Sharing some of the experiences encountered moving to and living in London … and then moving to Amsterdam! And then, moving to Austin, Texas where Adventure Cow has taken over this blog!
While reading a book set in Amsterdam, I caught a passing mention of stone markers on the houses of the Herengracht canal. This stood out because that is the canal we live on and I didn’t remember seeing any markers. My next trek out, the search was on for what I now know are Gable Stones, or in Dutch, Gavelstenen.
Since that first mention a week ago, I have learned a lot more about the Gable Stones https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/amsterdam-gable-stones To begin with, they can be found on many houses, not just the ones on our street. (There are an estimated 650 stones in the city) Most are hundreds of years old, though some homeowners now create them to commemorate significant moments in their house such as remodeling or marriages. The style varies greatly too, from fairly plain to elaborate and colorful designs.
This morning, I stopped on a market street (Haarlemmerstraat) to take the pictures below:
While I was stopped, a lovely Dutch woman offered: “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” She understood quickly that I was looking at the gable stones. She knew the history of the stones explaining to me how previous to the invasion of the French in the early 1800’s, gable stones were the house and business location identifiers. The French brought the house numbering system that we know and use today.
This may be an obsession. Looking for the stones whenever either one of us is out and about. You have to look up; most stones are placed about 4 meters high. We don’t know yet what many of them mean – Google Translate does not appear to work on Old Dutch, and the picture itself may not be a direct representation, but we look forward to finding more gevelstenen and learning more of the history they may hold. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222171205/http://www.livius.org/dutchhistory/amsterdam/amsterdam_gevelstenen1.html
Our time in London was officially over on May 15, 2020 when Andy’s new contract with the Amsterdam office went into effect. On May 20th we were able to fly from Heathrow to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to begin our adventure here. We do not recommend moving during a pandemic lockdown. Much of our time has been spent trying to accomplish tasks that a year ago would not require a second thought.
It has been three weeks already; it’s June for heaven’s sake – time flies no matter what country you are in. We have been busy with the usual moving things; utilities, unpacking, opening a bank account, shopping (holy cow, the packaging in the stores is in Dutch), and picking up a little bit of the local culture.
Friday night, eat dinner at a park on a canal
Sunday morning, have coffee along a different canal
Appreciate 5,000 people came out for a Black Lives Matter support rally at Dam Square
They expected 500, and had marked the square to indicate the proper social distance – it did not work out
Sunday night; find an English pub, with a traditional English Sunday Roast dinner. Of course the dog is welcome, it’s a proper English pub. (The Black Dog Pub) Our first dinner inside since March
We do not recommend moving internationally during a pandemic lockdown, but with plenty of help, and plenty of patience, we have done it. Below just a few pictures from our first walk from our apartment on the Herengracht Canal. More details to follow soon.
Andy’s first picture, right outside our door.Linda’s first picture. Ha, ha. Andy’s is betterOn our walk
Spring is the best time for the lockdown; it doesn’t rain every day, the daylight is over 14 hours a day now, and the flowers are blooming all over. Our UK guidelines include limited trips for food and medicine and one trip outside each day for exercise. We both have walked or ran almost every day for the past six weeks. We have expanded to exploring every side street and path we can find. We have both taken many pictures as we walk around the neighborhood, to the Thames, to Fulham, to Richmond, to Ealing – pretty much every street within a five mile radius of our home. (We, and Aj too, even completed a 10k this past week; https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/Timonium/LiveGiveRunVirtualRaceChallenge)
Last blog I posted pictures that may be unique to London’s lockdown and show some of what it is like ‘over here’. This blog is about the flowers; in particular the Wisteria. It is old, it is crinkly, it is purple for about two weeks (go Ravens!), and it smells wonderful. News of the virus and resulting lockdown does not need repeated here, but I want to remember, and share, that it has been a wonderful opportunity to really take time to stop and smell the [flowers] (roses are in a few weeks).
Yes, the tide may rise on the River Thames (it has a 20 ft variance), but you should only be out for your daily exercise.
Entrance to our closest underground station. The green ball says: “Essential Workers, you can travel. Thank you”, the red ball says: “Everybody else, go home, don’t travel, saves lives”
This neighborhood bus stop is now a Quarantine Gallery
These are the lockdown park rules and they have shrinkwrapped the playground equipment to make sure you understand.
How Londoners knew the lockdown was serious; KFC was only take-out on March 23rd and by March 25 they had closed all KFC’s in the UK
This is not quite a ‘pair’, but I liked both; the park parking lot being closed for the Easter weekend and a cemetery bearing the “Stay Home, Save Lives” slogan.
