs to offer. So maybe not in the Lonely Planet Top Ten, but my number eleven.

The World's First Share

18 Sep 2010 - From time to time we all dream of finding the pot with gold on a treasure hunt. A Dutch history student from the ancient city of Enkhuizen did not dig gold, but unearthed the world's first share as issued by the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) - still an impressive find. The share was locked away in forgotten city archives of Hoorn, where he was doing research for his thesis on company finance during the Dutch Golden Age. The share was made out to a gentleman called Pieter Harmensz, a resident of Enkhuizen who served as an assistant to the city's mayors. The Dutch East India Company was one of the world's largest trading firms in the world in the 17th and 18th centuries, and it was the world's first company to issue stock. The VOC share will be put on exhibition in the West Fries museum in Hoorn from September.

The Temporary Stedelijk

27 Aug 2010 - The Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum has temporarily reopened with an exhibition appropriately titled "The Temporary Stedelijk". The Museum was closed for renovation since 2004, and the Amsterdam art-loving crowd became increasingly disgruntled about the time-consuming renovation works. It is said that the city council forced the Stedelijk to reopen its doors. In fact, the exhibition covers two smaller exhibitions: "Taking Place" with modern Dutch masters and the exhibition with 19th century artists called "Monumentalism". The renovation is not finished and it is not yet clear how long the process will last. But the population of Amsterdam and thousands of tourists will have the opportunity to have a first look at the "new" Stedelijk until 9th January 2011. 

Anne Frank's Tree

25 Aug 2010 - Last Monday the tree behind the Amsterdam house where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary during the second World War was toppled in a rare August storm. Anne wrote movingly about the tree in her diary, as it was one of the few opportunities for her to be in touch with nature and notice the changing seasons. The Anne Frank Foundation immediately called the toppling a "drama" and others also regretted the collapse of one of Holland most famous trees. In 2007 plans to cut the tree had to be shelved after widespread protests from the community, who wanted the tree to be protected. Three years later the tree has not lost its appeal, because immediately after the news of its tragic end Twitter was buzzing with comments. More strikingly, the commercial site "Marktplaats" immediately posted commercials offering pieces of the famous tree for sale. "The one's death is another man's bread", as we say in Dutch.

Sail Amsterdam

20 Aug 2010 - Yesterday Sail Amsterdam opened with the traditional sail parade of about 50 tall ships and more than hundred smaller boats. Led by the clipper Amsterdam the ships sail from IJmuiden on the North Sea to the city of Amsterdam, where they will dock for the coming long weekend. Thousands of people gathered on both sides of the canal to watch the impressive fleet of sailing heritage ships. Sail Amsterdam is organized every five year since 1975 and is one of the biggest nautical events in the world. The event was initially organized to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam, but because of its huge success it was decided to repeat the show every five year. In 2005, about 1,8 million visitors attended the event and it is expected that this years' event will break the record.

World Heritage Site

1 Aug 2010 - World culture body UNESCO has decided to place the picturesque canals of Amsterdam on the world's heritage list. The UNESCO world heritage label is often sought after by countries as it boosts tourism and brings in money, but others oppose the label as they feel their homes will be changed into open-air museums with bus-loads of tourists for twelve months per year. UNESCO chose a number of new sites, also in Iran, China, Australia and other countries, in their meeting in Brazil. They also updated their list with endangered beauty spots, and added Florida's Everglades and Madagascar's tropical forests to the 31 sites already on the list. Earlier controversy arose, as the Galapagos islands were removed from that same list, while experts warned that it is far too early to declare the islands free from external threats, including overfishing. 

Blessing or Curse?

22 June 2010 - The Dutch newspaper Parool reports that the center of Amsterdam will soon be declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The newspaper quotes UNESCO Director Kishore Rao who said that the official announcement will be made in July. People in Amsterdam responded with mixed reactions. Some were surprised because they thought the city was already on the UNESCO list, while others were pleased as the seedy  image of "sex, drugs & rock n roll" would be replaced by a prettier image of "culture, museums & channels". Others were afraid that the status would only bring more tourists to the city and that the price of real estate would rise even further. One person expressed concern that the city would become an open-air museum, and no longer a place for people to live, love and die in. He said that the city should focus on the future and that the UNESCO declaration is something of the past. I am also not totally clear about the advantages of UNESCO declaration: blessing or curse?

