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bunnyjoyce-blog · 1 year ago

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In Ch 4 of Corrie ten Boom’s autobiography, The Hiding Place, she gives an account of a German apprentice at her family’s watch shop who had been a part of the Hitler Youth, which gives a peek of the indoctrination levels already in place by 1939.

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And while Haarlem and the rest of Holland strolled and bowed and swept its steps, the neighbor on our east geared for war. We knew what was happening—there was no way to keep from knowing. Often in the evening, turning the dial on the radio, we would pick up a voice from Germany. The voice did not talk, or even shout. It screamed. Oddly, it was even-tempered Betsie who reacted most strongly, hurrying from her chair and flinging herself at the radio to shut off the sound.

And yet, in the interludes, we forgot. Or, when Willem was visiting and would not let us forget, or when letters to Jewish suppliers in Germany came back marked “Address Unknown,” we still managed to believe that it was primarily a German problem. “How long are they going to stand for it?” we said. “They won’t put up with that man for long.”

Only once did the changes taking place in Germany reach inside the little shop on the Barteljorisstraat, and that was in the person of a young German watchmaker. Germans frequently came to work under Father for a while, for his reputation reached even beyond Holland. So when this tall good-looking young man appeared with apprentice papers from a good firm in Berlin, Father hired him without hesitation. Otto told us proudly he belonged to the Hitler Youth. Indeed it was a puzzle to us why he had come to Holland, for he found nothing but fault with Dutch people and products. “The world will see what Germans can do,” he said often.

His first morning at work he came upstairs for coffee and Bible reading with the other employees; after that he sat alone down in the shop. When we asked him why, he said that though he had not understood the Dutch words, he had seen that Father was reading from the Old Testament which, he informed us, was the Jewish “Book of Lies.”

I was shocked, but Father was sorrowful. “He has been taught wrong,” he told us. “By watching us, seeing that we love this Book and are truthful people, he will realize his error.”

It was several weeks later that Betsie opened the door from the hallway and beckoned to Father and me. Upstairs on Tante Hand’s tall mahogany chair sat the lady who ran the rooming house where Otto lived. Changing the bedsheets that morning, she said, she had found something under his pillow. And she drew from her market satchel a knife with a curving ten-inch blade.

Again, Father put the best interpretation on it. “The boy is probably only frightened, alone in a strange country. He probably bought it to protect himself.”

It was true enough that Otto was alone. He spoke no Dutch, nor made any effort to learn, and besides Father, Betsie, and me, few people in this working-class part of the city spoke German. We repeated our invitation to join us upstairs in the evenings, but whether he did not care for our choice of radio programs, or because the evening ended as the morning began, with prayer and Bible reading, he seldom did.

In the end, Father did fire Otto—the first employe he had ever discharged in more than sixty years in business [sic]. And it was not the knife or the anti-Semitism that finally brought it about, but Otto’s treatment of the old clock mender, Christoffels.

From the very first I had been baffled by his brusqueness with the old man. It wasn’t anything he did—not in our presence anyway—but what he didn’t do. No standing back to let the older man go first, no helping on with a coat, no picking up a dropped tool. It was hard to pin down. One Sunday when Father, Betsie, and I were having dinner at Hilversum I commented on what I thought was simple thoughtlessness.

Willem shook his head. “It’s very deliberate,” he said. “It is because Christoffels is old. The old have no value to the State. They’re also harder to train in the new way of thinking. Germany is systematically teaching disrespect for old age.”

We stared at him, trying to grasp such a concept. “Surely you are mistaken, Willem!” Father said. “Otto is extremely courteous to me—unusually so. And I’m a good deal older than Christoffels.”

“You’re different. You’re the boss. That’s another part of the system: respect for authority. It’s the old and the weak who are to be eliminated.”

We rode the train home in stunned silence—and we started watching Otto more closely. But how could we know, how in Holland of 1939 could we have guessed, that it was not in the shop where we could observe him but in the streets and alleys outside that Otto was subjecting Christoffels to a very real, small persecution. “Accidental” collisions and trippings, a shove, a heel ground into a toe, were making the old clockman’s journeys to and from work times of terror.

The erect and shabby little man was too proud to report any of this to us. It was not until the icy February morning that Christoffels stumbled into the dining room with a bleeding cheek and a torn coat that the truth came out. Even then, Christoffels said nothing. But running down to the street to pick up his hat, I encountered Otto surrounded by an indignant little cluster of people who had seen what happened. Rounding the corner into the alley, the young man had deliberately forced the older one into the side of the building and ground his face against the rough bricks.

Father tried to reason with Otto as he let him go, to show him why such behavior was wrong. Otto did not answer. In silence he collected the few tools he had brought with him and in silence left the shop. It was only at the door that he turned to look at us, a look of the most utter contempt I had ever seen.

#corrie ten boom #the hiding place #ww2 history #holocaust history

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haarlemupdates · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on Haarlem updates

Nieuw bericht op https://www.haarlemupdates.nl/2019/08/21/sunday-market-haarlem-in-de-lichtfabriek/

Sunday Market Haarlem in de Lichtfabriek

Op 29 september vindt voor de eerste keer Sunday Market Haarlem plaats en wel in de prachtige industriële Lichtfabriek. De ruige omgeving met de creatieve sfeer van de locatie sluit naadloos aan bij de Sunday Market. Kom er op deze dag funky shoppen, genieten van muziek, laat je schminken en geniet van de heerlijke hapjes […]

#Haarlem #Lichtfabriek #Sunday Market Haarlem #Agenda #Consument #Eten en drinken #Kunst &amp; cultuur #Muziek #Nieuws

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savetopnow · 7 years ago

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tamboradventure · 4 years ago

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The 32 Best Things to See and Do in Amsterdam

Posted: 6/4/2020 | June 4th, 2020

Amsterdam is known as a party city, full of wild nights and all kinds of questionable debauchery. It’s a fun, eclectic, and party-focused destination popular with young backpackers looking to let loose.

But it’s a city with a lot more to offer too.

I’ve visited Amsterdam more times than I can count (it’s one of my favorite cities in the world) and I’m never disappointed. There are tons of museums, lots of chill cafes, and more nightlife than you can handle.

It’s a city with something to offer everyone. Even if you’re not looking to party the nights away you’ll still enjoy your visit.

To help you make the most of your trip, here are the best 32 things to see and do in Amsterdam:

1. Take a Free Walking Tour

Whenever I arrive in a new city I start off by taking a free walking tour. They help you get oriented and give you an overview of the city, culture, and the main sights worth seeing. You’ll learn some history and be able to ask a local guide all the questions you have, which is the best way to get insider tips.

Free Walking Tours Amsterdam and New Europe both offer daily free walking tours. They last 2-3 hours and give you the perfect introduction to the city. Just be sure to tip your guide at the end!