It is weird everywhere with everyone I know; trapped at home taking our best care of ourselves and our loved ones. What a difference a month makes.
March 1 Andy and I were still enjoying our coastal cruise of Norway (blog 31). We were having a great time and this ‘virus thing’ seemed a million miles away. When we returned to London in a few days, we had plans to see a few more West End shows; Waitress with Sara Bareilles, Wicked, and Magic Goes Wrong. We were scheduling our preliminary trip to Amsterdam for the 23rd when we would open the bank accounts and take care of setting up utilities for the newly rented apartment so come April 1 we would be ready to move to Amsterdam.
Ha, that feels like a lifetime ago.
Since all those plans were made, borders have closed in hopes of containing the virus, we cannot go to the Netherlands; not for planning, not for moving. So, we are here; still in London, still in our rented house in Chiswick – and still covered by the NHS. Andy’s new start date in Amsterdam has been changed to May 15 – we are not optimistic this will stick but are working toward that date none-the-less. We are so lucky. Lucky to have Coty’s teams of consultants working on our situation to literally pack up our stuff here in London and ship some to the US and some to Amsterdam. A thousand details that would have been just ordinary work just a few months ago have become hurdles that must each be addressed. So lucky.
We are not suffering. Many people are suffering, we are not. We are adjusting. Adjusting to Andy working at home, which is fine, we did not use the dining room anyway. Adjusting to eating every meal at home, with most of those being self-prepared. Who knew at this late date I would fall back on detailed meal planning generating detailed shopping lists to buy an entire week’s worth of groceries at one time. Susy Homemaker, indeed. Adjusting to the UK’s virus guidelines; stay two meters apart, socialize only with members of your household, go out only for necessities and exercise outside once per day.
It’s all good. We are healthy and hope to stay that way. We have internet. We have cell phones. We have water and electricity. We have soap. And, we have toilet paper. It is still good to be a Benjamin.
There is no question that we have had a wonderful seventeen months in London. For most of this blog though, I have written about places we have gone to away from here; Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, etc; and only to a small degree the places and events we have enjoyed here. But, as we prepare to wrap up this part of our lives, and wrapping up itself not really being that interesting, it seemed a good time to pick a Top Ten. For my fellow boomers, I do not mean a Letterman top ten, but an actual; “this may be useful” top ten. So here goes.
Plan to be out and about in the afternoon. Go to the Westminster area, and in particular the Victoria Tower Gardens. This is a beautiful little park which fronts the River Thames. So close to so much activity, it is literally a breath of fresh air. It is also the location of the Emmeline Pankhurst Statue (https://www.biography.com/activist/emmeline-pankhurst) which is specifically placed within a rocks throw of Parliament. Women fought the world over for the right to vote (many still do), but British women truly paid the price for this ‘right’ by their forceful efforts, and the punishments that those efforts drew, to bring attention to women’s rights. Walk out of the park and past the Houses of Parliament (tours on Saturdays). Look up to see Big Ben, or as much as you can through the scaffolding. Cross the Westminster Bridge to reach Southbank; the other side of the river. Slowly make your way east, passing the Sea Life Aquarium and The London Eye (we have not done this, if you want to, buy tickets ahead of time online). You are on the Thames Path. You can walk this all the way to where the English Channel meets the North Sea but making it to Tower Bridge should be far enough. Note, it is not a straight path, as buildings get in the way – watch for signs. Along the way you will pass The Royal Festival Hall, The National Theatre, The Tate Modern (stop for a coffee and view on the 9th floor), and Shakespeare’s Globe. Borough’s Market, The Golden Hinde, The Shard and City Hall. All are between or next to small shops, coffee shops, restaurants, and pubs. If you are hungry, think of stopping for Afternoon Tea to expand your British experience. (https://southbanklondon.com/guide-to-the-best-afternoon-tea-in-south-bank) With a bit of luck, the sun will be going down as you pass City Hall to reach the Potters Fields Park just before Tower Bridge – that is the best. Do you see all the folks taking pictures? Pictures of the bridge, pictures of the skyline, pictures of the river. Walk across the bridge to take in the view of this ancient river lined with buildings both old and new. If you are hungry again, go to your right over the bridge to St. Katherine’s Docks. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Katharine_Docks) There are several good restaurants in this area. We recommend the Bravas Tapas. Then start your walk back toward the west to take in the whole of Tower Bridge. All these places, all this view, all this River Thames, is my number one of my Top Ten.
