Blog 62 – Gone Fishing in Amsterdam

Vaccinations are up and hospitalizations are down – but, almost just as important, the sun is out! And outdoor dining is open till 8:00 pm!

I look out the door and this is what I hear in my head: https://youtu.be/91XQOfElOgk?t=94

With the sun out, I’ve been taking pictures on the themes of “things that make me smile” and “things that make me sad” about Amsterdam. But one of them became their own subset: Fishing.

Canals are pretty, beautiful really; but the water is fairly disgusting. Too many boats, too many partiers, too many times used as a trash can. We cannot imagine eating fish caught in the canals. Not everyone feels the same. Read all about it: https://amsterdamhangout.com/are-there-fish-in-amsterdam-canals/

Wildlife are not the only things lurking in the water. Amsterdam is the city of bikes. There are more bikes than people. They say every household has at least one, if not ten. It is true we have one too.

But what to do when you don’t want your bike anymore? You could sell it. https://bikefair.org/sell/location  You could donate it. http://www.giveabike.nl/ You could even put it out at one of the Bulky Waste collection sites. https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/waste-recycling/bulky-waste/  Or, and we blame this on the nameless young folks, you might simply let it fall (or push it) into the canal. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/the-netherlands/articles/why-do-thousands-of-bikes-end-up-in-amsterdams-canals-every-year/

This takes us then to another type of canal fishing; Fishing for Bikes! You must watch this short video: https://youtu.be/qrxfT5EQxgI  Yes, the local government has a department of bike (fiets) fishing. The only city in the world to have such a group. Need to know more: https://dutchreview.com/culture/cycling/new-job-bike-fishing/

As we see here though, you don’t need a giant claw to go Bike Fishing. If you work in teams you can use a plastic rope with a grapple hook on the end. I suspect you don’t even need a permit, like you do for fish.

We watched this father and son duo pull out 3 bikes in about 5 – 7 minutes. We don’t know why they did it, but we did laugh. Making this picture the current top of the “things that make me smile in Amsterdam” list.

Yep, I’ll toast to that! Proost!