Christmas in Amsterdam

misc/amsterdam

Told my boss of my plans...

On Friday afternoon I told my boss of my plans to spend next year from March on the road. He didn't try and talk me out of it, and seemed pretty sympathetic with the idea. I understand from another colleague that he's also thinking of taking a sebatical at some point. On Monday we have a staff meeting so I'll break it to my colleagues there. I won't resign until January or so.

"Persian Pilgrimages" by Afshin Molavi

I just finished reading "Persian Pilgrimages" by Afshin Molavi. The book is a journalistic account of an American of Iranian decent who spends some months in Iran travelling to see iconic Iranian places and talking to people whom he meets along the way. He visits "martyrs" cemeteries and talks to religious conservatives as well as reformist politicians and taxi drivers. His visit co-incided with the period of Khatami's preseidency when the spirit of reform was in the air. The book is filled with the author's positivism. It's a pleasure to read and I only hope that I am able to experience some of what I read when I travel in Iran.

Romania day 2

All hopes for a shower in morning were dashed when nothing but glugging sounds came from the taps. Lonely Planet really got it wrong this time.

Romania Business Trip

The business trip to Bucharest started well with jokes in the taxi from the airport, shared between Hessel, Arjan, Giovanni and myself. We passed along wide boulevards into town. Plush but decaying villas lined the roads. I could see why Bucharest was likened to Paris, more so when the Arculi de Triomf came into view. Though it maybe unfair to judge the city on a dull early winter's day, Bucharest is rundown and dirty though has as a grand feeling to it at the same time. It was also absolutely huge, at least that's how it felt coming from little Amsterdam. From the balcony of my hotel I had a panoramic view of dirty greyness.

Alps Trip Day 13 - Chatel to Morges

This morning I woke up still a bit pissed of with myself over the hotel. Further down the road I passed a number of other ones, all of which were more likely to satisfy me. There was even a campsite 10km further, though this was probably more than I could have coped with. Given the freakish weather it was probably not a bad idea to have been indoors last night. More on this later.

Alps Trip Day 12 - St Gervais to Chatel

I was going to take a direct route toward Geneva, but after a café I realised that I would be disappointed being so close to Chamonix and its high mountains and not to have taken a peek. In spite of difficulties later it wasn't a decision that I regretted. The valley in which Chamonix sits is quite narrow and due to the Mt Blanc tunnel is dominated by a major highway, which was off-limits to bicycles. To get around this was to do quite a bit of climbing but that gave some stunning views of both sides of the valley.