Just kidding…

Last week (February 12-15) was spent in a strange, underwater nation known as “The Netherlands.” We spent one day in Rotterdam, and three in Amsterdam. It was a grand time filled with classless days, freezing cold outdoor tours, and a language that no one in their right mind still considers useful. This is beneficial to us, because everyone speaks English.

*sidenote*

We were told before we came “Oh, everyone in Europe speaks English!” This is lies. Except for in The Netherlands.

I digress… We spent some good time in Rotterdam, which is considered the architectural center of The Netherlands, is the birthplace of Rem Koolhaas, founder of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), and is home to the Dutch Architecture Institute. We saw a sweet cable stay bridge, and some cool modern stuff from OMA, Renzo Piano, and some Dutch people whose names I cannot pronounce. We also visited West 8, an urban design firm that just won the competition to redesign Governor’s Island in New York.

Rotterdam:

We then moved on to Amsterdam. It was full of bicycles, and older(IE boring) architecture, but we had a good time taking a boat tour, visiting the Van Gogh and Anne Frank museums, shopping and eating. Most of you know I have a soft spot for accessories (that sounds really gay) including shoes, ties, and watches. To pacify myself I bought a awesome new Swatch, as well as the standard jersey to add to my collection.

My Swatch (and my arm):

We also visited the amazing new Amsterdam public library. It is an awesome modern building that was full of computers, books, media, a restaurant, and most importantly… PEOPLE. It is a sad condition in the States that our libraries are old, ugly and empty. Is this an area where we have dropped the public works ball? Yes, but unfortunately, until people get out of their suburban rut, we will not see significant improvement. *end rant before it gets out of control* Long story short, it was beautiful, modern, and functional; all of my favorite things. See facebook for pictures.

All said and done, The Netherlands was cool. Not the coolest, but cool. The end.