Amsterdammer in English

2021-07-30 14:11:51 ​Pride in the city

Guys, I'm back and very glad to see your numbers increased in my absence! While I'm digesting everything that has happened in the world in the last 2 weeks, and the second shot of Pfizer as well (which was completely devoid of any side effects by the way), I'll tell you about the main event in Amsterdam this summer - the 25th-anniversary edition of Pride Amsterdam, to be held from July 31 to August 8.

I hope you know that Amsterdam Pride has long been more than just a parade; it's a real festival. Although many events have had to be cancelled, this year's programme is packed full of them (including some free of charge): from exhibitions and brunches to guided tours and lectures. My attention was particularly drawn to the seminar on raising urban awareness, the lecture 'Sexual Diversity in Nature' from Artis Royal Zoo, and the special church service at Amsterdam's oldest church Oude Kerk.

And here's how the city itself will change in support of Pride:
- there will be rainbow buses and a tram, not just for the week, but for the rest of the year
- Westerkerk - the West Church - will be illuminated in rainbow colours and open to the public every day from 11.00 to 15.00 (pictured below)
- for the duration of Pride, The Student Hotel on Wibautstraat will be renamed The Pride Hotel and will become a venue for various events, including, for example, lectures by Pride University, an initiative of Amsterdam universities aimed at finding solutions and suggestions for more inclusive educational programmes.

Unfortunately, the famous Canal Parade event has been cancelled this time, but there will still be a Pride Walk on August 7 with social distance maintained, the route will be announced later. Open / Comment

2021-07-16 14:52:07 Hi and welcome!

My name is Irina and I live in Amsterdam. Originally I come from Russia but my heart belongs to the Netherlands. Back in 2017, to share my experience after moving to a new country I started the Telegram channel @amsterdammer, and 3 years later it grew into a website amsterdammer.ru. Both written in my native language and quite popular among the Russain-speaking community of the Netherlands and across the world.

For quite a while now, I've been asked to restore justice and translate the content I create for the English-speaking audience as well. Alright, let’s go international! This brand new channel will be soon full of various useful and occasionally funny notes on Dutch innovations, urban development, society and marketing topped with practical tips and guides. I really, really hope you like it!

P.S. Would be so helpful if you could support me by subscribing, sharing it with your friends and spreading the word :) Thank you! Open / Comment

2021-07-16 14:51:47 Heyhey, sorry for suddenly disappearing. Amsterdammer is on vacation for the next 2 weeks. So most probably I won't post anything on here but let's see if I can go for so long without writing ;)

Meanwhile, since there are some new friendly faces, I'd like to kindly remind that I have a few articles written in English and some useful maps. And here I'll reshare my intro post so you know what this channel is all about.

Thanks for following, I'll be back! Open / Comment

2021-07-12 14:35:26 ​The renovation of the Piet Hein tunnel and thoughtful urban marketing

The Piet Hein tunnel, which connects Amsterdam with the developing districts of Zeeburgereiland and IJburg, is undergoing major construction work and will therefore be closed to all traffic for a full 15 months from June 25, 2021 to September 30, 2022. All except for tram 26. The point is to perform the reconstruction in such a way that the tram, as the only means of transport left available to residents (apart from the bicycle, of course), could continue to operate. Therefore, with the exception of a few weekends, when it will be replaced by bus 76 on the construction bypass route, the tram will continue to run on schedule.

A whole marketing campaign has been launched to inform the residents: Facebook ads, signage and even a YouTube video (attached below) warn citizens everywhere about the changes. Seems like they've already tried to smooth out the inconvenience as much as possible. But no. For me, as an urbanist and marketer, this is where the most interesting part begins.

"Is the Piet Hein tunnel closed? Now we'll tell you about good alternatives to the car!" - is written on the municipal website amsterdambereikbaar.nl, which literally translates as 'Accessible Amsterdam'. Firstly, a special daily pass for the residents of Zeeburgereiland and IJburg has been issued for the use of tram 26 costing €1 instead of €8.50. Secondly, 2 different discounts on electric scooter rentals are offered, including 35 minutes as a gift. And thirdly, they can try out rides on an electric bike for 1 week completely free! Honestly, this care will never cease to amaze me Open / Comment

2021-07-09 15:20:05 PeukMeuk 2021 butt-collecting campaign takes place tomorrow, in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands

Cigarette butts make up the majority of litter around the world. Just consider: in the Netherlands, 10 million kilos (!!!) of cigarette butts end up on the streets every year. Of these, 2 million kilos end up in canals, rivers and the North Sea. But it's not just about trash here: most of the filters of these butts are made of plastic (cellulose acetate), which contributes directly to the problem of plastic pollution.

The Plastic Peuken team is trying to stop all this, not only by calling on the government to ban plastic cigarette filters but also by raising public awareness of the huge amount of plastic that gets into the environment through discarded cigarette butts. For that purpose, they organise a campaign to collect them. Last year more than 140,000 cigarette butts were collected in just four hours, this year the plan is to collect 250,000!

