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I’m waiting for a flight to Zürich so that I can stay overnight at that airport so that I can rise bright and early in order to catch my two flights back home to Seattle, changing in, you guessed it, Schiphol! This is crazy, but came about because of the way I bought tickets……
I’ve been in Europe for just over two weeks and the first two blogs described some of the highlights. In this last blog I’ll fill in a few other experiences.
(1) After arriving in Zürich on 18 Sept. and being semi-zonked, I drove for ~4 hours to Grenoble, and was delighted to first find and then examine the 17th c. mirror-in-window staircase reflection sundial, as described and illustrated below. But what I didn’t mention is how Google Map’s directions led me astray as I next went from Grenoble to the Alpine sundial city of Briançon. There were two optional routes presented, and one was advertised to be a bit faster, although a bit more km. So I took it, but eventually found myself paying a toll of ~$50 for a long tunnel into Italy, then having trouble finding the right exit because of detours (eventually 2 policemen in a jeep led me to the right place!), and then finding that the Google route back to France involved a narrow winding mountain road through a ~5000 ft pass with heavy fog now and then. Plus I was very low on gas! But at least I didn’t hit snow. I found the pass and pretty soon I found my friend Michel’s house down in the valley, arriving around 10:30 pm. Moral: Google Maps doesn’t always give one enough details.
(2) In my first blog, I mentioned the two bottles of wine given to me by the Italian vintner near Piacenzia. In the end I was never was able to drink a drop of either! My plan was to share one bottle with other sundial folks at the Austrian meeting, but the hotel/restaurant would not allow drinking of one’s own bottle (even for a fee), so I gave the first bottle to one of the dialists. The second bottle was to be brought back to Seattle, but when I flew from Zürich to Amsterdam two days ago, they would not let me take it through security (unless it was a bottle bought at a duty-free shop). So it was confiscated. If I’d put it in my suitcase, it’d been OK, but I was schlepping it (and many books) in my day-pack in order to keep my suitcase under the 20 kg weight limit.
(3) For the past 10-15 years Europe has been very unexotic in terms of things to buy, so an interesting souvenir or gift is hard to find. But at my first breakfast in Holland, I was reminded that the raisin bread (krentebrood) here is delicious. So I managed to get a loaf at a bakkerij for Barbara and I to share in the States. The loaf of course is getting a wee bit mangled in my day-pack, but it will still be tasty.
(4) The professional reason for my trip, paying the way in part, was an invitation to give the opening talk at a two-day symposium honoring the retirement of one Richard Strom, an American radio astronomer who came to Holland as a postdoc at about the same time that I did (1971), but he never left. He’s become very interested in history over the past 5-10 years and in fact came to Woodfest in Seattle in 2004. I spoke of course on early radio astronomy (as seen through the eyes of the first-ever course in radio astronomy, in 1950-1 by Henk van de Hulst) and had hoped to be able to wave a copy of Cosmic Noise: A History of Early Radio Astronomy as I spoke, but the book is not planned to be in my hands for another four weeks. The meeting, held at Dwingeloo Observatory south of Groningen, was extremely varied in its topics (his interests are eclectic) and very enjoyable. I spoke at length with a history of science graduate student from Leiden who is just embarking on a thesis on the history of Dutch radio astronomy, 1940-70. She has a history background rather than a technical one, so it will be interesting to see what she produces. I would like to help her in any way I can – I think she’ll probably end up visiting the “Sullivan HRA archives,” whether in Seattle or after their imminent transferral to NRAO in Charlottesville.
(5) The banquet for the meeting had an adequate buffet for the main part, but the toetje (dessert) was the highlight – the best I’ve ever had in Holland! Its presentation was superb with ~6 sumptuous items scattered about a large plate, including chocolate mousse, ice cream, a crusty something, a cheesy something, etc. I wished Barbara were there to share it, as well as many of my other experiences that would have been much better enjoyed with two than one.
(6) I realize that Dutch culture is a strong part of my psyche whenever I visit this tiny flat land with its ever-changing gray skies and green wetness. I feel right at home, especially after a few days when the Dutch begins to flow out rather than dribble and spurt. The train service is as good as ever – I was disappointed when my train pulled out of one station one minute late. When I see the men and women, boys and girls, riding their bikes everywhere, it just seems right. (By the way, I was also impressed with the general health of the older Austrians, who obviously also get in a lot of exercise.)
(7) Over 12 days I put in 3100 km (1900 miles) on my rental car (a Czech Skoda make that worked well) as I did a huge counterclockwise loop through four Alpine countries. ….Five tankfuls cost ~$90 each – ouch! It worked out to ~25 US cents/mile for gas. But this is responsible taxing, which we need also in the US. Also on the energy front, I liked the common use of motion sensors for lighting in hallways, etc…..The motorways here are very stressful to drive, trying to balance oneself between the endless slow trucks in one lane and the 90 mph folks one often encounters in the passing lane. I cried Hallelujah when I hit one of the relatively rare stretches of 3-laned highway. I never like driving, but when tracking down sundials outside of cities, it’s the only way.
Tot zienst! - Woody