2. Visit the Van Gogh Museum

This museum is home to many of Van Gogh’s best works. It’s also the largest collection of Van Gogh’s works in the entire world. The museum does an excellent job of outlining his life, chronicling his works from beginning to end so you can better understand and appreciate his style and evolution (as well as his life beyond painting). Opened in in73, it’s one of the most popular (read: crowded) sites in the city, but don’t let that stop you from visiting. The museum also has paintings by other famous artists of the period, like Monet, Manet, and Matisse. If you want to beat the crowds, try visiting later in the afternoon.

Museumplein 6, +31 20 570 5200, vangoghmuseum.nl. Open Sunday–Thursday from 9am–7pm and Friday—Saturday from 9am–9pm. Admission is 19 EUR for adults. Students 18 and under enter free.

3. Explore Jordaan

Jordaan is a trendy residential area. While it’s become more popular in recent years, it’s still one of the most overlooked parts of the city. The area is full of cozy shops and boutiques, bars and pubs, and hip restaurants. It’s also the area of the city where Rembrandt lived during the final years of his life. It’s a quiet place to explore away from the crowds if you want to get a better feel for the city outside its main tourist areas.

4. Take a Canal Tour

Amsterdam is a beautiful, picturesque city thanks to the scenic canals that break up the city’s sprawl. To see the city from a new perspective, take a canal tour. There are large tour boats that can take you up and down the waterways, but you can also rent your own boat for a self-guided tour (if you’re comfortable driving a boat). Self-guided rentals are for small, open-air boats that give you a more intimate, unique experience. They cost around 50 EUR, which makes it super affordable if you have a few friends to join you. For a standard guided tour on a larger boat, expect to pay around 16 EUR per person.

5. See Anne Frank House

This is one of the most popular tourist sites in the entire city. While it’s an important and somber place to visit, it’s also incredibly overcrowded. You just shuffle through the house and never really have time to digest what you’re seeing. Personally, I think the Jewish History Museum does a better job at highlighting her life. However, if you do want to visit then be sure to book your ticket in advance or arrive very early.

Prinsengracht 263–267, +31 20 556 7100, annefrank.org. Opening daily from 9am–10pm (shorter hours in the winter). Admission is 10.50 EUR.

6. Visit the Rijksmuseum

Established in 1798, The Rijksmuseum is an art and history museum located right next to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum, recently renovated, features an extensive Rembrandt collection including the famous painting “The Night Watch.” In addition to works by Rembrandt, the museum is also home to an a robust collection of other classic Dutch painters, like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. There are over 1 million items in the collection (it’s the largest museum in the country) with over 8,000 on display — so you can easily spend a few hours here.

Museumstraat 1, +31 20 674 7000, rijksmuseum.nl. Open daily from 9am–5pm. Admission is 19 EUR for adults. Students 18 and under are free.

8. Relax in Oosterpark

If you need to get away from the crowds, head to Oosterpark. It’s a relaxing green space east of the city center and is perfect for lounging and enjoying a sunny day. It’s much less busy than the city’s popular Vondelpark and will show you a different, more residential part of the city. There are sculptures (including the National Slavery Monument that commemorates the abolition of slavery in 1863), playgrounds, ponds, and plenty of space to picnic or lounge. It was the city’s first large park too, dating back to the 1890s

9. Try the Heineken Experience

Heineken is one of the most famous (and popular) beers in the world. You can take an interactive self-guided tour this former brewery and learn about how the beer was made and how the company evolved over the centuries (the beer dates back to the 1870s). Admission also includes two beers, so if you’re a fan be sure to book a tour. It’s a fun way to learn some history.

Stadhouderskade 78, +31 20 721 5300, heinekenexperience.com. Open Monday–Thursday from 10:30am–7:30pm and Friday–Sunday from 10:30am–9pm. Admission is 21 EUR at the door and 18 EUR when booked online.

7. Wander the Red Light District

Unsurprisingly, Amsterdam’s Red Light District is one of the city’s main draws. Though much tamer than in previous years, the Red Light District manages to balance sex and seediness with being a major international tourist attraction. While it’s worth seeing, I’d keep your time here brief. While it’s quite calm and quiet during the day, at night the area is bursting with drunken revelers and gawking tourists that clog the sidewalks. Even if it’s not your scene, I’d still make sure to see the area with your own eyes. It’s certainly unique!

10. See the Erotic Museum and the Amsterdam Sex Museum

Tucked away in an old warehouse in the Red Light District and has an exhibition about eroticism in all its various forms throughout the ages. It has sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and other artwork. And, of course, there is a gift shop if you want a more unique souvenir from the city.

The Amsterdam Sex Museum is the more serious museum and if much more informative than the Erotic Museum (but also a little less fun). It was the world’s first sex museum, having opened in 1985. It highlights the history of sexual views and norms, as well as the lives of some of the world’s most sexually famous individuals (like the Marquis de Sade).

Erotic Museum: Oudezijds Achterburgwal 54, +31 20 623 1834. Open Sunday–Thursday from 11am–1am and Friday–Saturday from 11am–2am. Admission is 7 EUR.

Amsterdam Sex Museum: Damrak 18, +31 20 622 8376, sexmuseumamsterdam.nl. Open daily from 9:30am-11:30pm. Admission is 5 EUR.

11. Visit the Tulip Museum

The Netherlands is known for its stunning and Insta-worthy tulip fields. This tiny museum, located in a tulip shop, does a wonderful job of telling the history of tulips in country. It’s one of the best off-the-beaten-path attractions in Amsterdam. It’s never very busy and and it’s only 5 EUR (which makes it one of the cheapest museums in the city).

Prinsengracht 116, +31 20 421 0095, amsterdamtulipmuseum.com. Open daily from 10am-6pm. Admission is 5 EUR.

12. Take a Bike Tour

Bikes are to Amsterdam like wine is to Bordeaux. The locals love to bike everywhere and there are supposedly more bikes than people in the city. Bike useage has shot up 40% in the past two decades and locals collectivly cycle over 2 million kilometers every day! If you want to explore the way the locals do, take a bike tour.

Mike’s Bike Tours is the best company to use, whether for a tour or to rent a bike on your own. Not only do they offer city tours but they also offer bike tours of the surrounding countryside as well. Tours start at 32 EUR and last around 3 hours.

13. Spend a Day in Haarlem

Haarlem is a walled city that dates back to the Middle Ages, located just 35km from Amsterdam. The city is home to around 160,000 people and it’s quite quiet and calm. It has a beautiful central church, great outdoor market, and all the beauty of historic Amsterdam with fewer crowds. If you feel like getting out of the city, spend a few hours here just wandering about. You’ll get a much better feel for the country away from the busy and tourist-heavy streets of Amsterdam. Be sure to visit the Windmill too. It’s right on the water and offers tours as well as a nice view of the city.