The Duchess

13 June 2010 - Almost every day I make use of the metro-network in Hong Kong (the Mass Transit Railway or MTR). It must be one of the best, most efficient and cleanest metro systems in the world. The first metro started services in 1979. Amsterdam is building a second metro line in the city, the north-south line, which was originally supposed to be completed by 2012. However, due to several set-backs the line is now scheduled for completion in 2017. Seventeenth-century masons built Amsterdam on a foundation of poles in soggy, sandy grounds.The digging and building of the line made historical buildings subside and the city's budget explode. A new drilling machine - nicknamed "The Duchess" - is now drilling under the famous shopping center De Bijenkorf ("The Beehive") on the Dam square. The Management feared for the collapse of the building, but it appears that The Duchess did her work well and that no damage was imposed. Shoppers can be reassured.

Naked Cycling

13 June 2010 - Many people from all over the world consider Amsterdam a city of freedom and liberties. However, shoppers in the city were Saturday confronted with a group of about 30 naked cyclists touring the center of the city. That's new. The group - organized by the World Naked Bike Ride or WNBR - wanted to protest against increased motorized traffic in downtown Amsterdam. They choose their 'unique' way of protest to express the vulnerability of the cyclists and underline the feeling of freedom a good cyclist should feel. If I think of it, it feels rather painful though.

The Other JC

8 June 2010 - I am still in Europe, and the Dutch are organizing their parliamentary elections this week. It is one of the first times in my life that I forgot to register (also a bit complicated while I am in Geneva), and I feel bad about it. It is a duty to vote! I would not know if I would vote for the third JC though. After Jesus Christ and Johan Cruijff, the third messiah with the JC initials is the leader of the Socialist Party (Partij van de Arbeid) Job Cohen. This former mayor of Amsterdam struggled thoughout the election campaign, as he is not a very good debater and terrible with figures and statistics. He seems more of a pilosopher though, and probably one of the most ethical statesmen/women in Holland. The big concern is the rise of the PVV, with their (sometimes extreme) right wing agenda. JC consequently attacked the PVV programme, which has turned him into a somewhat controversial figure, as the multi-cultural dimension of Amsterdam is under threat. However, lets hope this messiah will stop the threat of the PVV.

Singing in the Rain

30 May 2010 - Its raining in Amsterdam. I am home! The only thing that is missing is my bicycle. The rain came somewhat unexpectedly - as it was a beautiful day yesterday - so it is hilarious to see people juggle with umbrellas, shopping bags and their Amsterdam tourist maps. Amsterdam welcomes about 2 million visitors per year, but travelling to Holland should come with a rain-warning. Some tourists come well prepared and dress like condoms, but they are the exceptions. Most look like wet cats on the riverside. The only thing I forgot is that the Dutch rain is cold - and it makes you feel unpleasantly soaked. Its not like the Hong Hong rain, which always invites me to imitate the famous scene "from Singing in the Rain. Dancing in the shower.

Under Renovation

29 May 2010 - The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, one of the most famous museums in the world, is (partly) closed for renovation. The sad news for museum-goers is that the museum will not completely re-open until 2012/13. That makes the renovation a 10 years project. Thinking from Hong Kong/China I wonder why things take such a long time, because construction (renovation) on the eastern side of the planet goes so much faster. Of course there is lots of cheap labor available in the mainland, and projects can be worked on for 24/7, but it remains unfortunate that the Dutch do not seem able to speed things up. The new metro-line will be a 15 years project! There were times that the Dutch were famous for their efficiency, but not anymore. At least one may take the opportunity to visit to the Anne Frank House - because its the last tourist attraction not under renovation.

Anaconda Bridge

29 May 2010 - Those who know me a bit better know that I like bridges (see my blog about Hong Kong's Stonecutters Bridge). In Amsterdam, we have lots of beautiful bridges too. One of my favorites are the two red bridges connecting the peninsulas of Borneo and Sporenburg in the Eastern Docklands. The bridges are only accessible for pedestrians and cyclists (very Dutch) and span a total of more than 93 meters. The bridges are real works of art with their spectacular shape and bending railings. It looks a bit like snake wrestling in the sky - so some locals call it the Anaconda Bridge..

I AMsterdam

28 May 2010 - I am in my second home: Amsterdam. I could complain about the grey weather (7 degreees on arrival!), the grumpy faces, the dirty streets or the poor service in the shops, but the truth is that I am happy to be here. This weekend the annual Art Amsterdam Fair is organized. The fair promotes affordable art, and I would love to have a look, as it has become one of the main "art events" in Europe (other fairs are organized in Basel, Brussels and Cologne). The success of the event has tremendously improved since the organization changed to the "small is beautiful" concept and banned all pottery, jewelry, glass and etno-graphics from the fair. Last year 24,000 visitors came to see the 130 represented galleries. Despite financial crisis, the low euro and the  struggling economy records it is expected that the visitors' record will be broken this year. However, I read that last year only 25% of the visitors paid the entry fee of EUR 20. All others got in on free tickets through their connections. Who said "guangxi" is only a Chinese concept?