It’s been 15 years since the first and last time I was in Amsterdam. It’s not off to a good start…the Thalys train from Paris Gard du Nord is ‘retard indeterminee’…not a good sign at 7.10 am in the morning. It turns out to be a signal fault on the high-speed lines, so no-one goes anywhere for 40 minutes. The train eventually departs at 9.10am, and is one of those tricky trains that is so long it has two train numbers, and separates into two trains in Brussels.
It’s a smooth journey, with the amount of snow on the ground increasing as the train speeds through Belgium.
Amsterdam is crazy busy around the train station, and down the main street towards Dam Square. The Sofitel Legend The Grand is a welcome sanctuary off Damstraat. Even if there are two ‘blue’ cafes next door producing a cloud of smoke and loads of stoned teenaged or early 20s boys.
I’ve primarily come to Amsterdam to see the Light Festival, and to see what New Years Eve is like versus Paris. The light festival is quite far flung along the canals, with the long route designed to be seen by canal boat, and a shorter walking route. An early evening wander takes me to House of Cards on the canal near the station, created by OGE Creative Group out of Israel. It features the work of 40 street artists on the cards.
The second installation is called Water Fun, by Angus Muir of New Zealand. It’s popular with a group of kayaks who struggle to navigate around the lights (which change colour).
Further around the bend is the National Maritime Museum and the i amsterdam sign, popular with a posse of photographers.
It’s been a long day with a 5am start, so the rest of the light festival will need to wait until tomorrow night!