The main event will take place in Amsterdam, but more than 50 municipalities have already joined the cause. See the programme and details here: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-plastic-peukmeuk-2021-160623265511 Open / Comment

2021-07-07 14:08:10 ​3D-printed steel bridge installed in Amsterdam

Here we are! I'm very glad that this rather too ambitious project didn't fail like many others, and that, although with a delay of 2 years, it came to fruition. There will now be a 3D-printed steel bridge made by MX3D in Amsterdam (right here). The installation work should be finished by mid-July.

The municipality commissioned this project from MX3D. To say that it was time-consuming and costly would be an understatement. Leading specialists in several fields — engineers, construction workers, robotic engineers and welders — worked on the project. Printing of the base of the bridge began in March 2017 and was completed six months later. A total of 4,500 kg of steel was used! The bridge has won several awards and was presented to the public at Dutch Design Week back in October 2018. But due to the fact that further investigations into the condition of the canal embankment were required, its installation was delayed. Open / Comment

2021-07-06 20:18:50 ​The number of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands doubled again

Alas, the statistics for the first week of July do not look encouraging: 49.9 per 100,000 residents compared to 25 per 100,000 in the last week of June. Of course, the relaxation of anti-corona measures has contributed to this. For example, in one night at the Aspen Valley nightclub in Enschede, 180 out of an estimated 600 visitors managed to get infected! Another case of mass infection occurred when a corona infected, but mistakenly tested negative, Amsterdammer had a great time in a crowded bar.

But even these stories didn't surprise me as much as the postponement and cancellation of hundreds of vaccinations by the Amsterdam city health service simply because the NDSM site, now used for vaccinations, will host the Pleinvrees music festival

At the moment, around 11 million people have been vaccinated with the first shot and 6 million with the second. But this does not mean that only 6 million people got complete vaccination, because, for example, the Janssen vaccine is given by a single shot. Although it provides protection in only 67% of cases, the vaccine has become particularly popular since it started being administered without a waiting list. Thus, in almost two weeks, 262,000 people made an appointment to receive it. Open / Comment

2021-07-03 13:22:56 ​An update on construction works near Amsterdam CS

It turns out that not many people know what's going on at Central Station, so I'll explain very briefly. They're building an underwater bicycle parking lot there for 7,000 spaces. Yes. It's going to be located right underwater so that boats can pass over it. Work on the complex project, called 'Entrance', began back in 2018 and will continue until 2023.

What's already been done:
- De Cuyperstrap, an escalator staircase linking the subway station to the station's main hall;
- The Middentoegangsbrug pedestrian bridge, which leads from the station directly to Damrak, was widened;
- The water space between the station and Prins Hendrikkade, was drained and the parking lot itself is being constructed. Recently these concrete poles (129 pieces) were placed. They will support the future underwater bicycle parking area of 8,500 m². They are designed to direct cyclists to the station and show the availability of parking spaces by means of light indicators.

Photo by: Richard Mouw Open / Comment

2021-07-02 17:52:58 ​Bike-sharing comes to Amsterdam!

Remember when I told you that the municipality would be launching a bike-sharing service inside Amsterdam? Well, it's all ready and, as always, complete with a map (I'm attaching it below).

Why would Amsterdammers want to rent bikes, you ask? The municipality, as well as myself, seems rather hesitant about it for now. Therefore, this small-scale experiment with 1,300 bicycles placed at public transport stops will last for 2 years. It is intended to find out to what extent shared bicycles increase door-to-door rides, encourage the use of public transport and reduce car travel.

In fact, bike-sharing has already been attempted here, but it ended up with bikes dumped randomly, and the idea of saving city space with their help didn't work out. This time, based on previous experience, the municipality will control the process with a GPS module: with it, bicycles can’t be left where it is forbidden and will have to be returned to authorised parking areas. The suppliers FlickBike (orange area on the map), Cargoroo (shaded area) and Donkey Republic (lilac area) are already involved. For the green and yellow zones, the companies haven't been selected yet. Open / Comment

2021-06-30 19:10:47 ​Ketikoti or free Heri heri for all

On July 1, 1863, the Netherlands became one of the last countries in the world to abolish slavery. Every year, the occasion is celebrated during Ketikoti, the Day of Freedoms and also the National Commemoration of the Dutch Slave History day.

On July 1, 2020, the NGO KIP Republic and its partners organised the first event in Amsterdam, where servings of the traditional symbolic Surinamese dish Heri heri (pictured), consisting of cassava, sweet potatoes, green and yellow bananas, fried salted fish and an egg, were distributed in celebration of Ketikoti. 'Heri' means 'healing', so it's twice as symbolic.

So, this year, 10,000 free Heri heri will be distributed in 20 different locations in Amsterdam and just as many across the country. The list of locations can be found here: https://freeheriheriforall.com/ Open / Comment