14. Learn Something New at the Amsterdam History Museum

This is a huge museum that offers an in-depth and insightful look at Amsterdam’s past. There are a lot of artifacts, maps, paintings, and multi-media displays throughout that provide a comprehensive overview of the city and how it has evolved. museum. It’s one of the best history museums I’ve ever visited and you could easily spend 3-4 hours here. Even if you’re not a history buff like me it’s worth a visit. I can’t recommend it enough!

Kalverstraat 92, +31 20 523 1822, amsterdammuseum.nl. Open daily from 10am–5pm. Admission is 15 EUR.

15. Chill Out in Vondelpark

Created in 1865, this is Amsterdam’s largest (and most popular) park. Spanning over 120 acres, it’s the perfect place to walk, bike, people-watch, or relax — especially after a visit to a local coffee shop. In the summer, the park is filled with people and there are often lots of events here too. Pack a lunch, bring a book, and enjoy a picnic on a sunny afternoon!

16. See the FOAM

Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum and home to a stunning collection of incredible pictures. Surprisingly it also sees few crowds even though it’s in the main part of the city. Opened in 2001, the museum is composed of four exhibitions that are constantly changing so you never know what you might see (check the website to see what is on display during your visit). They have a beautiful outdoor garden too. It’s a small museum and it doesn’t take long to see so don’t pass it by!

Keizersgracht 609, +31 20 551 6500, foam.org. Open daily from 10am–6pm (9pm on Thursdays and Fridays). Admission is 15.50 EUR.

17. Visit the Jewish Historical Museum

This is the only Jewish history museum in the country, though it’s often overlooked in favor of The Anne Frank House. Personally, I think the museum does a better job whe it comes to highlighting the history and struggles of Jews in the Netherlands. Specifically, they have an excellent exhibit on World War II that highlights the Dutch resistance, complacency, and guilt over the Holocaust. Established in 1932 (and reopened in 1955, after WWII), the museum houses over 11,000 items, artifacts, and works of art.

Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, +31 20 531 0310, jhm.nl. Open daily from 11am–5pm. Admission is 17 EUR.

18. Browse the Waterlooplein Flea Market

This is the oldest and biggest market in the city. With over 300 stalls, this open-air market is essentially a giant flea market. You can find anything and everything here if you’re willing to look. Secondhand clothing, hats and accessories, antiques, electronics, and much more can all be found here (both new and used). If there’s something you want, you’ll probably find it here so be sure to spend some time wandering and browsing. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, it’s a fun place to explore and people watch.

Waterlooplein 2. Open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am-6pm.

19. Visit the Rembrandt House Museum

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists in human history (his famous painting, The Night Watch, is in the Rijksmuseum). This house, which he lived and worked in between 1639 and 1658 has been converted into a museum that highlights his life and work. You can see how he painted and how his house was decorated during his life. It’s a neat snapshot into history. If you’re an avid art/art history fan, this shouldn’t be missed.

Jodenbreestraat 4, +31 20 520 0400, rembrandthuis.nl. Open daily from 10am–6pm. Admission is 14 EUR.

20. See the Museum Amstelkring

Hidden inside a 17th-century canal house, this is one of the most interesting churches I’ve ever been to. Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (“Our Lord in the Attic”) is a clandestine Catholic church that was secretly built during Protestant rule on the 3rd floor of a regular house (it was never really a secret, but since it was out of sight the authorities didn’t crack down on them too harshly). Built in the 1660s, the chruch has a beautiful drawing room and the furnishings and artifacts make this one of the best 17th-century rooms still intact.

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38, +31 20 624 6604, opsolder.nl. Open Monday–Saturday from 10am–6pm and Sun days from 1pm–6pm. Admissions is 11.50 EUR.

21. Learn About Drugs at the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum

No trip to Amsterdam is complete without learning a little bit about drugs. This museum (which has a sister museum in Barcelona as well) is full of information about the historical and modern use of cannabis. It covers all the medicinal, religious, and cultural uses of the plant and focuses on how hemp can be used for all sorts of beneficial agricultural, consumer, and industrial products. It’s actually really educational!

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148, +31 20 624 8926, hashmuseum.com. Open daily from 10am–10pm. Admission is 9 EUR.

22. Explore the Museum Van Loon

Built in 1672, this museum is located in a canal house on the Keizersgracht canal. Originally, the house was owned by the wealthy Van Loon merchant family. They collected beautiful works of art and their house is now a museum full of period furniture, the Van Loon art collection, and Van Loon family portraits. Albeit small, it’s another museum that makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. There’s an immaculate garden here too.

Keizersgracht 672, +31 20 624 5255, museumvanloon.nl. Open daily from 10am–5pm. Admission is 10 EUR.

23. Indulge at Foodhallen

Foodhallen is an indoor food market offering all kinds of delicious food. Opened in 20014, it’s essentially like having a bunch of food trucks all in one indoor location. There are over 20 different stalls here, making it the best place in the city for foodies. Personal favorites include Viet View and Le Big Fish.

Bellamyplein 51 or Hannie Dankbaarpassage 47, foodhallen.nl. Open daily from 11am-midnight.

24. Visit Noord

Noord has evolved into one of the cooler and trendier districts in recent years. It’s one of the cheaper areas in the city so a lot of new bars and restaurants have opened here. The old industrial areas have been reclaimed and there is lots of green space too. It’s a fun, vibrant area with much fewer crowds than the central part of the city. Rent a bike and explore — you won’t be disappointed!

25. Browse the Stedelijk Museum

I’ll be honest: I don’t like modern art. It’s just not my cup of tea. But if you do, this is the place in the city to see it. Opened in 1874, the museum is home to over 90,000 items including works by Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. The exhibitions cover paintings, drawings, graphic design, sculptures, sound, and installations. To be fair, there is a ton of variety here — it’s just not my favorite style. But definitely check it out if you’re an art fan!

Museumplein 10, +31 20 573 2911, stedelijk.nl. Open daily from 10am–6pm (10pm on Fridays). Admission ins 18.50.

26. Take an Alternative Art Tour

Amsterdam is home to some incredible street art. You’ll see it all over while you explore, but if you really want to appreciate it and learn about the alternative art scene in Amsterdam then take a tour. Alltournative Amsterdam runs an amazing, insightful tour where you can learn all about the alternative arts while getting to see the best murals in the city. All the people I took on the tour loved it!

27. Visit Quirky and Offbeat Attractions

There are tons of offbeat attractions in Amsterdam. Here are a few more of the best if you’re looking for more unique, quirky experiences:

The Houseboat Museum – This decorated houseboat gives you a glimpse into what living on the canals is like. It’s cramped but interesting to see how people live on the canal.

