Bicycles (and why we love them)

From 30th April 2007. And not finished. But posted for everyone's edification :)

Understand that I know nothing about bicycles or cycling - until two months ago, I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 15 and hadn't owned one since I was about 10. So if I sound at all patronising, it's because I'm writing for my own level of understanding here...don't be offended...

1. If you are on a bike in Amsterdam, the only thing that outranks you on the road is a tram. Cars get in big trouble if they hit you, and pedestrians shouldn't be walking on the road anyway. This having been said, make sure you keep an eye out for cars, because it will hurt if they hit you.

2. Things to be careful of while riding:

• Tram tracks: make sure you don't ride along them, because your wheel may get stuck and you will fall off. Cross them perpendicularly and you'll be fine.
• Ice on the roads: be aware that if you swerve abruptly, you will skid and fall over. The same applies for any loose material (sand, gravel, leaves, melting snow, etc.)
• Tourists: if you are riding in Amsterdam, there will be tourists and they will be walking on the bike paths (especially along the Damrak) - this is why you have a bell. Or if you don't have a bell, a sharp yell will work. Mostly people will get out of your way - occasionally you will have to stop for them when they don't.
  
• Shoelaces, trousers and skirts: are likely to get caught in the bike chain (or in the case of shoelaces, twisted around the pedal - that happened to me and was *not* pleasant) You can get trouser clips, or you can just keep an eye out for it.

3. Tyres: as far as I gather, if the tyre isn't firm when you press it with your thumb, it needs air. There's a free automatic tyre pump at the MacBike place at the Waterlooplein in Amsterdam. The only hard part about using the machine is working out which side puts air in and which lets it out. (I think the side that doesn't make a whooshing noise puts air in...)

4. Buying a bike: bikes are expensive - cheap ones seem to average around €150. Anything that's €50-€100 is probably stolen. Anything under €50 is definitely stolen. (And if you have €700, you can get a nifty one with a wagon in the front!)

5. Locking your bike: bike theft is rampant in Amsterdam. You will need two locks with your bike.

• back lock: this is a nifty horseshoe shaped lock that puts a metal bar in between the spokes of your back wheel. The keys can't be removed unless it is locked (so don't unlock it first when you come back to your bike)
• massive chain lock: this is the lock you use to chain your bike's front wheel and frame to some immovable object (bike racks, lampposts, canal railings, etc.) Some of the chain locks have a trick to them... it was like a puzzle, I felt so good about myself when I worked it out!
• If you see a sign saying "Geen fietsen plaatsen" or "Fietsen worden verwijderd" or anything along those lines, don't park your bike there.

6. A useful page of advice: How not to get hit by a bike

Entertainment

Since last writing I have spent large amounts of money on tickets to various European entertainment venues - the Munich Opera House (Billy Budd - Benjamin Britten); the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (pretty white horses); and the Musikverein (LSO with Colin Davis playing Dvorak 6 and Beethoven 2)


My ticket for the LSO is a 6 euro standing room ticket - I probably won't be able to see or hear anything. However, on the grounds that, having just arrived in Vienna after a 24 hour plane journey, I will probably fall asleep if I sit down for any long period of time, it seemed like a wiser investment than 41 euros for an actual seat...

Other than spending lots of money on concert tickets (I have also been tempted by the possibility of Ute Lemper in Amsterdam in April, Janacek's From the House of the Dead, Adam's Dr. Atomic, Bach's St. Matthew Passion and the North Sea Jazz Festival - unfortunately I missed the 2006 International Jew's Harp Festival) I have been looking to buy long sleeved shirts in the middle of a Sydney summer. Ergo, I have not been having much luck - I am severely tempted just to turn up in Europe with 4 shirts and buy some more when I get there.

Alban Berg!

I bought a ticket to go see the Alban Berg Quartet in Munich! (Apparently they're going to post me the tickets - all the way from Munich to Sydney...)

