I got back late this afternoon and found a condo board meeting notice for tonight. So that's where most of my first evening home went, as Greg's still away. For those of you who have been waiting, this trip will lead to several postings, so just hold tight. :)
The trip was really terrific. I loved the Netherlands, and would gladly go back. Leiden is a university town, and where the conference I was attending was being hosted. To start you off, here are a few images.
This windmill doesn't really work anymore, but is a museum about windmills. Sadly, I didn't get there, but that just means I have an excuse to return.
Canals and wonderful bridges--it's so restful and lovely.
Leiden has a huge bike culture (probably aided by the bus strike). I was amazed by the volume of parking.
The conference was small and intimate, great for making connections. Our presentation went well, I think; we certainly had a good response, both immediately following and for the next several days. Now we have to get the paper finished.... Details.
We had a reception at the City Hall, where I had a wonderful conversation with the deputy mayor. My Dutch last name was of fascinating assistance at times. This is the wonderful ceiling in the lobby of the building. I think it qualifies as one of the shots that Greg never understands why I take, but I like it. (If you enlarge it you can see the details of the tiles.)
One of the things I love about Europe is its multi-lingualism. Nearly everyone speaks at least two languages fluently, and it just makes me want to scream. I realize we're a big country, and were quite isolated for a long time. But growing up, I wasn't "allowed" to learn another language until high school. By then it's too late, really. While I've always been praised for my accents, it's still always clear that I'm not a native speaker, and I've never achieved complete fluency in anything other than English. I'm going to redouble efforts on French and Spanish in the near future, though, and try to at least improve to conversational abilities in those. The trouble is practice. I used to have it in Russian, but now I can't read this lovely poem easily.
One of Leiden's art movements was poetry on the buildings. There is a guide, which we were going to pick up one day after the conference sessions ended, and that didn't happen either.
Another excitement was Euro 2008, especially as the Netherlands were playing. While they eventually lost their quarterfinal match (I was in France then), they did very well in their group play, and were undefeated. Needless to say, this made the town quite festive, especially on game days.
Typical decorations on buildings, supporting the home team.
I'm beat--my brain thinks it's nearly 4 am. More about Leiden tomorrow.
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