30 Nights In Amsterdam

Zan de Melker is a beautiful but eccentric woman. She is Zan of the unpredictable seizures and Xusan of the mysterious glass room. She's the Susan whose inappropriate sexual behaviour scandalises the community she lives in. And she is Xan the political activist, and sometimes Xusan Dimelaki, star of the Amsterdam stage. Zan's nephew Henk de Melker is a museum assistant in a small Eastern Cape town. Self-effacing and introverted, he is a meticulous researcher who writes slim monographs of unremarkable historical figures. Out of the blue, he receives a letter from an Amsterdam lawyer informing him that his long-lost Aunt Zan has died and has left him her house in the city. He must come to Amsterdam to claim his inheritance. But Henk is unprepared for what awaits him in Amsterdam. Not only does he have to decide whether to move there permanently, or give up his aunt's legacy, but he finds himself being drawn into the maelstrom of life in the Dutch city with its canal belt, pickpockets, prostitutes and street musicians. More than this, he finds that he himself is changing in a way that forces him to confront his past - those secrets of his childhood that were 'never talked out'. The thirty nights he spends in Amsterdam will change him for ever.

Henk Andreas de Melke, lowly museum assistant in a small town in the Easter Cape, is unexpectedly informed that he is the sole beneficiary of his late, long-lost Aunt Zan's estate. Her final years were apparently spent in Amsterdam.Zan was a beautiful but eccentric woman, but she was prone to seizures and extremely unsociable behaviour...but her 'other life' - her political activism, her acting ability, her involvement in cloak-and-dagger scenarios - was known to very few.Upon arriving in Amsterdam, Henk soon finds that his own life becomes inextricably bound to that of his late aunt. During the course of thirty nights in Holland's capital city many secrets are revealed, and Henk returns to South Africa with the knowledge that his life will never be the same again.

No one has written more feelingly and more beautifully than Nescio about the madness and sadness, courage and vulnerability of youth: its big plans and vague longings, not to mention the binges, crashes, and marathon walks and talks. No one, for that matter, has written with such pristine clarity about the radiating canals of Amsterdam and the cloud-swept landscape of the Netherlands. Who was Nescio? Nescio—Latin for “I don’t know”—was the pen name of J.H.F. Grönloh, the highly successful director of the Holland–Bombay Trading Company and a father of four—someone who knew more than enough about respectable maturity. Only in his spare time and under the cover of a pseudonym, as if commemorating a lost self, did he let himself go, producing over the course of his lifetime a handful of utterly original stories that contain some of the most luminous pages in modern literature. This is the first English translation of Nescio’s stories.

Are you keen to explore a different side of Berlin? Like a Local is the book for you. This isn't your ordinary travel guide. You won't find the Reichstag Building or Charlottenburg Palace on these pages because that's not where Berliners hang out. Instead, you'll meet the locals at bustling flea markets, carefree clubs, and peaceful urban gardens - and that's where this book takes you. Turn the pages to discover: - The small businesses and community strongholds that add character to this vibrant city, recommended by true locals - 6 themed walking tours dedicated to specific experiences such as vintage shopping and cocktail history - A beautiful gift book for anyone seeking to explore Berlin - Helpful what3word addresses so that you can pinpoint all the listed sights - A thoughtfully updated second edition, including new places to visit Compiled by three proud Berliners and revised and updated for 2024, this stylish travel guide is packed with Berlin's best experiences and secret spots, handily categorized to suit your mood and needs. Whether you're a restless Berliner on the hunt for a new hangout or a visitor keen to discover a side you won't find in traditional guidebooks, Berlin Like A Local will give you all the inspiration you need.

'Subtle, understated, not without a hint of menace and always courageous ... An important book' Irish Times 'Marvellously compelling ... Park takes that most difficult of subjects - recent history - and with graceful integrity explores the difficulties involved in coming to terms with the legacies of the past ... beautifully described in Park's crystalline prose' Daily Mail It is December in Belfast, Christmas is approaching and three sets of people are about to make their way to Amsterdam. Alan, a university art teacher, goes on a pilgrimage to the city of his youth with troubled teenage son Jack; middle-aged couple Marion and Richard take a break from running their garden centre to celebrate Marion's birthday; and Karen, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, joins her daughter's hen party. As these people brush against each other in the squares, museums and parks of Amsterdam, their lives are transfigured as they encounter the complexities of love in a city that challenges what has gone before.

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A sweeping epic of two families—one Dutch, one English—from the time when New Amsterdam was a raw and rowdy settlement, to the triumph of the Revolution, when New York became a new nation’s city of dreams. In 1661, Lucas Turner, a barber surgeon, and his sister, Sally, an apothecary, stagger off a small wooden ship after eleven weeks at sea. Bound to each other by blood and necessity, they aim to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam; but soon lust, betrayal, and murder will make them mortal enemies. In their struggle to survive in the New World, Lucas and Sally make choices that will burden their descendants with a legacy of secrets and retribution, and create a heritage that sets cousin against cousin, physician against surgeon, and, ultimately, patriot against Tory. In what will be the greatest city in the New World, the fortunes of these two families are inextricably entwined by blood and fire in an unforgettable American saga of pride and ambition, love and hate, and the becoming of the dream that is New York City.

An endlessly entertaining portrait of the city of Amsterdam and the ideas that make it unique, by the author of the acclaimed Island at the Center of the World Tourists know Amsterdam as a picturesque city of low-slung brick houses lining tidy canals; student travelers know it for its legal brothels and hash bars; art lovers know it for Rembrandt's glorious portraits. But the deeper history of Amsterdam, what makes it one of the most fascinating places on earth, is bound up in its unique geography-the constant battle of its citizens to keep the sea at bay and the democratic philosophy that this enduring struggle fostered. Amsterdam is the font of liberalism, in both its senses. Tolerance for free thinking and free love make it a place where, in the words of one of its mayors, "craziness is a value." But the city also fostered the deeper meaning of liberalism, one that profoundly influenced America: political and economic freedom. Amsterdam was home not only to religious dissidents and radical thinkers but to the world's first great global corporation. In this effortlessly erudite account, Russell Shorto traces the idiosyncratic evolution of Amsterdam, showing how such disparate elements as herring anatomy, naked Anabaptists parading through the streets, and an intimate gathering in a sixteenth-century wine-tasting room had a profound effect on Dutch-and world-history. Weaving in his own experiences of his adopted home, Shorto provides an ever-surprising, intellectually engaging story of Amsterdam.

What's inside Night+Day Amsterdam 99 Best The draw, scene, and hot tips give must-know details for must-do places to-eat, drink, visit, shop, party, and rejuvenate. The Perfect Plan Nonstop 3-day itineraries-with opinionated descriptions written by insiders-ensure you're at all the right places at the right times. Shopping Blocks Listings pinpoint quintessential, classic, and cutting-edge stores and products. The Black Book An invaluable quick-glance directory, arranged both by category and neighborhood, puts all our recommendations at your fingertips. Essentials The logistical information you need-including a Cheat Sheet-to hit the ground running. Maps, event calendars, day trips, and more .... Book jacket.