Alblasserdam
Alblasserdam, my home town, is a small town at a distance of 16 kilometers from Rotterdam, in the western Netherlands, next to the famous windmills of Kinderdijk.
The name is derived from its location near the creek Alblas where a dam was built.
It`s not a great place for tourists, but there are 2 hotels and 7 restaurants, where you can stay and eat when you want to visit the windmills of Kinderdijk for longer than one day, or make some trips to the very nice places in the Alblasserwaard, by bike, bus or by boat.
In Alblasserdam there`s a bus (16) which drives you within half an hour to Dordrecht, a very nice old city!
You also can visit the city Rotterdam by another bus (90) it will bring you within 45 minutes to the inner city of Rotterdam
and you can take the Fast Ferry or the Water bus, the water-connection between Rotterdam and Dordrecht, it`s ideal for a day trip, especially because bikes are allowed on board.
Every half hour it goes from Rotterdam to Dordrecht and stops in Alblasserdam, there is space for 130 people and 60 bicycles.
If you like to enjoy cycling the Alblasserwaard, which has a lot to offer, it`s an easy and very comfortable way to travel.
The history of Alblasserdam goes back some 700 years, before that time Alblasserdam belongs to Oud-Alblas.
Oud Alblas consists of farms, farmers and the smell of the cows and their faeces, so that`s why I never go to Oud Alblas.
I`m glad we do not belong to that stinking town any more!
( I hope there are no farmers of Oud Alblas on TB )
The Alblasserwaard polder has been flooded 32 times, but today water doesn`t pose a direct danger any more.
Alblasserdam also suffered during the German raid on Rotterdam in 1940.when the town center was seriously hit.
Later the North sea flood of 1953 destroyed the center of Alblasserdam, but the historical Kerkstraat (church street) and the dike along the river the Nord were spared after all.
Old people still talk about the North sea flood.
Now it`s a very nice town, where I live with pleasure, but once a week I have to go to another city, which is more lively.
Alblasserdam has it`s own shopping center, called "Makado", which consists of many shops.
It also has a beach called "Lammetjeswiel", it`s a populair swimming area, where they check the water twice a month.
The people in Alblasserdam and Kinderdijk know each other mostly.
There are two great events to do every year, the historical famous horse market in the Kerkstraat (church street) every summer in July, with the speed cycling in the center of Alblasserdam, where you can eat and drink on the street that day.
At the horse market some people have bad luck and horse shit on their shoes.
So be careful when you watch the horses.
When I was young, a saw a little man, neatly dressed in a suit, pissed by a big horse, that was amazing, I`ll never forget that!
Now I`m always cautious with horses, because I`m small too.
People from several places come to visit the market and meet each other every year,
then they all buy peperkoek and Jan Hagel to eat, it`s a tradition.
Peperkoek is Spice Cake,a typically Dutch cake, very nice with a cup of tea or coffee, and a thin layer of butter if you like.
Jan Hagel (yan HAH-ghle) cookies are a traditional Dutch holiday sweet, they are very thin, light and flaky.
In the evening there`se a beautiful show with the horses and after that you can drink a beer with the people of Alblasserdam in the café`s
In September there`s the harbour festival in the center with a great market and much to do, also for kids, then you can visit the big church tower, to have a great view at Alblasserdam and make a flight above the town.
Later that day, there`s a great laser show, very beautiful to see.
Once a year there`s a popconcert with the Golden Earring or another group of the Netherlands.
Every year in November Sinterklaas comes to Alblasserdam with his Steamboat and his Zwarte Pieten ( Black Petes) to celebrate his birthday on 5 December.
Sinterklaas is a very old wise man, with a beard, like Santa Claus.
The day after his visit you may put your shoe and the Zwarte Pieten climbe into your house to put a small present in your shoe, or a chocolate letter.
When you haven`t sung the Sinterklaas songs, or have been naughty, the Zwarte Pieten put you in their bag and take you to Spain.
In the center of Alblasserdam are some café s and if you like you can sit on a terras.
You also can rent a bike, or even a canoe.
When you want to go to the church, there are many churches to visit.
So this is my story about Alblasserdam, I thought what can I tell about this small town, but now I nearly can`t stop.
The rest you can find on internet and I`ll put my photo`s here when there is something to do in the future.
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