Electric Ladyland – The world’s first museum dedicated to fluorescent light. It’s definitely not your typical art gallery/museum but it’s fun to wander and interact with the colors and the fluorescent space.

Micropia – A “zoo” home to all sorts of microbes and bacteria. It’s super educational as you can learn about all the invisible microbes that we interact with day to day (you can also scan yourself to see what actual bacteria and microbes are on you right then and there).

The Torture Museum – This museum showcases the punishments prisoners faced throughout the city’s history. There are all sorts of brutal tools as well as a hanging cage and Inquisition chair. Disturbing but insightful!

Museum Vrolik – This museum is home to one of the largest collections of human (and animal) deformities. It has some 150 different items, including creepy jars holding fetuses, human and animal skeletons, and even the remains of a pair of conjoined twins. Super weird!

28. Take a Food Tour

As a foodie, one of the best parts of any trip is getting to eat my way around a new city. Food is an important part of every culture, and it’s something I’m always happy to splash out on when given the chance. If you’re looking to learn more about Amsterdam’s food scene and sample some of the city’s best offerings then I suggest taking a food tour. Not only do you get to try amazing foods but you learn a ton about their history, how they’re made, and how the food culture here has evolved.

If you’re looking to try a food tour, some companies worth checking out are:

Amsterdam Food Tours

Hungry Birds

Secret Food Tours

***

Amsterdam is more than just wild nights, drugs, and the Red Light District. It’s a hip, fun city with tons of museums and greenspace, as well as lots of history and delicious food. Plus, it’s incredibly scenic. It’s everything you want in a European capital!

Whether you’re looking for a weekend getaway or planning a trip around Europe, make sure to spend a few days in Amsterdam. It won’t disappoint!

Want the real, most honest, straight to the point guide on Amsterdam?

Want to plan the perfect trip to Amsterdam? Check out my comprehensive guide to Amsterdam written for budget travelers like yourself! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money in one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. You’ll find suggested itineraries tips budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, and my favorite non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!! Click here to learn more and get started.

Book Your Trip to Amsterdam: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Get Your Guide Check out my detailed guide to planning a visit to Amsterdam with suggested itineraries, places to stay, things to do, where to eat, and how to get around. Just click here to get the guide and continue planning today!

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You should book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Some of my favorite places to stay in Amsterdam are:

St. Christopher’s at the Winston

Flying Pig Downtown

ClinkNOORD

If you’re looking for more place to stay, here is a complete list of my favorite hostels in Amsterdam!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Photo Credits: 4 – Jukka, 5 – Jason Riedy, 6 – Rain Rabbit, 8 – Patrick Müeller, 9 – martin_vmorris, 11 – Tine van Voorst, 12 – Kotomi_, 13 – Sharon VanderKaay , 14 – Guilhem Vellut

The post The 32 Best Things to See and Do in Amsterdam appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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lexvan74 · 5 years ago

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Saturday market, sushi, shoarma and Hudson's Bay visit. Pinay vlog

Mga Babes Saturday we went out after the live stream of live pinay vlog and went to market in Haarlem. But not before we had a lunch of Sushi. Fresh fish, japanese street food ? Anyway after we visited the market in Haarlem, where we bought home made chocolates and after we went for Shoarma. And now on Sunday we shared a pizza for dinner.

Thank you for following my channel of this fil-dutch couple, please also find me on my facebook page : LifePortraits

#meet jacky #pinay vlog #live pinay #chocolates #sushi #market #market in haarlem #lifeportraits #facebook #mga babes #shoarma #pizza #fil-dutch couple #haarlem #filipino #pinay in holland

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tirsaroundtheworld · 6 years ago

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The Nomad MBA Part I - Chile!

Hello everyone, I am back! Not even a month after our return back in Haarlem, looking for jobs and trying to settle in, when instagramming to kill those extremely long last pair of minutes of the washing machine’s cycle, I stumbled upon an add that caught my eye. Never before had I paid attention to Instagram adds, but this one was different. Relevant as if someone had been monitoring me, it said: ‘build a career you love, while traveling the world’. Barely two weeks after I first clicked on that add, I was selected (from over 6000 applications!! 😱) as one of the lucky 25 people to join the Nomad MBA on a 3 months adventure to Latin America!

In short, during those 3 months our tribe will live in 3 different countries/cities, while working on an online course - Programming in my case - and accelerating personal growth. The adventure started on the 4th of April, when I took off for the longest flight I have ever been on (14,5 hours in one go!!!) to the first location: Valparaiso, Chile!

Upon arrival, it quickly became clear that this was going to be a really special time. The tribe is filled with the most amazing people from all over the world and each of them with an interesting story and an impressive set of skills and knowledge, Chile is amazing and this is just the beginning! It wasn’t a real surprise that the first month passed before I could catch my breath. So many highlights!!:

# Valparaiso is a very colorful, bohemian and artsy city, characterized by its many ‘cerros’ (hills). Everywhere you look you see seemingly never-ending layers of brightly colored houses, the most amazing pieces of street art, stray dogs, stairs, stairs and more stairs; it is legday every day in Valpo #fitgirls! Some stairs can be dodged by taking cute little cablecars, called funiculars. Just walking around this interesting town and exploring its complex network of walkways is a highlight on its own!

# Even though Valparaiso is located right at the coastline of Chile, there are no accessible beaches. Therefore we took a local bus to the nearby Viña del Mar, a beautiful and completely different little town where the buildings are majestic, the streets are clean and there is an endless boulevard along the beautiful beach. We spent the day surfing and tanning at La Boca beach, strolling along the boulevard, trying all the empanadas and drinking Chilean wines in a local cafe. Life’s good!

# The good thing of being part of a tribe of people is that there is always someone with a good plan. One day we joined a local yoga class (in Spanish, si) in a beautiful, dreamy loft of the local cultural center. Another day we parkoured our way around town in search for the best nightclub. We went to cookingclasses and vineyard tours, played padel, hosted group dinners and so much more. Probably my favorite good plan was a calligraphy workshop in one of our favorite local cafes. On a fine Sunday morning, we learnt all about cool lettering while drinking tea, eating vegan brownies and enjoying great conversation. We even got to keep the equipment. 🙌🏻

# During the third week, we got time off of our study routine; Tribe Travel Week! We packed our daypacks and took off. First stop; Santaigo! We explored the city’s highlights, got up Cerro San Cristobal, hunted for souvenirs in Patio Bellavista and the Central Market, crossed the majestic Plaza de Armas, paid a quick visit to the palace La Moneda, had an overpriced but lovely Italian dinner and got op crazy early, 2:30 am kinda early, to catch our flight to the next stop: the amazing Atacama Desert! 🤙🏻

