Day 199 -- Amsterdam

Summer appears to be in full-swing here.  Today was a beautiful, sunny 25 C (high 70s for our fahrenheit friends). A lot of people have left for their 3, 4, or even 6-week vacations which makes the work place pretty empty, and the city streets as well. I have a lemon tart chilling in the fridge, and I finally purchased some rum today so Collin and I enjoyed mojitos and dutch gouda (fresh from Amsterdam) as a small appetizer. While he prepares the grill for some chicken for dinner I thought I would try a brief update on my trip to Amsterdam.

For those of you who do not work in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis (and let's be honest, that is probably 99% of you), this past week was the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) conference held every other year, and this year in Amsterdam.  ISTH is the first large conference I ever attended way back in 2003 in Birmingham, England.  Since then I have had a mixed track record of attending:  2005 was in Sydney, sadly (or happily?) that was just before my wedding so attendance was not possible, 2007 was in Geneva but I was too new in my post-doc and not allowed to attend.  2009 was in Boston.  That I did attend and had a great time. 2011 was Kyoto...that's sad that I did not get to attend that and a long story, but one that involves Baxter and their travel rules...which brings us to 2013 and Amsterdam.  I actually thought I would not be able to attend since abstract submission is in January and I had just started at Novo but fortunately they let me go anyway!!  yay novo.  I enjoy this conference both for its vast scientific information but also as a chance to see old friends and former colleagues.  I'm only sad that more of my former colleagues are no longer working in the wonderful world of blood.

I left Friday night for the conference which started at 8 am on saturday morning.  Yay for living in Europe and being able to attend European conferences without being jet-lagged.  THAT was a very nice experience.  Our flight on Friday was delayed -- I later found out that Friday was the busiest  travel day at the Copenhagen airport due to schools ending and summer holidays starting.  I suppose that had something to do with our delayed flight, and it turns out, at least 4 of my danish colleagues got their bags lost somehow during the 1 hour flight to amsterdam...but I digress.   We arrived at our hotel in a pouring, wet Amsterdam at 10 pm.  Because I had left the house around 5 pm I had not had dinner yet, nor had my two traveling companions.  so after checking in to our hotel we took off to find some dinner...surprisingly hard for a Friday night, I guess it was after 10 then.  We eventually found a bar/cafe still serving food and had a heineken and a goat cheese salad.  It was not very good but I was hungry and tired so I didn't care too much.

Saturday was a long day of meetings, and lunch at an italian restaurant next to the convention center that had some of the worse service I have ever seen.  Saturday night a large group of us went to the city centre for dinner at In De Waag, a castle-like building in the middle of the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam.   It was enjoyable and good company.

photo courtesy of In De Waag website

After dinner one of my colleagues led the way to the tram back to our hotel.  This involved walking through some alleys in the middle of the red-light district.  That was certainly an interesting experience.  I do not have any pictures to share.

Sunday was a slower morning at the conference so I actually skipped out and checked out the Anne Frank house.  Fortunately for me, I am aware of what QuestLove of the Roots experienced when he visited Amsterdam....extremely long lines at the Anne Frank house.  So I planned on getting there a little before it opened at 9 and wait in line for a while.   When I got there, there was already a fairly long line, and they opened late.  I ended up being in line until 10 am and spent as much time in line as I did in the museum.  I probably went through the museum faster than I should have -- mainly because I was meeting someone for lunch and needed to get out.  Luckily I had just re-read the book the week before I left so that helped me a lot.  The museum was very interesting and I definitely recommend it.  Be aware of long lines though, and maybe book tickets ahead of time online if you get a chance.

church outside that Anne mentions hearing when she is in hiding

line outside anne frank house

more of the line

After a wonderful lunch with former colleagues/friends from Illinios, I actually decided to visit the Van Gogh museum since our restaurant was right next door.  Once again, I only had an hour to spend there but this was one of my most favorite museums.  Of course it helps that I am a big fan of his work, but I also enjoyed all the more "science-y" (for lack of a better word) aspects there..how they have learned what they learned about his work, etc.  I also really dug his copies of famous Hiroshige works.

Hiroshige on left, Van Gogh on right

Hiroshige on left, Van Gogh on right

It's still unclear to me if what I saw was a special exhibit or the permanent exhibit, but I wish I would have had more time and highly recommend it to anyone else in Amsterdam.

That was the end of my sight-seeing.   The rest of the week was busy with seminars and meetings.  

Sunday night was the official opening reception.  This usually showcases local talent and included an act of strength and dexterity where a man and woman moved around each other by holding each other and balancing.  It was pretty impressive.  At one point he laid flat on his back and put his hand up.  She laid on his hand so she was parallel to the ground.  Then he stood completely up, keeping her parallel to the ground the whole time with just his hand/arm.  Another time she balanced upside down on the back of his neck with her neck...neither of them holding each other.  Other acts included ballet, classical music and a rousing drum duet with a jazz drummer  (Han Bennink) and a rock and roll drummer (from Golden Earring; Cesar Zuiderwijk).  They both were fun to watch, and Han Bennink was especially entertaining, playing while sitting on the floor, and putting his foot up on the drum, and other various oddities.  

Wednesday night was the all-congress party...always a good time.   This is a giant party celebrating all things Dutch.  There were break-dancers and flowers-on-stilts, jazz music, cabaret music and the headlining act: Golden Earring.  I did not know who Golden Earring was when I heard they would be there, but Collin quickly informed me they were the group behind the 70s rock hit "Radar Love".  Below are a few pictures from the party including a short video of radar love.  You can't see much in the video since I am short and was in the back, but you can hear the melodious sounds of Golden Earring.  

Han Bennink

Dutch break dancers?

Golden Earring

The conference ended on Thursday, and I made it home in time to celebrate the 4th of July with Collin with cheeseburgers on the grill and American beers.

And I will end with a shot of my lemon tart....