{"id":2355,"date":"2002-12-14T21:18:52","date_gmt":"2002-12-15T04:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/?p=2355"},"modified":"2009-07-15T11:38:08","modified_gmt":"2009-07-15T18:38:08","slug":"amsterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/","title":{"rendered":"Amsterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content_div-2355\">\n<p>Our meeting on UML and Service-Oriented Environments on December 12 went very    well. That night I went out for walk and a pizza and some welcome quiet time    (I am an INTJ after all).<\/p>\n<p>December 13th was my shopping day in Amsterdam! I found everything I was looking    for in one frenzied 4 hour walking trip from the Liedseplein to Centraal Station    to the Amstel River.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2360\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/canal\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"533,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"canal\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2360 colorbox-2355\" title=\"canal\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"canal\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg?resize=150%2C112&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/canal.jpg?w=533&amp;ssl=1 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2357\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/locks\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"533,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"locks\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2357 colorbox-2355\" title=\"locks\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"locks\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg?resize=150%2C112&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/locks.jpg?w=533&amp;ssl=1 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">The            canals were partially frozen,<br \/>\nunusual for this early in the season<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">Here            are the locks between the Amstel River<br \/>\nand the Prinzengracht<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2356\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/oldbridge\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"533,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"oldbridge\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2356 colorbox-2355\" title=\"oldbridge\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"oldbridge\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg?resize=150%2C112&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/oldbridge.jpg?w=533&amp;ssl=1 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2358\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/fridaydinner\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"533,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fridaydinner\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg?fit=533%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2358 colorbox-2355\" title=\"fridaydinner\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"fridaydinner\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg?resize=150%2C112&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fridaydinner.jpg?w=533&amp;ssl=1 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">Here            is an old bridge over the Amstel River<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">Gary            and I met up with an old colleague and<br \/>\nhis wife Friday for dinner<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" colspan=\"2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2359\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/damsquare\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg?fit=242%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"242,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"damsquare\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg?fit=242%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2359 colorbox-2355\" title=\"damsquare\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare-181x300.jpg?resize=181%2C300\" alt=\"damsquare\" width=\"181\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg?resize=181%2C300&amp;ssl=1 181w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg?resize=90%2C150&amp;ssl=1 90w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/damsquare.jpg?w=242&amp;ssl=1 242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 181px) 100vw, 181px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">The            memorial in Dam Square<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>I took an hour nap and went back out walking. I walked about 2 hours, then    strolled back to the hotel and finished <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/0156027607\/qid=1040216209\/sr=2-1\/ref=sr_2_1\/002-4945968-6859269\">Solaris<\/a> by Stanislaw Lem.<\/p>\n<p>Gary and I have one thing in common &#8211; we both like to be early to the airport    for international flights, especially if we need to make seat arrangements.    So, we met up for breakfast at around 7AM and checked out and go on the road    by about 7:45AM. We both got our preferred seats (aisle), and each of us had    our luggage opened once by security.<\/p>\n<p>Our flight was delayed &#8211; for two and a half hours! So, we sat around Schipol    for a while and shopped the duty free stores a bit. We saw (and heard) the announcment    for the new Rijksmuseum store in the airport.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2361\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2002\/12\/14\/amsterdam\/airport\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg?fit=333%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"333,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"airport\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg?fit=333%2C400&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2361 colorbox-2355\" title=\"airport\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport-249x300.jpg?resize=249%2C300\" alt=\"airport\" width=\"249\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg?resize=249%2C300&amp;ssl=1 249w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg?resize=124%2C150&amp;ssl=1 124w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/airport.jpg?w=333&amp;ssl=1 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;\">These            two had to walk all over the airport dressed in<br \/>\ntights and announce            the new store<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Eventually we took off. The flight was uneventful. I tried to call Aviva from    the airport using 1-800-COLLECT; we talked for about a minute and then AT&amp;T    disconnected me and wouldn&#8217;t let me reconnect! We shared a cab into the city    and that ended our trip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"translate_block\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<hr class=\"translate_hr\" \/>\n<a class=\"translate_translate\" id=\"translate_button_post-2355\" lang=\"en\" xml:lang=\"en\" href=\"javascript:show_translate_popup('en', 'post', 2355);\"><span>Translate<\/span><\/a><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/google-ajax-translation\/transparent.gif?resize=16%2C16&#038;ssl=1\" id=\"translate_loading_post-2355\" class=\"translate_loading colorbox-2355\" style=\"display: none;\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our meeting on UML and Service-Oriented Environments on December 12 went very well. That night I went out for walk and a pizza and some welcome quiet time (I am an INTJ after all). December 13th was my shopping day in Amsterdam! I found everything I was looking for in one frenzied 4 hour walking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5848,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,10,143,567],"tags":[624],"class_list":["post-2355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amsterdam","category-the-netherlands","category-travel-foreign","category-vacations","tag-amsterdam-2002"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2w3Qj-BZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}