# The perks of arriving before the sun properly rose definitely includes having a full day ahead of you to start exploring. And as we only had 3,5 days to explore this amazing place we got right into it. We checked into our hippy hostel dorm room, that we filled with all 8 of us, in San Pedro de Atacama and took an afternoon tour around the beautiful salt flats. Unfortunately the herd of flamingoes (yes, really!) that usually resides here wasn’t home, but we got to enjoy a very floaty swim in the freezing salt lakes, made cool group pictures playing with the insane reflection of the Ojos del Sal, watched the change of light over the salt flats when the sun started setting and danced around the van while the daylight faded away and we got tipsy on pisco sours. Day 2 in the desert we spent biking through the incredible Valle de la Luna, Moon valley. True to its name, the scenery of this beautiful valley does remind one of the moon with its crazy crater-like landscape, sandy vasts, salty mountain ranges and never-ending views. Our self guided bike tour took us past the valley’s main attractions; we climbed through a narrow cave to admire the magical effects of the daylight through the cliffs, we climbed up various hills to be surprised by the one breathtaking view after the other and ate picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere - all the while accompanied by our very tough four legged furry friend Mufasa, who followed us all the way from the village. To end the day in style, we decided to follow up on this exciting rumour that we heard. The story is; to prevent San Pedro of becoming a drugs filled hippy hotspot, everything downtown shuts at midnight. But the party doesn’t stop there though! The people then meet in the street and collectively make their way into the desert, on to rave around a bonfire under the starts. Obviously not something to disrecard, so after a nice pizza-and-pisco-in-the-hostel-and-recover-from-the-intense-day kinda evening, we joined the last round in a local bar and then followed the crowd into the desert. And it was magical! Guided by the magical sound of a sole saxophonist, we found our way to the campfire and danced the night away under the moonlight. 🌝

# Just when we thought Atacama couldn’t get better, we got ourselves a rental car and drove off to explore the further distance of this natural phenomenon. Our roadtrip took us through many different landscapes and on our way we spotted the local species of lama, did a proper fotoshoot with the absolutely breathtaking mountain ranges behind us, ate a set lunch in a tiny local eatery and kept the leftovers for a second picnic lunch at the beautiful, bright blue Miscanti lakes (where we also finally spotted a flamingo, YEES!), got horribly stuck in the middle of nowhere, magically met another strandee and teamworked our way out, enjoyed the most beautiful sunset over the changing colours of the desert on the way back and felt very very alive. Back in San Pedro after this day of rollercoaster emotions and breathtaking experiences, we went for a celebratory dinner with our roadtrip crew. Afterwards we made our way into the desert for some stargazing and meditated under the stars while the moonlight set the mood just right for the perfect ending of this absolutely fantastic day. Lucky, lucky fucks. 🙌🏻

After our travel week to the amazing Atacama desert, there was just under one week left to close off the last things in Valparaiso, pack up our stuff and say goodbye to our beloved home for the past month before we would move to the next adventure. Even though I had expected to experience Chile in a rather deep manner during this slow travel rythm, one month turned out to be not nearly enough. It had literally flown over, the flight to get to Valpo had felt longer and there were so many things that I yet hadn’t done. That month was enough though to start forming strong tribe dynamics, beginning lifelong friendships and encouraging serious comfort-zone stretches - exactly what the Nomad MBA is about. It for sure got us oh so eager for the next stop: Cusco! 🇵🇪⛰

#Valparaiso #Vina del Mar #Santiago #Atacama #Chile #Nomad MBA

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worldwidewanderers · 7 years ago

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Amsterdam, Nederlands

we landed in amsterdams in the middle of the afternoon and the city was a little gloomy but we were welcomed by the IAMSTERDAM sign and took advantage of the photo opportunity. when we got to our first hotel which was on the outskirts of the city, we unpacked, regrouped and headed for the city center. it was a wednesday evening so we didn’t see the real hustle and bustle of the city til the weekend. however, the buildings were all so cool and there were still girls in their windows shaking it for that paper!

we found our way to a few coffee shops for, well, ya know, coffee and ate at a mexican restaurant and explored the city for the rest of the night.

the next morning we woke up and headed out to switch to our next hotel for the next 4 nights. we took a bus to the airport where we had a free shuttle to and from the airport provided by our hotel. we ended up buying travel tickets which covered our travel costs for 3 days on any of the public transit which was absolutely worth every penny.

when we got to the second hotel we had a little hang up with the room reservation. we booked on line for a standard room with 2 beds and when we checked in we were told the room was only intended to be a room for 2 people. so we ended up having to pay more money to get a bigger room with an extra bed/pull out couch. damn.

after we got settled in our room we headed out for a different part of the city called Hoofddorp. it was a rainy day and it was super windy and cold so after we found a coffee shop and got our coffee, we tried to find a place to eat. there weren’t very many options in wall distance and the weather kept getting worse so we decided to pop into a store to get fixins for sandwiches. there was a deli meat counter and we were trying to google translate the words to figure out the different meat types so we knew what we were getting. after about 10

minutes translating and speaking with the workers, we got a half kilo of “turkey”. with our basket full of food we were ready to check out only to be reminded that some places were cash only. this place, was cash only. perfect. we emptied our basket and put everything back on the shelves and made our way to the next grocery store a few blocks away. by the end of our walk the rain had picked up and the wind was cutting us in half so we got an uber back to the hotel with our credit card purchased food and had a family style dinner on the floor at the hotel with meats and cheeses and hummus and dips and chips. yum.

we had a nice relaxing easy night, played a few rounds of psych and called it a day.

friday morning we got up and put our bus passes to good use and headed into town. we stopped off in the museum district first and walked around the area. as we were walking around we caught word that parts of the city was experiencing a power outage which made a lot of businesses close along with a lot of the busses. we went into the free Diamond museum and walked around. it was real sparkly and real expensive (no one popped the question).

we decided to hop on a train and head to another part of town called Zaanse Schans where the little town was surrounded by windmills. it was super cute and real small and the town was pretty much shutting everything down when we arrived. we stay for a short little while before heading back to the Red Light District so see what a Friday night was all about. There was more people out and more gals in the windows waiting for you to knock and pay. it was definitely an interesting sight to see and I must admit, I couldn’t stop watching. crazy. the night ended after some drinks around town and a stop at mcdonald’s right across the street from our hotel. ((side note: bizz are mcdonald’s for the first time in 8 years. what happens in amsterdam, stays in amsterdam))

on saturday we decided to head in different directions for the day. we both actually ended up going to Haarlem just as different times. in Haarlem there was a really cool flea market type thing going on down one of the streets. we tried a bunch of different meets and cheeses, stopped into the free Archeologisch Museum, and a free art gallery before making our way back to the train station. we had a few minutes to kill before the next train came so we did the only thing you’re supposed to do while waiting for the train, grab a beer. the beer was a yummy ipa but I was so incredibly disappointed by the pour as it was half full after the foam settled. (I think that’s common over here but frustrating nonetheless.) so we downed the beers, got on the train and headed for the beach in Zandvoort.

