On Tuesday morning, we walked to Amsterdam Centraal Station to catch a train to Middelburg. The city is situated in Zeeland, the region of the country which gave its name to New Zealand. The train ride was generally smooth and uneventful. Jeff and I took the two and a half hours provided by the ride to do some work. Here is Jeff editing the next issue of Cha, which will be made available in mid August:
We learnt through some unintentional eavesdropping that there were a number of people on my train who were also going to the PALA conference. Once we arrived, we made our way to the Roosevelt Academy, which is located in the centre of town on the main market square. It is an impressive Gothic building. Here is a picture of the venue and another of me in front of it:
The design on the shutters was not only found on the Roosevelt Academy building, but throughout town. Jeff mentioned that on a bike ride to the nearby village of Veere, the buildings there had a similar yet different design:
After registering, we set up camp in the camp site, which was located about fifteen minutes walk from the centre of town:
I attended the opening session and the reception before meeting Jeff to have dinner in a well-known local restaurant/bar called “De Mug”:
Although the bar is famous for its wide selection of beer, “De Mug” in the name does not refer to a beer mug, but instead means “mosquito” in Dutch. We ordered two meals: an order of mussels with salad and fries, and some spare ribs. Of course, when we are in Belgium in a few days’ time, we will have mussels again. The portions of our meal were huge and we were unable to finish the food. We actually thought that the mussels and spare ribs in the restaurant were sufficient to feed four people. The huge portions of food were also reflected in the size of their bread:
The picture above was only a display outside a bakery; but the actual size of their bread was equally enormous. Jeff bought a loaf which we ate steadily for several days before we had to give it up having only finish about half.
I have noticed that many Dutch street signs seem to feature a man walking on the post. I guess this indicates that the places on the signs are within walking distance. Here are a collection of these signs from Amsterdam and Middelburg:
In the Lonely Planet guide, there is a section called “Clichéd Corner”. I was inspired to create my own corner. Being in the Netherlands, of course I have included a windmill and a cow:
On Saturday, we are leaving for Maastricht.
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