Evening Time is Reading Time

In Utrecht, Holland, I noticed these signs down BOTH sides of one street.  Each sign has the phrase "Evening Time is Reading Time" in the same place. But the first one has a little black window shade with a circle pull at the very top. The text is black on a white background. As you walk down the street, the progression of the signs is such that the black window shade comes lower and lower, as "evening" falls, and the text turns from black on white to white on black. It culminates in the shade fully down, and the text all white.

What I had NOT realized, or thought about, was that the flip sides of the signs had graphics too. These graphics depicted individual occupations. More on that further down.

This is a close-up of the first one.

Intrigued, naturally, I went on line. I LOVE the internet because I have no unanswered questions anymore. Here's the deal:

The Centraal Museum in Utrecht organized the "Night Rules—Night Lines" exhibition in 1991 for which contributing artists were asked to introduce a short text in neon light into the public space, which connected to a specific location in Utrecht's center. The works would then be viewable only at night, as they were connected to the street lighting. American artist Allen Ruppersberg surveyed the residents of this street (Korte Smeestraat) and noticed they all seemed to have interesting and diverse occupations or hobbies. He then created personal signs for about twenty residents on this street, each with an old-fashioned image borrowed from ads from old magazines, depicting what that person did for a living (or their hobby).  So those were on the FLIP side of these signs. I saw them and thought they were just vintage ad/posters. I hadn't realized their meaning. So cool. 

Here's where I learned this: 

https://indebuurt.nl/utrecht/utrechters/utrechtse-mysteries-het-verhaal-achter-de-borden-in-de-korte-smeestraat~38082/

And here are some shots from that website showing the other side of the signs.

Gotta love public art that makes you think!

The Trek to Utrecht

It was hardly a trek (15 minutes by train) but I couldn't resist the alliteration.

BEST thing we did was get out of Dodge (aka Amsterdam) and spend a quiet day in lovely Utrecht, Holland's fourth largest city. For perspective: Boston is just under 90 square miles, while Utrecht is just under 40. Boston's population: about 700,000. Utrecht's: 1.3 million. That's completely baffling.... makes no sense, but I doubled checked. This would lead one to believe it's overrun with people, almost twice Boston's population, in half the area—which means FOUR TIMES as many people. Open to anyone who can make sense of this.

Anyway, we did have to take two trains and had all kinds of trouble with a broken ticket machine (or "crazy machine" as the kind train employee said), and racked up close to $35 worth of lost money due to swiping errors. Some my fault, some the train employee's fault who told me all these extra swipes at the turnstiles (following her around to find a non-crazy ticket machine) would not cost money. But it did, so I'm working with them now on getting a refund. They could not be more accommodating. This country is so great. Everything works. Everything's clean. Everyone's helpful.

The station itself is huge and clean, and when you exit, there's this kind of overhead covering that lets you see the sky, but would protect you from rain.

For those who want to learn more about the architecture, here's an article.

https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/benthem-crouwel-architects-reveal-utrecht-centraal-station

It took the firm seven years to build this awesome train station. It is unclear, but this structure below MIGHT, in fact, be solar panels. Much is written about the solar power generated by the glass and roofing material at the Station. It's an architectural jewel on so many levels. Another article about that:

https://www.advantageaustria.org/tj/zentral/business-guide-oesterreich/importieren-aus-oesterreich/energieeffizienz_green-building/NL_Ertex_Solar.en.html

And now for a different kind of architecture. HUGE ornate church. There's also a famous free-standing tower near it that is the tallest in The Netherlands.

 And, of course, there are canals, boats, bikes, bridges, and flowers. A feast for the eyes at every turn.

I couldn't decide which bridge/canal/flower shot was prettier. 

It's as if they have prepped their homes for a photo shoot.

Along the lower level there are shops—specifically here, a yoga studio. So fun!

Okay, covered the flowers, the wheels... now for the animals and the food. 

This poor guy looked DEAD. He was just laying there, very happy to be patted, but then walked into a clothing store. Straight to the back as if he knew exactly where he was going. 

This guy... A lot of the people's windows are right at eye level on the street, so they have a solution to keep light in, but retain privacy: these frosted panels. In some cases it's a decal on the inside, but I think in other instances it's frosted.

A Dutch worker and I spent some time with this cat who apparently hangs outside the museum this guy worked at. He said, "She's very social because she's a city cat." I've not always found that to be the case. 

This feisty little thing named Madonna had quite the bark. She did NOT feel like interacting with me, and got a little scolding from her owner. She "lives" at a pub. Fred made me walk back to this pub we had passed because he had seen her walking in. She's small and sturdy, with the markings of a cow.





Another sweet little cookie with my cappuccino.

These..... The fries in Amsterdam. The ycome in a paper cone (I think I've already posted this???) with a spicy mayonnaise and curry sauce and chopped onions. Amazing.

And our snack with drinks. Puts Bertucci's rolls to shame.
And the dipping sauces are that same spicy mayonnaise, pesto, and something with peppers. So good, and we ate SO much of it.

Fred having beer and the aforementioned rolls and sauces. 

Just a classic Dutch scene. 

And, I leave you with this. Who has a BARBER shave their legs?????

Big-Ass Tits

This will be a short post because it's just a small thing I need to get off my chest. So to speak.

On our third to last night in Amsterdam, Fred and I found a sweet spot for dinner and made a reservation for later that evening. Particularly nice about this spot was the restaurant across the street—meaning we had twice the people-watching opportunities.

We noticed a lot of English-speaking people around us—English speakers with accents though, not Americans or British. There are so many ex-pats from all over in Amsterdam, that you often hear English being spoken as the one common language among friends.