we found a coffee shop for some more

coffee and walked the beach enjoying our coffee.

it was awesome to be at the beach the weather was nice and it felt like we were back home for a second. the beach was a lot wider than our beaches but the sand is the same. we enjoyed the waves for a few and made our way back to Zaanse Schans to see the town before it all closed down.

we got to go inside one of the working windmills and saw how it operates inside, tried some more cheeses and had really cheap sandwiches, cheesy nachos and beers. we ate outside where all the farm animal birds came up to you hoping that you would share with them. a rooster straight up pulled a piece of cheese of my sandwich and ran away and a duck ate a chip off my leg. it was awesome!

on our walk back to the train we stopped in a bar that appeared to be closed but he was opening for the night. we sat in silence for a while and drank our beers until he turned on some music. this was another place that was cash only, but luckily we had €5.

we made our way back into the city and I finally allowed myself to get one of the chocolate covered waffles that we’ve seen on every street corner staring you in the face. and holy shit i’m glad it did because damn. yummmmmm!

we met back up with kyle and brad and had dinner at a little italian joint then posted up at a bar and waited for our friends Baisden and Kat to get into town. they popped over for a few days to meet up with us from spain. we stayed out drinking til around 1230 and by the time we made it back to the train station, they were on the night times and the trains only came

every 45 minutes or so. we walked to the bus stop and waited, got on a bus that took us right around the corner from our hotel and went home to crash.

sunday morning came and we all decided to go our own ways again. kyle and brad headed for the beach and another food market area while me and bizz went to the New Land all the way across town. there was not much in the New Land. not much at all actually. so after about 2 hours of hopping on and off trains and busses we head back in the direction of the city stopping off in a town called Muiden. there was a castle there and the little town sat in between the canals. we went into 2 restaurants before we found one that took cards. the Café Ome Ko Muiden it was! and a happy forced choice that was. we ordered an appetizer of “rollitos” which was some spicy fried meet thing, a burger with bacon and dutch cheese, and a lox, capers, onion, arugula, egg, and truffle mayonnaise sandwich with fries. (oh. and beers. oh yeah and shots of jameson) holy fucking mouthgasm. yummy yummy yum!

we chatted with our server and bartender for quite sometime. sharing stories of traveling and what not. super nice folks.

we made our way back to the red light district (because that’s what you do every night in amsterdam) and got up with kyle and brad at the bar. we walked around a few and decided to sit down and wait for baisden and kat. we all had dinner and drinks at Murphy’s and then walked around the district one last time before we said our goodbyes. (to both kat and baisden and the red light distict.)

which brings us to today. monday.

we woke up this morning and packed our bags tidied the hotel room a bit and headed down stairs to check out. we had drink vouchers from when we checked in that got us a complimentary drink each due to the maintenance being done on the building, so we made our way to the bar for one last amsterdam cheers. (I had used my voucher the previous morning on coffee so when everyone ordered drinks and it was my turn, I just said i lost mine and she gave me a beer anyhow. oops, but hey, thanks!) we hopped on the shuttle to the airport where we had to pay an additional €55 each for our luggage, (the first time we’ve paid for our luggage the entire trip) made our way through security and got on our flight at gate D64. and here we are. somewhere in the sky above the North Sea en route to our final stop on this eurotrip.

ICELAND!!!

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drtanstravels · 7 years ago

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“So, statistically, in the Land of the Free you have the least amount of free people. This is a super-simple argument; in Holland you can smoke weed whilst f___ing a hooker in front of a cop. How dare Holland not be called the Land of the Free!” – Jim Jefferies on America and Freedom

I started writing this at about 7am on Thursday morning as we had just returned from quite a long trip, this time to Amsterdam and The Hague for Anna to attend a conference and then a trip to Budapest for her birthday and I’m surprisingly well rested after the flight (more on that later). We have been to the Netherlands several times before, but only to Amsterdam and Utrecht while we were living in Germany two years ago, but this time would be a little different — Yes, we would be spending some time in Amsterdam, but who wouldn’t? It is such a fun city, but the bulk of the Dutch leg of our most recent trip would be in The Hague, the location of Vision 2017, the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR) conference where Anna was giving a presentation, and also a place neither of us had been or knew a whole lot about. The second part of our adventure would be a five-day holiday spent in Budapest, Hungary, as a part of Anna’s birthday celebration. Again, a place that neither of us had been and our combined knowledge of the place consisted solely of goulash and salami, however, everyone we knew that had been there absolutely loved it and pretty much just told us to go.

I’ve also written about the ‘T’ Factor on several occasions, my anti-Midas touch, the incredible ability I have to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Situations such as:

The ‘T’ Factor part 1: Not really trying in my German classes in high school because I thought I’d never visit Germany… then later moving to Germany.

The ‘T’ Factor part 2: Just a day where everything that could go wrong did.

The ‘T’ Factor Part 3: Paying a New York scalper a ton of cash for what I thought would be the only opportunity to see one of my favourite musicians play just as the support act, only to get fake tickets and have to watch from over a fence.

The ‘T’ Factor Part 4: I hate the cold and, fortunately, had never seen snow before we moved to the US. That all changed when we sat through New York’s second-worst blizzard on record.

This latest trip was the complete opposite, though. Maybe I should by a lottery ticket or something!

Saturday, June 24 We had dropped Kermit off at dog-sitter on Friday afternoon and caught a midnight flight to Amsterdam, this time flying Premium Economy, which is similar to regular economy, but you get to board the plane first, have slightly more legroom and can carry a bit more baggage. That extra legroom allowed me to get a decent night sleep on the 13-hour flight, however, Amsterdam is six hours behind Singapore so by the time we got our luggage, went through immigration, took the train from the airport to the city and found our hotel, the Room Mate, it was still only about nine o’clock in the morning. We really wanted to dump our bags and have a shower, but it was too early to check into our room, although they had a massive suite available for a little extra cash. We were only going to stay in Amsterdam for one night so we decided to get decadent. Premium Economy and a hotel suite? I felt like Jay-Z!

