Friday 8 January 2016
Blue sky, bright sun here in Amsterdam. The city seems surprisingly quiet, calm after the hordes of tourists that massed the streets over Christmas and New Year. Here where we live, in the centre, it was often impossible to walk down the pavement (sidewalk!) nor did I venture onto my bicycle. But happy crowds and lots of chatty people. Under the archways of the city's Rijksmuseum professional musicians performed (for example, Bach unaccompanied cello pieces) and the chattering ceased while the rich sound swelled up to the arched roof. I do still miss the English carol singing: we listened via the internet to the service of nine lessons and carols from King's College Cambridge. It seemed to belong to another world and another age.
We escaped from Amsterdam (too many fireworks!) on New Year's Eve and went north to Harlingen, in Friesland.
