Burning In the New Year...

Amsterdam, Holland

January 1, 2008
N52°22.800
E004°53.320

I can officially say this is my craziest New Years ever. The explosions from fireworks started around 9:00 AM this morning and didn’t stop all day. These weren’t your everyday “Piccolo Pete,” “Sparklers” or little firecrackers. No, the people in Amsterdam apparently have access to industrial strength explosives!

In the morning we headed to Den Hague to avoid the crowds and touch the North Sea. However, when we arrived in The Hague, there were kids strolling along the sidewalks tossing what felt like concussion grenades in the streets and into racks of bicycles. It became obvious that industrial strength explosives were not limited to Amsterdam. We made our way down to the beach, touched the Sea, and kept our heads down on the way back to the train station. Kindergarten aged kids shooting bottle rockets at their friends doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling…

When we returned to Amsterdam the explosions had only intensified, but now there were literally tens of thousands of people spilling into the streets. After a quiet dinner in our apartment and a few adult beverages we figured we had to go out and experience the frenzied streets of Amsterdam for ourselves.

Smoke and fog filled the air. The flash and explosions of bottle rockets and M1000’s reverberated along the canals. In the middle of the streets, small fires burned uncontrolled. The fuel for the fires was piles of corrugated cardboard boxes, which used to be filled with fireworks. Obviously, once the fireworks were gone it only made sense to light the boxes on fire and let them burn in the middle of the bridges.

We were at least 30 minutes away from midnight and 15 minutes away from Dam Square. The crowds were pouring through the streets, all headed toward the Dam; explosions, concussions, bottle rockets zipping overhead, beer bottles rolling across the sidewalk, smoke obscuring the scene, the sound of sirens, people everywhere, running.

We made it to the Dam by 11:45 PM and found a spot in the crowd next to a fat bald guy holding up a wall, swaying, slobbering, talking to himself, and clutching a bottle of champagne that also helped prop him up; he’ll be a wreck tomorrow. We were shoulder-to-shoulder, no room to move, until a kid that looked like a young David Spade, passed out, hit the cobblestones, and started vomiting on his friend’s shoes… the crowd instantly made room.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Happy New Year! We watched the (sanctioned) fireworks and got the Hell out of the Dam right after midnight.

The Dam Square was completely packed, the police were holding people back, and we didn’t have a problem with making an “early” exit. It was 12:15 AM and it felt like the blast of fireworks and chaos and was just beginning to reach a fever pitch. In fact, as we made our way from the square we came upon another giant crowd watching a house fire. The fire had engulfed an entire building and only one engine was battling the incredible blaze. The fire, possibly caused by a bottle-rocket landing on the roof of the building, but more likely caused by the owner shooting rockets into the canals from his front-room window.

We watched as the fire brigade rolled in a few more engines, the house still burning, as fireworks continued to fly across the canals. The sight of the burning house was a little depressing and the thick smoke made it hard to breathe so we headed back to our canal. It was almost 2:00 AM when we finally weaved our way back to our house and the noise of the revelers, music, and blasts still echoed through the city.

What an evening! At times it was a little sketchy, but it will be a New Year’s we will remember for years to come. If you’re ever in Amsterdam for the New Year be ready to blow-up some shit!