I'm still deciding whether to get a ticket to see the Lippizaners at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

The really annoying thing that happened when I was looking on the internet to see what was on in Munich and Vienna at an appropriate time was that the Munich Philharmonic are playing Zarathustra - the day before I get there!!! (I could have cried...)

Further purchasing

Have now purchased:

• travel insurance,
• a backpack, and
  
• some accommodation in Vienna and Amsterdam
  

I wandered along the camping shop strip in the city (that would be the Town Hall block of Kent St - there are at least 5 or 6 camping stores along there) and asked a lot of people about backpacks. I ended up buying the one from the shop with the nicest sales assistant...

Well, I had to choose somehow... :)

Have ticket, part ii

Have now bought my actual ticket to the Netherlands - it's a train on the Pollux line of CityNightLine from Munich to Amsterdam, leaving 28.02.07 22:40 and arriving 01.03.07 08:56 - which is the day I was always planning to turn up in Holland on in the first place.

So there you are - it was obviously "meant-to-be".

Insurance confusions

I have been looking at travel insurance providers recently and I am still totally confused by it all.

The quotes vary from about $260 to $530 - all for exactly the same three month period to the same part of the world! I am assuming they all cover varying amounts of events for varying amounts of money, but every insurance provider words things differently. You can't just assume that two companies mean the same thing when they say "Additional Travel Expenses."

I'm probably going to go with one of the expensive companies, just because I know the name!

Have Ticket, Will Travel!

Yesterday I went into the city to compare plane ticket prices. Then I actually bought one... I leave Australia on Saturday February 24th, 2007 - travelling by Austrian Airlines to Vienna, via Kuala Lumpur.

I arrive there at 6:10 am on Sunday February 25th for a 24 hour stopover (this was voluntary - I figured, if I'm going to pay hideously large amounts of money to go to Europe and I'm going to change planes in Vienna anyway, I may as well have a look around the place while I'm there! Not that anything will be open on a Sunday in Vienna....)

I then mosey on back to the airport to catch a flight at 6:45am, reaching Munich at 7:50am on Monday February 26th. I'm then going to visit Hugh, Isabel and Stuart and impose myself upon their hospitalty for maybe two days - I have asked and they did say it was fine! I quote: "stay as long as you like - if longer than a month then you pay rent" - which sounds reasonable to me :)

Having seen sights (sightseen?) in Munich, I then plan to catch a night train with CityNightLine from Munich direct to Amsterdam. The prices look reasonable, and all the other train journeys I've looked up have involved between 3-5 train changes. This apparently goes direct (I'm still looking for the catch!) I haven't booked that far ahead yet (I don't think the train timetable's even up yet.)

Then I'll be in sunny Amsterdam, which, according to most, isn't really...

Planning stages...

Currently working on a number of things:

• working out my itinerary
• comparing prices of tickets
• organising to visit friends in Munich
• working out how to get from Munich to Amsterdam (it's not quite as easy as you'd imagine, but it looks like there's a direct night train :)
• working out what to take
• working out what I need to take that I don't own
• reading about the merits of different backpacks on the Internet
• suffering through work to earn money so I don't have to come home quite as fast!

It's all very exciting - I'm going into the city to compare travel prices this afternoon.

Holland again...

Have re-changed my mind to Holland - I just like tulips :)

And windmills...


...and clogs (which are apparently called Klompen - with a name like that, you can see why the style never took off in Australia) ...

...and putting random pictures on the net...

... and here's Dennis - she finally sat still for long enough!

destinations

Having first decided to go to Holland (the Netherlands, really, but I just can't say that without stuttering!) and then rethinking and considering Scotland, England, France, Germany and Finland - I think I may have settled on a new country: Belgium!

Belgium is surrounded by the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK - and they speak French, German, Dutch and English - and it's the capital of the EU (e.g. admin HQ, which is possibly professionally interesting) - and I know nothing about it.

(Except that Hercule Poirot is Belgian)

Thus my destination for the week is Belgium!

(Church in Brussels / pretty picture from larscapes.com)