Sunday, June 22, 2014
DAY Now- Sunday June 22, 2014
Its 3:46 AM your time......heading to Zandoorf, the "Copacabana" of the Netherlands whatever that means. Got a beach there and apparently nudists too, although its a bit cool for skinny dipping. If I get any photos of naked people I will be sure to post them.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
DAY Today- June 21st, 2014
It's Today, which means it is Today, Saturday June 21st, 2014.......
Went to the Saturday market one street over from our apartment. The Market is wall-to-wall, canal-to-canal, about 1/3 of a mile. And they do this every Saturday
Since it's a free day and the Market only killed the morning, we decide to take a train to Haarlem, a whopping 15 miles to the west of Amsterdam. The intent is to spend the night there and go another 4 miles or so to the North Sea coast tomorrow morning. Traveling great distances in Holland! Far out!
Haarlem is a small city, maybe about the same size as Maastricht, although more like Amsterdam- canals, bicycles, churches, cannabis, even a mini-red light district or so we were told. Haarlem is also an old city- aren't they all- that goes back to Roman times. Those Romans were everywhere in the 3rd or 4th century.
its another cathedral!
Some interesting parks in Haarlem.....below is a map showing showing some triangly shapes along a canal. These are the remnants of the city wall/fortress from the 1500's; from the ground all you get is a sense of the shape and higher ground where the walls were. pretty cool
Went to the Saturday market one street over from our apartment. The Market is wall-to-wall, canal-to-canal, about 1/3 of a mile. And they do this every Saturday
Since it's a free day and the Market only killed the morning, we decide to take a train to Haarlem, a whopping 15 miles to the west of Amsterdam. The intent is to spend the night there and go another 4 miles or so to the North Sea coast tomorrow morning. Traveling great distances in Holland! Far out!
Haarlem is a small city, maybe about the same size as Maastricht, although more like Amsterdam- canals, bicycles, churches, cannabis, even a mini-red light district or so we were told. Haarlem is also an old city- aren't they all- that goes back to Roman times. Those Romans were everywhere in the 3rd or 4th century.
its another cathedral!
Some interesting parks in Haarlem.....below is a map showing showing some triangly shapes along a canal. These are the remnants of the city wall/fortress from the 1500's; from the ground all you get is a sense of the shape and higher ground where the walls were. pretty cool
View across canal from a triangly thing
DAY WHATEVER- Amsterdam, June 18th, 19th, 20th, 2014
Arrived Amsterdam Wednesday the 18th, getting closer to the "present", or "future". whichever. Below is our digs (door just behind bush on left). Note pile of garbage at corner on right. Seems there was a workers strike that ended just as we arrived. As we walked to our apartment from the train station, it looked somewhat like Times Square, trash everywhere.....better on Thursday.
Cow Store!
Blank wall- dangerously close to Red Light district. Prostitutes! Weed!
Students at canal; did I mention the canals? everywhere
uhoh, Hannah and Michael at Spinoza's statue, “The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.”
Dam Square, some kind of palace, still trash......
Cow Store!
Blank wall- dangerously close to Red Light district. Prostitutes! Weed!
Students at canal; did I mention the canals? everywhere
leaning buildings
canals and bikes
Prof Taze!
Parking, no problem
Take a wee in the street urinal!
A very large park reclaimed from a former gas facility
Inside a reclaimed gas pond
Bees!
Walking in an extensive recreated wetlands
after all that walking we need fries!
Friday, June 20, 2014
DAY 13-16, June 14th-17th, 2014
Maastricht is a small city of about 125,000 in the south of the Netherlands, situated between Belgium on the west and Germany on the east. You can literally walk into Belgium, about 3 miles from our hotel. Maastricht is a very cool place and is something of a "destination" for Netherlanders, Germans and others- clean, organized, great urban spaces, interesting history, good transportation, creative ways to minimize impact of the car, etc. I asked Leslie...."maybe you can get a job here". Just sayin'.
After the daily extended field trips in Paris, often with 5 or more mile walks, Maastricht is a welcome respite. Everything we want to see is no more than a mile-and-a-half from the hotel.
Maastricht is a city of contrast; very modern, and very ancient, dating back to the 5th century BC. Much of the evidence of this history has disappeared, but buildings, churches, and structures dating back as early as the 13th century still remain a part of the urban fabric. Most striking is the medieval city wall that is unexpectedly revealed in parts of the city.
A whole bunch of pictures........
Maastricht Univ Library on left, medieval wall on right
Maastricht is a city of contrast; very modern, and very ancient, dating back to the 5th century BC. Much of the evidence of this history has disappeared, but buildings, churches, and structures dating back as early as the 13th century still remain a part of the urban fabric. Most striking is the medieval city wall that is unexpectedly revealed in parts of the city.
A whole bunch of pictures........
parking deck under the soccer field
Maastricht Univ Library on left, medieval wall on right
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