A 19th century church in Amsterdam was engulfed by fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day
Elsewhere in the Netherlands, a 17-year-old boy and 38-year-old man were killed in fireworks incidents. In Bielefeld, Germany, local police said two 18-year-olds died after setting off homemade fireworks.
Reports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread across the country.
Petrol bombs were thrown at police in the southern city of Breda. In Rotterdam, the city’s eye hospital said it had treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries. Two received surgery.
For those of you who have never been in the Netherlands during New Year’s Eve, it’s wild. The fireworks start a few months in advance and increase with intensity as December 31st gets closer and closer. During New Year’s Eve day fireworks can be heard constantly, and when midnight finally hits, it feels and sounds like a war zone, no joke. I was in Amsterdam and Utrecht when I experienced this firsthand, and it was crazy.
My firework experiences in Germany and Paris were both like this. People were firing rockets at other people. There was so much smoke that you couldn’t see five feet in front of you. It was good fun.
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Even from a distance from the Netherlands, there is this constant rumbling thunder from the direction of the border. It starts a few hours before midnight and only stops a few hours after midnight. Sometimes you can see the clouds flashing red and green. It does feel like a distant war zone.
The wildlife is probably migrating for the duration.