For shear, this is London, you can’t beat visiting The Tower of London. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.zic5kr We would absolutely recommend this. You get history, art, and the Crown Jewels. We spent several hours there, the better part of an afternoon; well actually, we closed the place. A free tour is included, and we would definitely recommend that you make time for it while at the Tower.
Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/ We have thought several times, ‘we’ve seen enough churches already.’ But then you cannot be in London and not see Westminster Abbey. It is beyond just a church; it is the location that Kings and Queens have held their coronations since 1066. It is the burial place of not just royalty, but notables like Sir Isaac Newton, Robert and Elizabeth Barret Browning; it has memorials to among others, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill. It is truly something to see. Make sure you pay the extra five pounds to enter The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/plan-your-visit/the-queens-diamond-jubilee-galleries#i16906 You can take an elevator to the Galleries, but it you take the stairs, you also get an up-close view of the outside of the Abbey.
There are those who say the British stole art from all corners of the world – many are now saying further that they want it back. But, in the meantime, much of it is housed at The British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/ This is another large commitment of your time, but where else can you see beautiful art from the Americas, China, and Egypt. To see the whole museum is to see the world. And, its free.
The Museum of London, at the Barbican, is worth several hours too. It’s free too. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london In a few hours you can learn the history of London from 450,000 BC to present day. The exhibits are well organized via timeline and the exhibit on the London Olympic Torch is simply awe inspiring. The Barbican as a development is also of interest for building junkies and history buffs, as the land was available for development as a result of the Blitz. https://londonist.com/2015/01/mapped-barbican-before-the-blitz
Only 4 items left. I’m going to add another museum here: The Natural History Museum. (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/) Generally speaking, I’m not big on birds and the science of animals – but, I went in this building because it is beautiful building and huge and right next door to the Victoria and Albert. It won me over. We are talking whole dinosaurs and whales and the best exhibit on evolution ever. Another whole afternoon can be spent here – also free. If you have any brain cells left after this and it’s not too late, go behind the Natural History Museum to the Science Museum, another amazing collection. (https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/home)
Make a day to go to Greenwich. If the weather is nice, take the Clipper on the river. The Clipper is essentially a river ‘bus’, run by Transport for London, but unlike other busses, you go along the river and you have restrooms and a bar. (Remember, alcohol is always appropriate in London). At Greenwich you have a very charming small village with lots of shops in addition to several museum spaces, such as The Cutty Sark, The Queen’s House, The Maritime Museum, and of course, the Greenwich Observatory. It will take all day. https://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/
Take a walking tour. There is no better way to learn about a city than on foot. We have taken many tours with London Walks. (https://www.walks.com/) You don’t have to sign up ahead of time, you just need to be at the right location at the right time. Cost is 10 pounds ‘regular’ and 8 if you get a concession for being young or old. The tour leader will take your cash at the start of the tour. Tips are appreciated at the end, but not expected. Some of the ones we have done are Jack the Ripper, The Beatles, and Brunel; all were excellent and definitely worth the time and money.
Lastly, see a show. Go to the TKTS book in Leicester Square and get tickets for something that looks good to you. (https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/) West End productions are every bit as good as any we have seen in New York. TKTS does not sell for every theater, but they usually have a brochure with what is playing in town and how to contact theaters directly. We have seen some amazing performances in some beautiful old theaters.
If you need another snack after TKTS; we suggest you walk on Irving Street to the A400, past the National Portrait Gallery and before you turn the corner to your right for the National Gallery, look across the street to your left. You will see a small, glass building that houses an elevator and a set of stairs. They go to The Café in the Crypt. (https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/visit/cafe-in-the-crypt/) This is literally the crypt of the big church on the corner; Saint Martins in the field. You can have your Afternoon Tea over the markers of folks who are buried there. It may sound eukie, but it is a very cool spot; and many times when the places you can see on the street to sit down and have a coffee are overflowing with folks, you can still find a table in the Crypt.
This was hard. We have really liked so many places. Below is a portion of the spreadsheet I have kept on the places we have gone in London. It does not include my comments, but I think it may be enough information for you to start your own list.
The link above should take you to the pictures page.
Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia) are known as the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora) because there is little light pollution and they are located above the Arctic Circle. It does not have to be cold to see the lights, that is just a happy coincidence because you must be north, above the Artic Circle, and it must be dark. The lights are there in the summer – but, you can’t see them when the sun never sets.
So off to Norway in February we go. Now, before we go further with this story, you may be thinking that the last two posts have said that we are moving to Amsterdam; we should be busy with that, we are. But a year ago when not much was going on during February in London, planning a trip to Norway a year out sounded like a reasonable idea. So yes, we took two weeks out of our moving timeline to go to Norway. We are still moving in a few weeks. Haaaa.
