Category Archives: Things that are Dutch

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet ***Updates***

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On Sunday night we will put our shoes outside our front door (in the hallway of our canal house) and in the morning there will be a goody deposited in each of our shoes from Zwarte Piet – I think….it’s all very confusing especially as it is being explained to me by several people who all have a different story.  To be honest, this whole Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet thing kinda creeps me out!  “Why?” you ask? Well, Sinterklaas is a bit like like our Santa Claus except that he comes from Spain (not the North Pole) and rides a horse (where does he put the presents?) and has a helper by the name of Zwarte Piet (Black Pieter). This sounds OK until you see this helper guy, Zwarte Piet because this Zwarte Piet guy is all over the place and is really a white guy (or gal in drag) dressed in the “Blue Boy” outfit, in black face with really really red lips! I just about fell over the first time I saw this and yes, you see real people on TV and live in-person walking around like this!!! The first time you see this it is really really weird!

There is a blog called canuckgoingdutch.wordpress.com and in this blog there is a tongue in-cheek explanation of the Sinterklaas phenomenon from April Winchell, the author of a very funny blog called Regretsy (she makes fun of the website Etsy):

“Sinterklaas is the Bishop of Spain. Or he may be the Bishop of Turkey, and just summers in Spain, but we are not clear on the details. The main thing is, he dresses like Santa Claus dressed as the Pope.

Sinterklaas

 Sinterklaas has a helper named Zwarte Piet (Black Peter). When I say helper, I mean slave, but no one says that. But come on.

Zwarte Piet

Black Peter is portrayed by actors in black face. Even black actors wear black face. He has really exaggerated red lips and big eyes, and no one seems too worked up about it. Of course in recent years, some efforts have been made to make it seem less racist, mostly by pretending that Peter’s face is black because he’s a chimney-sweep.  No one is buying it, but everyone is so stoned it’s hardly worth arguing about. 

Sinterklaas arrives by boat into the Netherlands around the end of November. The have a big parade and everyone laughs and sings as the Bishop of Turkey/Spain is escorted from his yacht by his black slaves/helpers. After this happens, people say “he is in the country”. 

In the week that follows, Sinterklaas visits all boys and girls and leaves a piece of chocolate in your shoe every day, provided you’ve been good. If you’ve been bad, he beats you with a stick and throws you in a sack, and forcibly takes you back to Spain. So, it’s really in your best interest to do your chores”.

I can’t help but think this holiday might be a detriment to Spain’s travel industry!

The parade is held on the canals and will probably pass by our flat. If so, I will hopefully be here to take photos. This year’s parade will have no less than 500 Zwarte Piets!

The other day there was a black mark on the wall in the hallway. Victor, my little 6 yo neighbor upstairs told us that he was pretty certain that the black mark was made by Zwarte Piet!  Victor and Amadine (his 4 yo sister) have figured out that if they put shoes outside their door AND outside our door, both sets of shoes might have something in them….they are very clever children.

So, on Sunday we get our first official visit from Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet. I will report back on this and let everyone know if we have anymore black marks to clean up, what we find in our shoes or if I need a ride home from Spain.

***Important***Sinterklaas Update!!!

Sinterklaas came! My 7 year old neighbor, Victor, and I watched Sinterklaas arrive on Saturday via boat from Spain. It was very exciting with a huge crowd all lined up along the canals of Amsterdam watching and cheering and singing all live on TV! Victor could hardly contain himself and was explaining to me (all in Dutch unfortunately) everything that was happening. He was so cute as he could not stand still when everyone was singing! M and I left our shoes out (along with a few extras) before going to bed. We left the next morning for South Africa and later received a telephone call from two very excited children telling us that Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet had come to our flat! He Zwarte Piet ate the apples we left them and also the carrots left for Sinterklaas’s horse!! Amazing!!! He also left presents in our shoes, the bowl we left out for Harriet and the shoes of all 4 of our neighbors. Victor and Amadine both got watches, Martijn got a nice fountain pen, Marieke got a nice notebook, M got some really nice hand lotion, Harriet got some tennis balls and I got a Dutch phrase book. It’s amazing how Sinterklaas knew exactly what we all needed! In addition, he left a letter saying that he knew we were out of town and would not return until next week. How very thoughtful don’t you think?

Dutch Bikes

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There are more bikes in Amsterdam than people. Really. Not joking. They are everywhere. They are locked to anything that doesn’t move…trees, railings, posts, each other, bike racks, over bridges, along every inch of sidewalk…everywhere! Most bikes are black, heavy, have fenders and have one or two very heavy duty racks. They look like the bike Miss Gulch rode in the Wizard of Oz. They are used to carry groceries, cases of beer, and multiple children. Our neighbor weighs maybe 100 pounds, and carries a 6 year old and a 4 year old all on a bike that weighs probably 25 pounds. There are bikes with giant boxes that are used for deliveries. Today I saw a woman using one of these delivery bikes to peddle her 4 children around!

The Dutch use their bikes all year long and use bikes to go everywhere. They don’t wear helmets and are dressed for work when they ride. Women in high heels peddling to work is a common sight. The other night I saw two women riding side-by-side in the rain, talking away while one of them held an umbrella over both their heads. Around 5 pm there is a rush hour of bikes so if you are out and about you need to be extra extra careful about crossing the street because there are a LOT of bikes! Bike theft is a way of life. I read that most Amsterdam bikes are stolen at least 8 times. These bikes are made to last 20+ years and are the tanks of the bike world. All bikes have at least 2 locks. One lock is attached to the frame and locks the back wheel to the frame with a heavy duty “U” shaped lock. The second lock is the biggest, baddest piece of chain attached to and even bigger and badder steel lock all wrapped inside a protective cover. Needless to say, they weigh a ton. The best locks cost almost as much as the bike! Next to the train station there is a humongous bike parking garage where you pay to park your bike in a covered, secure facility. People pay 1 or 2 euros to park there daily….not a bad price considering a decent bike here costs 300 to 800 euros. As most the bikes are black and they all look alike, it’s a wonder to me how people can tell their bike from someone else’s. I ran across this bike the other day and just had to take a photo.


All bikes have a bell. You need this bell to tell the stupid tourists to move out of your way!  Speaking of which, all tourist rental bikes are painted a color that is not black. This is how you tell the tourists from the locals when you are driving a car or walking. Be very afraid of the orange and red bikes!!

M has a friend who sells bikes and has a supply of last year’s models. I get to choose which one I want. I’ll post a photo of my new bike with  the biggest baddest lock and even bigger and badder chain money can buy along with my super cool bell and the hot pink streamers I’m going to install on the handlegrips so I can find my bike in the sea of black!