Cobblestone streets and vibratos

Probably one of the coolest things about the Netherlands is the fact that they have so many cobblestone streets. It's absolutely amazing. It's also very beautiful. I remember that back in my hometown there's this one (very small) section of the downtown that has the sidewalk layed out in bricks. It's my favorite section of sidewalk in the whole city. And now, years later I live in a country in which the majority of the city is layed out cobblestone style. Very fun.

Cobblestone streets are very interesting to walk on. You're more likely to fall. In fact, it's a wonder to me that most of the Dutch women can stand at all! They often wear dress shoes with very pointy toes and heels. This makes walking doubly difficult. First, the very pointy heel is very easily caught in between the cobblestones (in my opinion) making it very easy to lose balance and topple over. Secondly, the very pointy toes actually point further than the toe of the woman wearing it, extending her foot many centimeters. I'm always hitting the toe of my normal sneakers on the ground because I forget to lift up my foot high enough up. How do the women not trip over the extended toes of their shoes? It's a mystery (even Paul the apostle would dub it so). In my opinion, we should see the Dutch ladies layed out all over the sidewalks and cobblestone streets due to lack of ability to walk properly. But somehow, they manage to survive.

The cobblestone streets are also fun for biking (except when you don't have very good shocks under the bike seat). Riding my bike over the cobblestone streets reminds me of what it was like to be a kid. Why?

I remember being little, but big enough to jump on top of a washing machine. Of course, I often slipped off and had to perform the jump all over again just to make it on top. One of the many hobbies of my siblings and I was to sit on top of the washing machine while the laundry was going. When the machine got to the spin cycle we'd all begin to say, "aaaahhhh...." holding the same note. The vibrations of the machine caused our little voices to wobble up and down in the most funny way. You all probably know what I'm talking about. I'm sure every kid living in such a society has experienced this fascinating vibrato. Well, Dutch kids don't experience the vibrato on top of their washing machines. Rather, they experience it while they are a passenger on their parents' bicycles. This vibration occurs especially while riding over the cobblestone streets. It also occurs over small bridges that go over a slought, but those don't come across a person's path as often as the thousands of cobblestones encountered every day.

Yes, the cobblestones are practical in every way. They "pave" the roads, making them drivable. They make the towns and cities of Holland look so much more beautiful and European (go figure). And they entertain our little ones on those long shopping trips done on the back of a bike.