St Martin's Day Amsterdam

When in Amsterdam....11 November is St Martin's Day or Sint Maarten in Dutch.. 

Children of the Netherlands light lanterns and walk the streets singing songs and collecting small gifts such as candy.

It is easy to think of St Martin's Day as the Halloween of Europe. Halloween is not a great festivel in Amsterdam. Halloween is normally celebrated by adults as a great reason to have a party, dance and drink. 

St Martin's day is for the children. Traditionally, lanterns were made of hollowed out turnip and beets. These days children make a lantern at school. School groups and family's organize parades through Amsterdam's old city. In Neighborhoods groups of children will walk through their area singing with their lanterns.

15th century art of St Maarten from the Rijksmuseum

An important part of the walk is singing songs. There are traditional songs and children make up their own nonsensical rhymes. A traditional a song is: 

Sinte Maarten krikske vuur, (St. Martin, make a cherry wood fire)

Leg de pannenkoeken op het vuur. (and put the pancakes on)

We hebben al zo lang gelopen (We've been walking for so long)

Nergens gaan de deuren open (and nobody's opened their door)

Geef ons een pannekoek uit de pan. (give us a pancake hot from the pan)




Who is St Martin (Maartin)

Known as St Martin of Tours he was originally a Roman solider. He later become a monk who became famous for his kindness, living a simple life. The most famous tale is when on a cold winter's night in a snow storm he came across a beggar.  He gave the beggar his clock and saved him from certain death. St Martin is known as a friend of children and the patron of the poor.


St Martin's day also marks the beginning of Winter. The date of the 11 November represents the end of the agrarian year and beginning of harvest. Traditionally, animals are butchered and the first of the years wine is ready to drink. It is also the beginning of Advent. Advent is the Christian period of preparation for Christmas. Many Christians will fast during this period. Hence some people refer to it as St Martin's Lent.

If in Amsterdam on 11 November listen out for the voices of children.. They will be singing with their lanterns in the darkness of the early evening.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

How many cars and bicycles fall into Amsterdam canals?

When in Amsterdam..be careful when parking. This Fiat 500 was parked into the canal in Amsterdam's old city centre. The driver had borrowed the car from his mother. The person then asked a friend to park the car as he directed the new driver of his mother's car.

Amsterdam has a special division of the Fire Department to respond to vehicles that park in the 100 kilometres of Amsterdam canals. Amsterdam has 4 full time divers who are 24 hour standby, the only city in the country to have this capability.

Many canal tour operators claim that 1 car a week fall into the canals. They espuse this figure on their recorded messages that accompany many tours. That is 52 per year! The Fire Department reports the number is closer to 35 per year.

Bicycles

Amsterdam is a city famous for bicycles. Estimates are that there are more bicycles in Amsterdam than people. Officials figures are approximately 800 000. More optimistic figures are around 1 million.

 It is no wonder that 12 000 to 15 000 bicycles are pulled out of Amsterdam canals every year. Many of these bikes fall into the canals during common periods of gusty winds. Many bikes are also thrown into the canals by weekend party goers that take their fun to Amsterdammers boats.

Throughout Amsterdam history the canals of Amsterdam has provided endless beauty but also danger.

When in Amsterdam..enjoy!

Film locations Amsterdam: Diamonds are Forever James Bond

When in Amsterdam the city has been a location for a number of films. Today we look at James Bond Diamonds are Forever.

In 1971 filming took place in one day on two locations. The first location was the famous Marege Brug, the Skinny Bridge. Here the body of Mrs. Whistler is lifted out of the water as a tourist boat goes past. Overlooking the scene is the characters responsible for the death. In the back of the scene James Bond in his yellow Triumph car arrives in Amsterdam. The bridge and the tourist boats that pass have barely changed over the years.

The second location is the picturesque Reguliersgracht. This canal is normally visited by canal cruises and described as the 7 bridges. At the residence of number 36 and number 34 scenes were shot of Sean Connery's arrival as an under cover diamond smuggler. The residences are still there with only minor changes to the facades.

Amsterdam is famous for diamonds. If you are interested in these precious
stones visit Gassan Diamonds and take the free tour of the polishing and cutting areas.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

Amsterdam from a Drone's perspective

When in Amsterdam...the city is beautiful from many perspectives. Here is a wonderful piece complied by Ibo Orgut. A drone's view of Amsterdam



When in Amsterdam...enjoy!