And, while we went searching for the Northern Lights, we found so much more. A few details are needed here. We did not go searching alone; unlike most of our trips, I did not ‘plan’ this, I made reservations on the Hurtigruten Astronomy Coastal Cruise which makes a round trip from Bergen in the south of Norway to Kirkenes in the north. (www.Hurtigruten.co.uk) The ‘Astronomy’ option included lectures and assistance from a renowned astronomer, Dr. John Mason (http://www.guildfordas.org/speakers/mason-john/). Dr. Mason is the teacher you always wanted; knowledgeable, fun, great analogies, and so much enthusiasm that it is contagious. He was teamed with a coordinator, Eva Stiegler; he handled the sky, she handled the earth. Eva is a born Norwegian, who better to share with us the eccentricities of these people and their lands. I still don’t know how a person so young could have so many stories and tidbits of information – and, lest I forget, great camera skills. Of the 480 or so people on board, 80 of us were part of the Astronomy sub-group; a wild and woolly group from all over the world, but especially UK, US, and New Zealand. Lots of ‘Bucket List’ items being checked off by many in the group.
We did find the Northern Lights. We also found new friends, from North Dakota! We found new appreciation for science (at least I did, Andy was pretty good in that department already). We found the cutest towns in the world. We found new gloves and even a pig-type of souvenir. (remember, the pig is my ‘spirit animal’; it only goes forward) We found fun! Snowmobiling, dog sledding, trekking, hiking, and marble mine exploring. The coast of Norway is amazing. What an adventure!
And, now, we are back. Time to focus in on getting ourselves to Amsterdam. We have confirmed the rental of a furnished apartment right on a canal; two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a Nespresso in the kitchen. Now all we have to do is complete our immigration paperwork, arrange to have our stuff shipped to either Amsterdam or the US and then get on a plane to start living in the Netherlands. That’s all we have to do.
What makes a good episode of House Hunters International?
Conflict. One person wants to be close to shops. One person wants close to transportation, or close to work. One of them wants to be close to a park. They both want to be close to entertainment. They need a guest room. Oh, and then there is the budget. The budget is firm, but one will say: “we can pay extra for location”. Ah, yes; so funny.
Until it’s you. 😊
Luckily, we agree on everything this move; we both want it all. We knew for sure we did not want to be in the canal zone; too loud, too many tourists, to many ‘coffeeshops’. We knew we did want to be close to the Vondelpark. Vondelpark is the largest, I think, in Amsterdam. It has trails, ponds, restaurants, and even a great brewery outlet/cafe – yes, that is where we want to be. The park is surrounded by stately brick homes with wrought iron balconies. Who wouldn’t want to live there? And, of course, we want to bring our own furniture and belongings from London to Amsterdam. Our UK bed is super comfy, the barn-wood dish cabinet from Pennsylvania Dutch seems appropriate, and who can read a book without the reclining chairs? Yep, we agreed on it all.
Until we went house hunting. 😊
We walked into the first, completely furnished apartment, and threw all our wants out the balcony window. Holy cow, it was beautiful! We looked at furnished apartments in London, Paddington actually, before we moved to terraced house in Chiswick. The furnished apartments looked like dorms. The floors were plastic wood simulations, the décor was all gray, the sofas dismal and of a questionable cleanliness – no, who would want a furnished apartment? Not us, we are grownups now. That is not what we saw in Amsterdam. So, maybe, a furnished apartment would be a good thing. We can fill some suitcases with our clothes and ship the rest of our stuff back to the US; that way when we do finally go back to the US; easy/peasy.
OK, so maybe we will change our mind on the furnished/unfurnished question. But, the Vondelpark, we want to be by the park. Turns out, the inside of the beautiful houses show their age – 100’s of years. Dutch stairs are steep and twisted. We opened the door to what looked like a beautiful home next to the park and were greeted by stairs so steep they could be a ladder. A beautiful kitchen and living room could not make up for bathrooms as old as the invention of indoor plumbing. Maybe we don’t want to live right next to the park.
We saw a few apartments in the canal zone. Views of the water, views of the courtyards you can’t even imagine from the streets. Turns out, not all canals are noisy. Not all are filled with coffeeshops (of the light drug dispensing kind). But, they are close to tons of restaurants, venues, and various shopping outlets.
Yes, we have both changed our minds 180 degrees from our ‘want’ list. Now we do want a place in the canals, we do want it to be furnished, and it turns out; Amsterdam is so walkable, getting to the Vondelpark from almost anywhere is not a problem.
