Bombs over Amsterdam

For what may be the last year that civilian fireworks are legal, Amsterdam sure went out with a bang. And a boom and a crack and a ka-blauw. As a result, what we imagined would be a laid-back New Years turned out to be one of the most incredible ones ever.

We went over to our friends Ross and Sascha's place to ring in the new years with a pseudo-barbecue and oliebolen and lots of champagne. We made the precarious decision of riding our bikes over, and through the Vondelpark at that. I must note that the fireworks had been exploding all week. That day, the 31st, I can safely say that one went off loud and clear about once every ten minutes. They sounded so close that I constantly looked out over our back balcony thinking that they were being set off in the playground of the school behind our apartment. But they weren't; they were just THAT loud. So you can understand the sensitive situation we put ourselves in by riding through an empty park at 9pm, where large clusters of young men gather to blow things up. The sky was an eerie smoky greenish color, and as we rode through we rode as if we were trying to dodge machine gun fire. I now think I know what it feels like to be at war. But we arrived safely to our destination after all.

Throughout the evening of the 31st, we were constantly interrupted from our lively conversation to view the spectacle out the window. But none of that compared to the insanity that ensued post-midnight. After the countdown, we took our champagne bottle and flutes outside to witness the fireworks first-hand. The sky was completely lit up. For all of the activity in the sky, the irony is that the city of Amsterdam does not official host or sponsor any such festivities. It's just regular people that buy these fireworks, at very high prices, and set them off for fun. Some of these shows were incredible. We meandered around the streets to follow the best ones. At one point, we came upon a group of guys that were setting off a ton of fireworks. The blasts were no more than 15 feet away. After a great mini-show, the guys haul out another box of fireworks, and this time it takes two of them to carry it. This went on for about two more rounds, until the last box came out, which was huge and took four of them carry. I've never seen fireworks like that in my life, and probably never will again. After we got our fill about 45 min later, we went back to Ross and Sascha's to laugh at the paldry fireworks going off in London, mocking them with our best, but still quite poor, English accents. Oh balderdash!

We hopped on our bikes just after 3am for the ride home. There were still some pops and bangs going off, but much more mellow than it was hours before. As we rode through the spot that just hours before we were marveling at fireworks, we see the remnants of the cardboard box that held the fireworks. Someone had thrown a few bikes on top of it and they were still smoldering, absolutely burnt to a crisp. Ah, life in Amsterdam - your bike is NEVER safe. The sky reeked of fireworks, and when we got home, so did we. I never realized they had a smell - now I know.

I woke up around 8am the next morning to get a drink of water, and the city was so quiet that it was positively spooky. Living across the street from a busy supermarket and with a school playground behind us, there is always some noise. Often, a whole lot of noise. But that morning it was dead quiet. And it stayed that way until about noon, when a few people starting peeking out, trepidatiously, like baby polar bears coming out of hibernation.

I think Holland will have a hard time enforcing a law that would make the purchase of fireworks illegal. Setting off fireworks on New Year's is so embedded in the Dutch culture, or at least it is in Amsterdam, and people love it so much. But it is very scary that there are so many that buy these things and set them off, and have no business doing so. Fortunately, we survived this new year's celebration, alive and kicking and maniacally laughing.