September 2006 Archives

Back in Toronto by popular demand for an extended engagement ... me!

OK, yes, I did have to leave The Netherlands eventually ... a language I barely had a clue about, everything (and everyone) too cute for words, everything twice as expensive as here and no Tim's! No one can survive that.

The trip was good ... spent a lot of time driving around taking pictures of old buildings. Hopefully I took pictures of the right buildings ... i.e. the architecturally important ones rather than just the pretty ones. I was trying to cover a lot of ground in 5 days so I was pretty rushed in all the cities and towns I visited. Spent some time talking to a gentlemen in the rain in an alley in Nijmegen about the history of the region. I do want to look into this more, it sounds fascinating. Plus, the fact that they are starting to uncover remnants of life there 800 years ago is very intriguing. I took 2100 digital pictures (a lot of maps and road signs so I could remember where things were) so I expect to have *something* decent!

I also spent time visiting the areas of Holland my parents lived before the emigrated. It felt good to get in touch with my roots a little like that.

Now I'm back in city which has a visible history one tenth as long! Still should explore it too. ;)

Here is a pic of my fiery steed.

This new blogging software requires me to approve each comment and I keep forgetting to check for them. I'm hoping to figure out why it's behaving differently than the previous version so I can get things working like before. Sorry about that.

I'm half way through a two week stay in Holland. We're in Amsterdam itself for the annual IBC tradeshow which ends today. I've had a lot of free time and have been wandering the streets with my camera being again awed by the history just sitting next to the sidewalk. I'm regularly finding buildings which were built in th 1600s. 400 years ago! Amazing.

I'm also taking time to just sit in the cafes (yeah, like I need a reason to do this. ;)) and watch the world go by why I enjoy a beer or a coffee. I also rented a bright red bike and am experiencing the city for the first time from the bike lane. Wholey different, let me tell you. You really have to watch all around you to be sure that someone isn't bearing down on you. The city is a lot smaller by bike too.

Later today I have to make a trek to the laundromat and see if I can figure out how to use that. Wish me luck.