Molly had the terrific idea of biking to the North Sea as a day trip this weekend. She planned the route, and she, Jonathan and I set out at about 9 a.m. this morning. Several miles outside Amsterdam, we were delayed by a sudden, fierce rainstorm. Fortunately, there was a house nearby, so we took shelter on the side protected from the wind. We still got a little wet, but not completely soaked as we would have otherwise.
The ride there took us a lot longer than we thought it would, mainly because of a persistent headwind. When we got to the North Sea, we all agreed that the ride had been worth it. Continue reading ‘Biking to the North Sea’
We had our first free day – with no lecture – in Amsterdam today, so folks were left to their own devices for entertainment and enlightenment. Well, mostly. Sue organized a canal tour in the morning, so people just had to come up with a way to fill their afternoons.
The canal tour was lovely. I had taken a tour of Amsterdam’s many canals a week earlier, but the two experiences were completely different. Continue reading ‘‘ware the chipkaart’
The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum is amazing. The building in which the archives are housed is itself a marvel of Dutch design. Every detail was planned and executed to fit with the purpose and vision of the institute. The building is 96 meters from top to bottom; it stands 26 meters above ground and descends 70 meters underground. Part of the reason for building so much of the structure below ground level is because of building height restrictions in Hilversum. In addition, the underground temperature is a fairly constant 17 degrees Centigrade, making it easier to regulate the temperature of sensitive archived materials.
The building clearly is built for function, but it’s aesthetically brilliant, too. Continue reading ‘NISV Hilversum’
I’ve been itching to ride a bicycle around town from the moment I got here. Since today was the first clear day we’ve had, I took off toward Amsterdamse Bos, a wooded area southwest of central Amsterdam. I’m not really sure what route I took to get there; I just followed the signs posted along the bike path (fietspad – my Dutch word of the day), but eventually I got there. The woods were delightful. Bike and walking paths criss-crossed the entire area, which is roughly 2,500 acres. It was really easy to feel like I was alone among the trees. Continue reading ‘Amsterdamse Bos’
Paul Wouters, director of the Virtual Knowledge Studio in Amsterdam, was our inspiring guest lecturer today. He talked about a lot of really fascinating things, but one thing that really struck me was at the very beginning of the lecture. Paul mentioned how in the U.S., we use the term “information technology,” while Nederlanders use the term “information and communication technology” (ICT). Americans’ omission of “communication” in connection with technology seems pretty significant to me. After all, if it were not for communication, it would be nearly impossible for people to get information using the technology we currently have. (I could go off on the meaning of information here, but that’s best left for MLIS classes.)
Technology does, in fact, change the ways we communicate. Continue reading ‘Guest lecture: Paul Wouters’
I needed a day to wander around by myself, so I went to flower market and the Albert Cuyp market. The flower market had quite a few fresh flowers, but mostly it sold tulip bulbs and wooden tulips. I enjoyed fantasizing about planting hundreds of tulips in the scraggly flower beds outside my duplex, but I didn’t end up buying anything. The Albert Cuyp market was amazing. It’s a huge street market that is open daily (except Sunday) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it sells just about anything you could ever need. There were stalls for bicycles, fish, stroopwafels, footwear, household items, fabric, produce and much, much more. I was tempted by several items there, but I only bought fruit. Produce here is super cheap, but it doesn’t seem to make it into very many meals in very detectable quantities. I savored my affordable apple.
After lecture this morning, Greta and I decided to go to the Anne Frank House museum. When we got there, however, the line to get in stretched around the block, and we didn’t know if we’d have time to wait and go through before our group dinner tonight. We were both feeling a bit hungry, so we asked a man working in a nearby souvenir shop where we could find some good frites (Dutch-style fries). He gave us some convoluted directions to a shop several blocks away and assured us that all of the locals got frites there. He promised they would be “the best frites you’ve had in your life.” Continue reading ‘Frites, churches and a group dinner’
Today was the first day of the UW iSchool’s Netherlands Exchange program. Almost everyone in the program arrived today, so people were tired. I came a week early to check out Copenhagen, however, so my inner clock had pretty much adjusted to the time difference; I was ready to play. Luckily, I talked a few people into going to see the ships that were here for Sail 2010. Pretty cool. There were ships, people singing sea shanties, and fireworks that we watched from behind the bow of a particularly humongous ship. By the end of the fireworks show, the smoke was so thick that the fireworks were almost completely obscured, but we still had a great time. It was a great start to my Netherlands experience.
A few weeks ago I went to a reception for admitted students at Syracuse University to see if I could envision myself going to grad school there. The campus was beautiful, and I really liked what the alumni, professors and current students had to say about the university’s library and information science program. The town itself, on the other hand, was kind of a dump, so it’s kind of a mixed verdict. I still may end up going there, and I need to make my decision soon, so watch this space for updates.
After spending a couple of days in Syracuse, I went to New York City to play for a few days. I actually liked the city a lot more than I thought I would. It’s definitely an urban jungle, but I loved walking around Central Park, and I’d like to scoop up Broadway and Times Square and transplant them into Seattle. I did a TON of walking – my toes were an unrecognizable mass of blisters by the end of my trip. I didn’t take very many pictures this time around, but here’s a glimpse of what my trip was like.
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Thankfully, though, the underpants remained out of sight for the most part.
I should have blogged this a month ago, when Ally and I got back from our trip to England and France (and Belgium for a few hours), but you know how I put things off.
Anyway, the trip was really fun. I think Ally’s favorite part was when we were looking at a menu outside a restaurant in Paris and the owner came out to talk to us. When I replied “bon soir” to his greeting, he looked at me and said, “You’re not French, are you?” It’s kind of discouraging that he could tell from two words. I’ll have to work on my accent.
The weather was cold and drizzly most of the time, kind of like Seattle at this time of year. But that didn’t keep us from walking all over the place. We both had some nice blisters on our feet by the end of the second week.
We were glad Paul could meet up with us a couple of nights in London and then in Bath so we could visit with our little bro for awhile. Plus, he just makes everything more fun with his quirky comments and good humor.
I didn’t take quite as many pictures as Ally did, but here’s a sampling of what I got:
“/blog/slideshows/london2008/london2008.html”
Molly had the terrific idea of biking to the North Sea as a day trip this weekend. She planned the route, and she, Jonathan and I set out at about 9 a.m. this morning. Several miles outside Amsterdam, we were delayed by a sudden, fierce rainstorm. Fortunately, there was a house nearby, so we took shelter on the side protected from the wind. We still got a little wet, but not completely soaked as we would have otherwise.
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