A weekend in September

I just came off one of those weekends that seemed like it lasted for a week (aka: the best kind of weekend). My new roommate and I threw a successful housewarming party on Friday, and it delighted me to see my apartment full of people from all over the world (well, mostly Europe, but we had a chunk of folks from the rest of the globe as well) dancing and drinking and having fun. I ended up closing my eyes around 5.30am on Friday night which meant I had stayed up for about 21 hours or so. Saturday was easy-going and I spent most of my time hanging out with a good friend, enjoying the sun and some quality girl-talk.

On Sunday afternoon I set off on my bike just to ride around and enjoy the city by myself, which I feel like I'll never get tired of doing. I wanted to see if I could feel a difference in car-free Sunday compared to other normal days, and I have to say - it was great, but it wasn't unbelievably different. The concerts and street fairs set up all over the place were different, of course. I encountered my first event as I rode over the Amstel and saw a dance party going on under the bridge. I made it a point to ride along the canals and all through the Jordaan, figuring that's where I would really feel the car-free difference.

The Westerstraat was nice - definitely quieter than usual. But once I got to the Lindengracht, Lindenstraat, and all the little streets around that area, I really saw a difference. The thing is, when you're cycling around on a normal day - even on the streets without a dedicated bike lane - cyclists have the right of way. If a car doesn't have enough room to pass a cyclist, they just slow down and drive behind the bike. It's completely bizarre at first, but it didn't take me that long to get used to it - it just meant that the lack of cars on the street didn't really give me, as a cyclist, any more freedom than usual. What I did love seeing were the little kids playing in the street and pedestrians wandering around wherever they pleased without having to dodge traffic, and everything did seem much more peaceful. I also made it a point to ride around the center of the city in the busiest areas. I felt a difference just about everywhere other than Dam Square. I hate Dam Square, with or without traffic. For more details about car-free sunday, check out Amsterdamize, or go to this flickr page for lots of photographic evidence.

I rode around for about 3 hours on Sunday before heading to the climbing gym, where I successfully made it up some new routes and turned both of my knees totally black and blue in the process. When me and my climbing buddies left around 7.30pm, I was treated to another long, beautiful sunset as I painfully rode home. The sunsets are absolutely one of my favorite things about Amsterdam - I'm sure I've mentioned that before. I think this weekend I'm going to try and make it a point to get to the sea and watch the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. I forget sometimes that I can do that - coming from the east coast of the USA, I'm accustomed to seeing the sun rise over the water, but not set.

And finally, after being in the Netherlands for 4 1/2 months, I'm starting Dutch lessons tomorrow! I figure I'll take advantage of the free classes offered by my company for a few months, and then start a more intense class once I've made some progress. Let's just hope it's never pouring rain on a Tuesday morning, so I can make it to every class on time without an excuse.

Update on car-free sunday in Amsterdam

Thanks to the comments in my previous entry, I found out a little more information about car-free Sunday! Figured it was worth another post to help spread the word.

From the IAmsterdam website:

The car-free zones extend over the entire area within the A10, with the exception of Zeeburg. Between 10:00 and 17:00 traffic is not allowed into the city, but is allowed to leave. The city is free for residents to organise various events and activities.

Major routes are kept open for emergency services. Public transport and taxi service remain in operation. You can park your car for free on the designated Park and Rail (P+R) parkingareas. You will receive free public transport tickets to reach the city centre.

So taxi service will be around after all! It seems as though a lot of planning went into making this day work, and again - as someone who plans to remain car-free forever - I know I'm going to enjoy it.

The weather forecast is for a beautiful, sunny weekend. The Jordaan festival starts up today (Friday, the 19th) and runs all weekend. There will be events all over the city on Sunday as people take advantage of traffic-free streets. Anyone that lives in Amsterdam or is visiting this weekend shouldn't have to make too much effort to enjoy themselves.

Amsterdam is car-free this Sunday

This Sunday, the 21st of September, is car-free Sunday in Amsterdam. According to the HR department at my company, this means it will not be possible to enter the city by car from 10.00 am until 17.00, but it is possible to exit Amsterdam (you just can't come back in until after 17). Public transportation (buses, trams, metro) will be running, but there will be no taxis available.

I'm conflicted about this.

On one hand, I love the idea of pedestrians and cyclists taking over Amsterdam even more than they already do. It sounds amazing, and I completely intend to take advantage of it and ride in the middle of the streets and envision a world where cars don't exist.

On the other hand, Amsterdam makes it easier than anywhere else I've ever been to avoid being in a car. The public transportation system is easy and affordable, bikes have their own lanes, the entire city is very walkable, and I think I know about two people that own a car. This blogger makes a lot of really good points as to why something like car-free day doesn't really have any advantages in Amsterdam. After reading that, I thought about the day I arrived in Amsterdam this past April - I showed up with a big, heavy suitcase and a big, heavy backpack. It just made sense that I took a taxi from Central Station to the apartment where I was staying. I could barley lift my bags onto the curb, nevermind trying to lift them into a tram. And I would have really inconvenienced everyone around me had I been on a tram (by taking up too much room). So what if I was moving into Amsterdam in the same kind of way this Sunday afternoon, and I was told "too bad, we're doing something good here by not allowing cars around the city today." I could have made it work, but man, it would have sucked.

So while everyone who is leaving the city (ie: headed to the airport or wherever) can still load up their cars or taxis with luggage, anyone arriving this Sunday, between 10-17 is out of luck.

If I had my way, no one would own cars, but I've got to say, I wouldn't get rid of taxis. While car-free day sounds like great fun to me, as a car-free person, it doesn't change my life whatsoever.

Thoughts? Has anyone ever experienced a car-free day in Amsterdam (or your own city) before?