I am currently in Amsterdam. I'll be here for about a week. Doreen is here for some Greenpeace International meetings. I thought I'd tag along. I'd never been to Amsterdam before. So far, I like it a lot. I flew overnight yesterday, arriving around 9:00am. I made it to the little hotel where Doreen is staying, unpacked and brushed my teeth, and then set out exploring. I walked for hours, wandering in and out of shops. I had a great Thai lunch and enjoyed watching people and seeing the city. The canals and the old buildings are beautiful, and there's lots to see and do.
Dutch is cool sounding. I keep thinking that Dutch sounds a little bit like The Swedish Chef with a chest cold. There are seagulls in the city, mostly hanging around the canals. What's interesting is that they also sound Dutch. Like regular seagulls, but kinda throaty. It's almost as if the seagulls are trying to do duck imitations.
Anyway, my first 24 hours or so in Amsterdam have been great. I like living in coastal Maine, but I also really like cities. I'll have lots of time to explore, as Doreen is pretty much in meetings 9-5 every day that I'll be here. The weather is warm--in the mid 50's--which feels almost tropical after the Maine winter.
Right now I'm in a cafe with good, fast wireless. I'm enjoying an excellent, but expensive, cappuccino. I need to do some work, including making some of the final selections for the students for the Complex Systems Summer School. Later today I will do more exploring and may also go for a short run in a park near our hotel.
5 years ago
3 comments:
How very cool. I am travelling to Amsterdam next year and want to take my laptop. I was wondering (very ignorantly) if the WiFi there is the same as here and my laptop will just jump right into it. Also the different electricity has me worried. How did you handle that?
So far as I know, WiFi is the same everywhere. I think there's just one standard. The volate and current is different in Europe than in the states. In the US power is delivered at 120 Volts and 60 Hz, whereas in Europe it is delivered at 220 Volts and 50hz. Probably your laptop power adapter can handle this. Read the small print on the adapter and see. You'll still need an outlet adapter, however, as plugs are shaped differently in the US and Europe. You should be able to get such an adapter pretty easily.
Thank you very much!
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