Kings Night Celebrations in Amsterdam!

Last weekend myself, Trig and a friend, Chris, decided on a whim to drive to Amsterdam to catch their Kings Day weekend celebrations.

Kings Day as the name suggests, celebrates the monarchy. Amsterdam celebrated King’s Day (Koningsdag) for the first time in 2014, after the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander on 30 April 2013 (what was then still Queen’s Day).

One of the best and most striking things about Kings Day is that everyone wears orange as a show of pride for the Royal family.  The streets are absolutely filled with the colour and everything and everywhere becomes a street party.

We arrived on the Saturday night at 1am, having underestimated driving time and completely overlooking the hour time change from London to the Netherlands. I'd booked us to stay in an airbnb at the last minute for around £40 each for two nights - outstanding value, since even shared dorm rooms were around £50 per person per night. We found a host called Paul,who owned a canal boat with a sailing boat next to it, that was to become our home for the next two days. I must admit, at first I worried that the three of us would not fit into it, especially since Trig is so tall. But it was loads bigger on the inside! 

The boat itself was warm, had facilities, a kettle, a little cabin double bed and a third bed. It was really comfortable, if a little amusing trying to climb on and off of. We used the main boat for showers etc and it really was no bother at all, we also made friends with his really funny boat cats. Paul was the coolest guy ever and stayed up with us till the early hours supplying us with beer! His friend Ezther was great fun, too. I retired at around 4am and the boys followed at 6, a little worse for wear the next morning.

Sunday was the actual Kings Night celebrations which meant everyone was in high spirits everywhere. I'd never been to Amsterdam before, so it was nice to explore the city in the day. 

We then randomly bumped into an old friend from Peterborough, Marco, who had moved to Amsterdam the year before. It really is a small world! Marco arranged to meet us that night and took us to some cool street parties and bars. We invited Paul and Ezther too, who joined us and celebrated with us.

Sadly we had to drive back on the Monday, which was the actual 'Kings Day' itself. Being in the festival mode I think we were all a bit sad about this, but commitments dictated otherwise. Next year we'll stay for the whole party!

Alice's Adventures in Istanbul

Hello,

I have been very much enjoying a month away - which means I have so much blogging to do now! My plan was to blog on the move but unfortunately my tablet helpfully self destructed, which means I now have a LOT of catching up to do.

Our first stop on our travels was Istanbul. I had heard so much about Turkey and the capital before I went, including that it was listed as one of the most beautiful places in the world. What started out as a brief stop off on our way to Singapore, actually ended up being a highlight of our trip away.

We stayed for three nights in the little district of Taxsim, which just so happened to also be the modern end of the city and its party central to boot. We opted for an Airbnb, and stayed with a lovely man called Melik and his girlfriend, who made us feel really welcome and included unlimited free tea! There are lots of cafes and bars around Taxsim square, and the area really comes alive at night. We found  solace in a little Irish bar called U2 (we didn't judge based on the name) whilst lost looking for our Airbnb, and ended up subsequently spending most of our evenings there. The bar owner was a lovely friendly Turkish man called Leo, who bought us stuffed mussels, local street food, and kept us stocked up with bar snacks. Leo generally gave us a great insight into what it was like to live in the city, and by the end of the three days we were all good friends, he even invited us back to stay with him whenever we wanted to! We also met lots of friendly Irish people, almost all of which seemed to have somehow originated from Tipperary (the same place as my Grandparents). It really is a small world.

Central Istanbul has so much to offer, including the Grand Bazaar in Sultanahmet, the Blue Mosque and the Spice Bazaar to name a few. I was really in awe of the buildings and architecture. You can do some serious shopping there too, which tons of knock off brands if that's your kind of thing, particularly around the Grand Bazaar area. Trig hated the Grand Bazaar as he said it was just full of bags and jewellery, which is conversely my idea of heaven, so we had to agree to disagree. It is absolutely huge, and to step into a side alley can easily mean hours of being lost. This reminded me a bit of the souks in Marrakech to me with the bartering and trading,  although it did seem slightly more structured. Although the drinks prices were similar to the UK, everything else seemed to be a lot cheaper and quite flexible, we found that with the exception of bars and restaurants, there often wasn't a fixed price for anything.

We really wanted to catch a Turkish show on one of our evenings but couldn't manage it. I was also very disappointed that we didn't make it to the Turkish baths! However if there's one thing I won't miss out on, that is sampling the local cuisine, and I have to admit doing so turned the whole concept of kebabs (pronounced 'kebabs' there) on its head for me. If you buy a kebab in the UK, it's usually because its 3am and you've had a heavy night drinking, followed by waking up by a greasy wrapper and a feeling of deep regret in the pit of your stomach. Not so in Istanbul. We had some amazing grilled food with incredible seasoning, which I think may have been some of the best food of the whole holiday for me!

Istanbul was just intended to be a short stop over for a few nights, that we took because it was on the way to Asia, and not necessarily to visit in its own right. However after spending the few days there, I did fall for the charm of the city and would now quite happily go back and visit Leo, do some budget shopping and eat some amazing 'kebaps' again in a heartbeat!

Alice x