It is me, Yaya. I promised Igor I'd tell you guys about our day in Haarlem last weekend. So here it goes. I invited a special guide to show us around Haarlem, her name is Miss Wilma and she is a girl rat and lives in the church where the Noord-Hollands Archives are located. When she showed up at our cage Algernon went all red and ran into our wooden house *giggle*.
After Igor gave him a peptalk (I swear I saw him showing Algernon how to rumblestrut) they came out of the wooden house and we went downstairs where another surprise was waiting..
Wilma brought her special bike! After Igor told me about Algernon's excitement about the bikes at Amsterdam Central station, I thought he would appreciate a real bike ride (gathering from his response, I think he did). So.. Wilma and Algernon crawled in the little basket, and I worked the pedals ;-).
The first thing we saw when we were riding along the river Spaarne was the former Droste Chocolate factory. Wilma explained that humans were very interested in that factory, we were slightly bored, so we kept on going along the riverside.
When we arrived in the city centre, there appeared to be a Mechanical Organ festival. The centre was littered with mechanical organs and you could hear their music everywhere. Wilma also told us that the St. Bavochurch on the market square houses the famous Müller organ, which was played by Mendelssohn, Händel and even Mozart when he was only 10 years old.
Next to the church, Wilma explained, was a statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster, the alleged inventor of the printing press. The dutchies long thought he invented the printing press, but there is some evidence that Gutenberg in Germany invented it, and there is other evidence that the chinese invented it, several hundred years before they started printing in Europe. Ah well, at least it makes a very interesting story.
Another interesting building on the market square is the city town hall. On nice days you can see newlyweds coming out of the building (Wilma blushed when she said this.. hmmm.. ) To be continued..
So.. after seeing the Arena sports stadium, me and Algernon decided that we wanted to go downtown and see a bit of the city centre. I also promised you a while ago that I would follow up on that tip you got from your slave about Amsterdam's most delicious food. So I made sure we checked that out for you ;-)
We got out at Waterloo station and the first stop was to take a look at the 'Magere Brug' (skinny bridge). The human spy James Bond shot his movie 'Diamonds are forever' at this location, so that was a must-see (tuh.. showoff.. real spies err.. blog).
Then we walked towards Rembrandt square to further investigate the tip from your slave about Amsterdam's yummiest food.
Well.. I think I have to disappoint you, buddy (you can see mister Rembrandt in the picture, which is proof we really did investigate). I did not find an exclusive vegetable shop and Algernon tried to find a cheese store, but he had no luck with that either. Needless to say, we were VERY disappointed. Food is not something to joke about.
Ow, I have to tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell Mickey. Me and Algernon came up with a plan when we were passing the flower market. It took us a while to get the shop assistant's attention (can you spot Algernon in the basket? I cannot believe humans have trouble seeing us) But in the end it all worked out. I cannot wait until Mickey gets her surprise, my beautiful little flower deserves only the best..
After that, we were thirsty, so we went to this cute little alley 'Gebed zonder end' (prayer without an end) to have a carrot beer and a platter of cheese at 'Captain Zeppos'
At 'Captain Zeppos' we accidently ran into one of Algernons friends. Dennis was just grabbing a bite during his break (Dennis is spokesrat for the Dutch Society for Replacement of Animal Testing). After our lunch we joined Dennis at Dam square and tried to help him raise awareness of the plight of laboratory animals.
After all of this, we were terribly tired so we went back to Amsterdam Central station to catch the train back to Haarlem.
Yaya is gonna show Algernon around Haarlem this weekend and she has a surprise planned for him. I do not know what it is but since she likes him, I don't think he has anything to worry about *winkwink*.
Lots of manly wheeks!
Your buddy Igor
p.s. Ghaaaaaaaahhhhh.. my slave just told me what the so called 'yummiest food was'. Apparently it was icecream. WHY?? Humans are weird.
It's me again, Igor. Algernon has been staying with us for a while now and we were having so much fun I totally forgot to send you guys a message.
The first thing Algernon wanted to see after he arrived was Amsterdam (especially the pirate ship I conquered for our first pirate adventure). So we took the train from the Haarlem railway station. By the way, Algernon was not the first celebrity in this railway station; some scenes of the movie Ocean's Twelve were shot here.
We quickly jumped into the yellow blue train and left for Amsterdam. Algernon was sooo excited! He was talking about everything he wanted to see in Amsterdam. But when we got out at the Amsterdam railway station he saw something he hadn't expected; lots and lots of BIKES!!!
Yeah well.. those Dutchies really like to ride a bike. With their landscape being so flat and everything. It is just a really convenient way to get around.
Our first stop was the VOC ship the 'Amsterdam'. It was so good to see her again. This ship was were I first met Captain Jack from Alge. Arrrr the memories matey.. I stayed on land this time, the lubbers were giving me the evil eye after what happened back then, but Cap'n Algernon swiftly boarded the ship. I saw him racing up and down the masts (screaming 'Ahoy Igor!') and from bow to the poopdeck. Arrrrr..that rat sure is quick.
We also took a look at the more modern port of Amsterdam, the second largest port of the Netherlands.
We met Pontus the dog there; he wheighs 3000 kg (6610 lbs) and he was really big and friendly (can you see Algernon on his head?) He protects the travellers from the difference in height between the floating platform and the wharf. We asked him if he had any tips for us and he told us to go on the 54 metro and look for a sparrow. So that is what we did. The sparrow was already waiting for us and he gave us a tour around the sports stadium the Amsterdam ArenA.
This stadium is the home of soccerclub Ajax. Algernon apparantly is quite the sports fanatic so he was really pleased that he got to see the stadium. The sparrow even took Algernon for a flight around the stadium. That was soooo cool!
He also arranged a pigeon for me (very common bird in Amsterdam) But my paws are not suited for grabbing onto something so I gracefully declined.
To be continued..
p.s. Fugly buddy; do not dare call me a cissy!! *evil stare*
This blog is dedicated to Alge, slave to Captain Jack, Barnacle Bill, and the Jolly Rodents. She went to join her boys (and other loved ones) on the Rainbow Bridge. We loved her spirit, sense of humor and most of all her kindness especially regarding guinea pigs. She will be sorely missed..
