Every now and then, I go on and on about the beauty of the bakfiets, the “box bike” of Holland. Every now and then, you see a dinky little one in the US. But featured above is the real deal, the pickup truck of bicycles. Squatters use them to move furniture and building equipment around the city, and they are the dumpster-diver’s best friend. Of course, they mostly only work in flat places, to be honest.
Anyhow, there’s this street called Spuistraat in Amsterdam and it has some of the best graffiti, lots of squats, and the Vrankrijk, a squat bar that is currently under renovation. The interior shots below are of the Vrankrijk, and the outside of it is the building that says “BOOM!”. Note that the building with the snake mural is a squat, but the mural is actually a protected landmark of the city. Pretty neat.
Not being entirely sure that you are there right now, but assuming that you might be because of this post, you still going to be around Holland in June? Because that’s when we’ll be singing our way through it and you should come hang out if you are.
Sadly, no. I’ll be in the US (somewhere) in June.