A very dark picture of a small portion of our suite

We had slept well on the flight so it was now time to hit the streets. I won’t bore you with the details about Amsterdam because I did that the first time we went there so you can just read that piece instead if you want to get the lowdown. Also, I’m not a huge Jim Jefferies fan, but I used that quote of his because he nailed it when talking about freedom. Americans love to go on about freedom, especially around this time of year as we experienced first-hand when we spent the fourth of July in New York a couple of years ago, but it’s hard to be more free than a country that has had to close prisons due to the fact that they don’t have enough inmates. In fact, they’re even getting kind of creative in handling the situation:

Recorded crime has shrunk by about a quarter over the past nine years, according to the country’s national statistics office, and that is expected to translate into a surplus of 3,000 prison cells by 2021. The government has shuttered 19 of nearly 60 prisons over the past three years, and a government report leaked last year suggested that more cuts were coming.

The relative lack of prisoners has spurred the Dutch to be creative. At jails transformed into housing for asylum seekers, former cells for prisoners have been converted into apartments for families, albeit some with the original cell doors.

At De Koepel, a former prison in Haarlem, refugees played soccer on a large interior courtyard that doubled as a soccer field. Some of the converted jails also have gymnasiums, kitchen facilities and outdoor gardens.

That’s pretty free. Anyway, our hotel was a little bit out of the way, but essentially all of Saturday was spent walking around Amsterdam, checking out the shops and hanging out, but one of the best sites we encountered was the market in the town square, one which had a mix of secondhand goods and food, including great cheese and some spectacular oysters. A few scenes from the day:

Pubs open for breakfast beers

Anna and her houseboat

I love me some cheese

This cat just fell asleep on me while Anna was trying on dresses

Boris Johnson’s mobile bar

These guys were actually really good

Not sure how you get a mermaid pregnant

I once tried for hours to open an oyster, this dude just did it like it was nothing!

So good!

Someone’s excited

A Citroen in my favourite colour

Outside Anne Frank’s house

Horses for courses

‘Shroom shop

Afternoon libations

Just strolling around

My back was a bit sore from the flight so we pulled up a seat outside a bar on one of the canals later in the afternoon and had a couple of beers while we watched trashy hen’s nights and stag dos get started, as well as a woman that had had a ton of cosmetic surgery who was so baked she couldn’t even stand properly. We also stopped off to get some crêpes at one stage and only in a country with legal weed would the really stoned dude in front of us order one with Nutella and bacon. Eventually the jet-lag kicked in, plus we had walked about 20km (12.5 miles) and the weather wasn’t that great so we went back to the Room Mate and had a really good dinner in the hotel restaurant before going up and making the most of our suite, despite the fact that it doesn’t get dark until about 10:30pm. Who cares, we could hit the town properly tomorrow.

Sunday, June 25 Sunday followed a similar pattern to Saturday, just strolling around the city, but first, we’d need something to eat. I don’t usually eat breakfast, that’s just more valuable time that I can spend sleeping, but we woke up early due to jet-lag so why not? Anna found a great breakfast place that did a heap of different bloody marys, as well traditional Dutch waffles, so we checked out of our hotel and then that would be the plan.

I got the bloody kimchi and Anna had the bloody bacon to go with our waffles and then it was time to look around town again.

Inside Gollem Biercafe

We spent most of our time walking around different areas of the city, doing a lot more shopping and stopping off at bars such as Gollem Biercafe for the occasional beer or four. One major problem with old Dutch buildings is that they tend to have extremely steep staircases with narrow steps, essentially just ladders, rendering them almost impossible for someone my size to use, and the Gollem was no different, requiring me to bend and twist like an accordion to go down the steps and through the tiny doorway to use the bathroom. I always thought the Dutch were supposed to be one of the world’s tallest nationalities. Anyway, we enjoyed checking out all of the quirky stores and secondhand shops, but we couldn’t do it all day, my back was aching again and we had to go back to the hotel to collect our luggage and then take the 30-minute train ride to The Hague.

The Hague is another place that we knew very little about, besides the fact that it was centre for the Dutch government and one of the host cities for the United Nations. Fortunately, wikipedia is here to shed a little extra light on the topic, as per usual:

The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital of the province of South Holland.

With a population of 520,704 inhabitants (as of 1 April 2016) and more than one million inhabitants including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations along with New York, Geneva, Vienna, Rome, and Nairobi. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, together with Queen Máxima.

We also never realised that The Hague would be home to some of the greatest seafood we would ever encounter in our lives, as we would soon find out. We arrived at the B-Aparthotel, checked into our room, and then looked for somewhere to go for dinner, stumbling upon a place called Het Gouden Kalf in Scheveningen Harbour. We just didn’t realise that it would be one of the best decisions we would make. We made the 30-minute walk down to the harbour, passing a giant van that strongly resembled the one driven by Rocksteady and Bebop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles en route. Anna initially felt like a lamb rack for dinner, but I told her that clams were “the sheep of the sea,” due in part to the little furry bit at the opening. It all made perfect sense in my mind at the time. When we arrived at Het Gouden Kalf we were each treated to a seven-course set menu meal that could have the main dish upgraded to Dutch lobster for an extra €7.50 (approx. AU$11.20), a decision we obviously made. Here are a few sites along the way, plus what we ate. Unfortunately I can’t remember exactly what each dish was, but I’ll try my best:

The Ninja Turtle van

Outside Het Gouden Kalf

Seared tuna

Tandoori chicken with yoghurt

Clams, the sheep of the sea, served with a foam soup

Cod and sea-sheep with an asparagus sauce

Lobster with shaved truffle

Pickled pear with cranberry cheese

Summer berries

Fairy floss

When the waitress asks you if you want freshly shaved truffle on your lobster, you get that shit shaved! The food was spectacular, but we were certain we had been undercharged, however, it turned out that great food is really affordable in The Hague. We’d need to walk off this meal, so we hoofed it back to our hotel and collapsed in front of the TV for the night.

Monday, June 26 It was our first full day exploring The Hague and this is a cool city, unfortunately we just started in a bit of a dodgy neighbourhood. We love markets so we made our way down to the main one in The Hague and it wasn’t pretty, however, yet again the food there was great. There wasn’t a whole lot to see so we got some smoked fish and some herring sandwiches among other things and then found our way to the nicer part of this very artsy city, our hands reeking of fish.

One of many strange cars we saw on this trip

There are ducks everywhere!

This dog walked up and just started licking me

Smoked fish in the market

No, this isn’t minced meat, just a minced meat-patteren pillow in the market

A cool statue in the city centre

I love art, but I hate going to galleries and exhibitions in Singapore because they are full of screaming children running around, touching and climbing priceless works while adults push in front of you, also feeling the need to make physical contact with everything in front of them. This isn’t the case in Europe and one of the most famous sites in The Hague is the Mauritshuis:

The Mauritshuis is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 841 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collections contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and others. Originally, the 17th century building was the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau. It is now the property of the government of the Netherlands and is listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites.