Behind and over my left shoulder was a young couple talking, in English. She was doing most of the talking and was very hip and sort of a little bit edgy. He just listened and responded with a few words here and there. She seemed way cooler than he. They seemed to be coming upon some kind of separation. She was going to be away for a while. My theory is that she was trying to seduce him and talk all sexy to make sure their last night was a doozy and that it would maybe keep him waiting for her. Once I heard the phrase "with those big ass tits," I was hooked on more eavesdropping... but sadly didn't get much more intel. I just knew she trying really hard to titillate him.

Now, a bit of background: Fred and I spend a LOT of time together. He's been on sabbatical since December 2019. I work from home. We are together ALL DAY every day and every night. During the month of July, we're abroad together and do spend a good chunk of our days apart, and consequently have lots to catch up on over drinks and meals. We take a lot of photos during our time apart, and share them with each other, asking for or offering suggestions for cropping, editing, retouching, whether to post or not to post. This is how we share an interest.

About 10 minutes before we asked for the check, this young woman decided that her new subject to rattle on about to her captive audience was how she's noticed "older couples who just look at their phones while at dinner." ARRGGHHHHHHH.  Fred and I had both been doing that, but it was not the anti-social, old couple, stale marriage bullshit this young little chickie thought she was such an expert on. I was super irked so I made Fred kiss me long and several times publicly over our little table before we left. That'll teach her not to judge.

The view of the other restaurant. (And there's the girl's ARM on the left!!!)

My amazing meal. Sea bream and crispy shrimp.

This is our restaurant—pic from Pinterest. VOLT is the name of the place.

The Pipe

The Pipe neighborhood of Amsterdam (or De Pijp, in Dutch) was our new home for the last five days of July, and we loved it. I'm writing from home now because I'm always a few posts behind and will continue to blog until I've shared it all.

I wondered why The Pipe is called The Pipe, and found the following on this site (https://www.amsterdamstay.com/depijp): How it became known as ‘De Pijp’ is something of a mystery. Some say it’s due to the district’s long, narrow streets that run like pipes in a building, while others claim that it was named in honour of a former energy company in the area called ‘Pipe’. Whatever the reason, De Pijp now resides in the hearts of the many students, artists, professionals, families and tourists flocking to this nightlife hub for a borrel (drink) on any given night of the week. De Pijp is the ultimate place where everyone wants to be and be seen.

Doesn't explain much really, especially since, in my opinion, all of Amsterdam consists of long narrow streets. And by the way, it seems to be pronounced pretty much the way we say "pipe."

First—a quick look back to the Symposium. I was remiss in not sharing any of Fred's activities—the whole reason we're here.

Here he is in action.

And this is when I show up—to take the class photo.

Back to De Pijp. We loved our AirBNB. In our neighborhood, the buildings (each three to four stories high) have  accompanying backyards, long and skinny, which reach the back of a house on the parallel street. Fred and I can't quite figure out if sometimes the backyard space gets divided in half, for the two houses to share, or if it's somehow deeded that all the yards go to the houses on the same side of the street. I think the former. 

The view from our deck. 

During these final days, we did a lot of walking, exploring, taking photos (me), sketching (Fred), and visiting the Riks Museum (Fred), eating dinner, and drinking beer (Fred) and wine (me).
The rest of this post will be photo-driven.

I saw this entire joint on the ground. People walk around smoking WHOLE joints themselves. None of this passing around business. Just full-on smoke it like a cigarette.

This nifty invention would change my world, if only I could pee in it... I'm forever having to buy a coffee in order to use a restroom. This is clearly for men only—and up to three at a time! There are three urinals, all wide open, just as you see it. 

Never did get the guts to try anything... 

--to try anything weed-related, that is. I tried everything else. This is a woman making me a stroopwaffel. I might have already posted this and described this treat: a warm thin waffle with caramel, to which you can add any toppings. I added chocolate and more salted caramel. After I ate this, I got a severe stomach ache complete with chills and thought, Okay.. how do I find an ambulance. Clearly I'm headed to the hospital for some kind of emergency surgery or something. But it went away, almost like a switch. It was a HORRIBLE half hour, and I was on duty at the time to take Fred's class photo.  

The cappuccinos in Holland often came with a little treat... a cookie or a chocolate. 

One night, Fred and I ate at a brew pub in De Pijp, owned by a German guy and his South African wife (or vice versa). Delicious food and beers, but something about this all-beef patty with a special sauce, lettuce, pickles, on a sesame seed bun was oddly reminiscent of something we'd had before..... 

 But there was nothing familiar about my amazing meal of squash and asparagus ravioli. 

All along the tops of the buildings/homes in Amsterdam are big hooks hanging off a sort of beam or plank. They're for hoisting furniture (or I guess pianos, or anything, really) up through the huge windows onto the higher floors. 

And these mints. They're given out everywhere after meals—always this brand. I looked into it. They were made in the early 1900s and named after the 12-year-old Princess at the time. They are, indeed, mints, but they taste oddly a little Alka-Seltzer-ish...  I thought, this is a reasonable thing. Maybe there are some antacid properties in these mints to help settle the stomach. But I found nothing in my research to support this idea. They're very pretty mints, about an inch around. Shiny white with a little embossed bust (?) of the young Princess. 

One night coming home from somewhere I saw this bike and said to Fred, A pretty bike! A rare sight in Amsterdam! A Dutch man heard me and explained that most people don't want a bike that's very special or attention-getting because it just increases the risk of theft. Most of them are black, gearless, and with a big ropey snake-like lock. 

And a couple more pretty bikes.

I've got a few more blog posts in me yet, so don't go too far!