The gallery is best known for housing Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, a piece which I could never see what the big deal was about, but there are also plenty of other works by Dutch masters that I like there, particularly those by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens was a Flemish artist whose works were strongly influenced by Caravaggio, another one of my favourites. The Mauritshuis was definitely worth the visit so I took pictures of several of the pieces I particularly liked, as well as the obligatory Girl with a Pearl Earring shot, however, I was unable to find the details for all of them. As usual, these photos don’t do the paintings true justice, but I’m sure you could find clearer images of them online if you wish to see them better:

‘Portrait of a Man’ (possibly Peter van Hecke) and ‘Portrait of a Woman’ (possibly Clara Fourment), Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1630

‘An Old Woman and a Boy with Candles,’ Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1616-1617

‘Vanitas Still Life,’ Pieter Claesz, c. 1630

‘Flower Still Life with a Timepiece,’ Willem von Aelst, c. 1663

‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp,’ Rembrandt, c. 1632

‘Girl with a Pearl Earring,’ Johannes Vermeer, c. 1665

After the Mauritshuis we grabbed dinner and then went to a bar for a shisha and a few quiet drinks, but we couldn’t have a big night — Not only was Anna giving her talk at the conference the following day, it was also going to be her birthday.

Tuesday, June 27 Anna had been preparing for her talk at the Vision 2017 conference for quite some time and today was the day, it was just a shame it had to land on her birthday. Fortunately for her it went exceptionally well, so well in fact that she was nominated for the New Generation Investigator award. This nomination, however, proved a little troublesome — If Anna was a finalist, she would be presented with the award on Thursday morning at roughly the same time we were supposed to be making our way to the airport for our flight to Budapest. Only time would tell.

But we had no time to worry about Thursday, it was Anna’s birthday and we had some celebrating to do. Anna came back to our hotel room straight after her talk and we headed into town to party.

Peace Palace

Getting an iced-latte

Anna’s surprise bowl of explosive ice-cream

Posing out as usual

Another cool sculpture, this one displaying the old and the new

We walked into town, past the Peace Palace, and took a seat at ‘t Goude Hooft to grab a coffee to get our day started. We got our waiter to take a photo of us and I posted it on Facebook with a birthday message, tagging the cafe in the post. An employee must have seen it and brought out a small bowl of ice-cream with a sparkler in it for Anna’s birthday, which we both thought was pretty cool.

The next thing Anna wanted to do was check out the M.C. Escher museum. Escher is another artist that I have always loved and Anna became a bit of a fan of his work after we went to an exhibition of his in Singapore. As I mentioned earlier, galleries and exhibitions in Singapore are painful so it would be great to see his work in his hometown. A little bit of background information on Escher for those who don’t now him:

Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972), or commonly M. C. Escher, was a Dutchgraphic artist who made mathematically inspiredwoodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints.

His work features mathematical objects and operations including impossible objects, explorations of infinity, reflection, symmetry, perspective, truncated and stellated polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, and tessellations. Although Escher believed he had no mathematical ability, he interacted with the mathematicians George Pólya, Roger Penrose, Harold Coxeter and crystallographer Friedrich Haag, and conducted his own research into tessellation.

Escher’s art became well known among scientists and mathematicians, and in popular culture, especially after it was featured by Martin Gardner in his April 1966 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. Apart from being used in a variety of technical papers, his work has appeared on the covers of many books and albums.

I’ve got several books of M.C. Escher’s work so I didn’t particularly feel the need to take a whole lot of photos, but here are some of the ones I did get of other parts of the museum:

The key to getting Escher’s perspective

Looking up an infinite tunnel…

…and down

Anna’s head in the tunnel

A cool chandelier in the museum that Anna liked

We continued to walk around after the Escher museum, just a whole lot more shopping, but the shops in The Hague don’t stay open particularly late, usually closing between 5-6:00pm, so we went home and relaxed for a bit, then it was time for dinner.

While Anna was at her conference in the morning I had been checking out restaurants and found Catch by Simonis, another fantastic looking seafood restaurant in Scheveningen Harbour. Catch is huge restaurant, seating approximately 500 people and is famous for its seafood platters so I suggested that to her. When we arrived we were told we could wait for an outside seat or immediately take one indoors. We took the indoor seat and asked to be moved outside when a place became available, but the waiter essentially ignored us for about half an hour until we told him not to worry about, then we waited quite a while longer for our drinks. When the time came to order food, we asked for a seafood platter for two and a risotto, only to be warned by the waiter that the platter would be more than enough. He wasn’t kidding!

Beginning with a birthday drink

The bottom level of our platter…

…and the top

Anna looking somewhat intimidated by dinner

I think we can do it

Mission accomplished

The food was unbelievable, extremely fresh and there was so much of it. In the end it was up to me to finish it up due to the sheer quantity of it all. It would’ve been a perfect night, but the poor service stuck in Anna’s craw a bit. Yet again, we had to walk this one off so we sauntered home, past Planet Jump, an old disused church that has now been filled with trampolines, and back to our hotel to settle in with a few more drinks.

Wednesday, June 28 It was our last full day in The Hague and Anna was spending all of it at the conference while I just wandered around the city, checking out all of the places that I hadn’t had a chance to yet.

After Anna had finished we went down to the seaside for dinner. One thing we noticed as soon as we arrived in The Hague on Sunday night is that there are seagulls everywhere and they are absolutely enormous! These had to be the biggest seagulls we had ever seen anywhere in the world, so much so that Anna soon dubbed me the ‘Hague Seagull’. We tried to take photos of them, but seriously, pictures just don’t capture the sheer size of these birds. We found a place to eat where you get to grill an unlimited amount of fresh prawns quite cheaply so we settled in for the night and stuffed ourselves with crustaceans while taking in the scenery on a cold summer’s night.

The view of the pier

A panoramic shot of the beach and its food stalls

It’s seriously a lot bigger than it looks

Anna cooking up a storm

Mmmmm…

One of many weird sculptures near the beach

And another

The Dutch leg of our journey was fantastic and was constantly flecked with little luxuries and extravagances. So far we had:

Flown Premium Economy class. Sure, it ain’t First Class or Business Class, but it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable than regular Economy class.

Stayed in an enormous hotel suite.

Eaten lobster with freshly shaved truffle.

On a separate occasion eaten a seafood platter that may have subsequently rendered some forms of shellfish as endangered species.

But what does the rest of the trip hold? Will Anna win her award? Will Budapest live up to all the hype? And will the high living continue?

Stay tuned for part two of Traveling in Opulence – The Reverse ‘T’ Factor to find out!

Traveling in Opulence – The Reverse ‘T’ Factor pt. 1: Amsterdam and The Hague "So, statistically, in the Land of the Free you have the least amount of free people. This is a super-simple argument; in Holland you can smoke weed whilst f___ing a hooker in front of a cop.

#art #Budapest #Escher #Hungary #mauritshuis #Scheveningen #Seafood #T Factor

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