The Wheels on the Bus!

So on Friday, the class met at the Amsterdam Airport Schipol. I felt a little sorry for the kids from Boston since they were to go through orientation while coping with the jet-lag. From the airport, we boarded the charter bus and headed south to Delft. Along the way, Dr. Peter Furth (the class teacher) filled us in on some facts about the area as we got to watch the country side from the windows.

View from the bus.

I also was able to make friends with the class teaching assistant and learn a few things of how the Dutch design their streets (low-sound pavement, sound barriers on the side of the freeway, speed humps at intersections, thermoplastic painted lines, and other fun things).

Once we hit Delft, we took the Boston students to their dorm rooms. The bus driver was a magician behind the wheel being able to navigate the narrow streets in such a wide vehicle. A few times we would have to reverse down some streets due to corners unable to be maneuvered, but the driver did so without issue. After dropping off the students from Boston, we were dropped off on the street to our dorm with instructions to drop off our luggage and then meet at the Civil Engineering building. It took some time to find the right building, but the entire Portland State group was pleasantly surprised at the lodging given to us for the next two weeks (except one, who already had someone living in her room).

Home, sweet home!

All of us dropped off our luggage and then made our way to the Civil Engineering building on campus (which seems to be four times larger than Portland State's building). There we met up with the Boston students again and attended the class orientation. The orientation just was to hand out paperwork, answer any questions we had about our living or bike arrangements, and to give us parting advice of "don't blow your brains out this weekend." We then were allowed to grab a bite to eat in the campus cafeteria and then taken to our bicycles (which would be our form of transportation the next two weeks).

After everyone had their bike, we began our tour of Delft. This tour took us through the old town area where we were able to see the entrance gate to old town, the market center, the old and new churches (one built in 1246 and the other in 1496), and the Beestenmarkt which was where the farmers brought their animals to sell (but now was home to many restaurants). We also visited the construction site where they moved a windmill so they could build a tunnel to accommodate the train that passes through town.

Town gate, complete with drawbridge and moat!

Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)

After the tour was done, the students were left to their own devices. The PSU students used this time to make a run to a grocery store (called C1000) where I bought peanut butter, jelly, bread, orange juice, Morocco herbal tea (cinnamon, peppermint, and licorice), and some weird "Cheeto" like snacks. I would make a couple more trips to the grocery store over the weekend due to not being able to carry much on my bike. We then took all of our purchases back to our dorms and then went out to Billy Beer (translated Billy Bear) and celebrated coming to Delft to begin an awesome experience.

Amsterdam!

I've made it to Delft! But first I'll update everyone on my one day visit of Amsterdam and the trip there.

I took off from the airport on Wednesday morning at 8:35am from Portland to fly to Amsterdam through Philadelphia. The flights went pretty well, though I think flying is one of the greatest things in the world (don't mistake this with using an airline, I mean the physical act of flying). I landed in Amsterdam on Thursday at 8:40am and began my "out-of-country" experience.

On the second leg of the trip from Philly to Amsterdam, I sat next to a gentleman that writes for Bicycle magazine who was on his way to attend a celebrity bike ride around the area (which his magazine was paying for). He was quite surprised that a student from Portland State University would be attending a class in Delft to learn about bicycle infrastructure. The gentleman figured that since Portland is already a bicycle friendly city and ahead of the curve when it compares to other U.S. cities, that it was odd that they'd send me somewhere to learn more. Once the flight had landed I asked him if there was anything I should be sure to do while in the Netherlands and his response was "Lose the tie and jacket, rent a bike, and then ride around." He said that I would enjoy the experience so much that I would not be able to stay away from this place in the future.

After alighting the plane, I made my way through the gates and looked for baggage claim. I coordinated with some friends arriving through a different flight (at about the same time no less) to meet up before heading out into the city. Once we hooked up (by the luck of me seeing someone that looked like they were from New Jersey), we began to figure out where to go and by what means to get there. After some aimless wandering trying to understand the transit system, we asked for assistance at the transit ticket counter. On our whole adventure, it was a big help that everyone we asked for help was very nice, helpful, and knew English. We bought our tickets from the counter and ended up boarding the train to Amsterdam Central. I expected the train ride to be a little noisy, to hear wheel squeak or feel the track bump on the trip like a light rail vehicle, but it was as smooth, comfortable as it could be, and quite quick to reach our destination.

Amsterdam Central Station

 The group got off the train at the Amsterdam Central station. It was amazing to see the architecture of the buildings in the area, several of which looked like they dated from Medieval times. From the station we could also see the Amsterdam Bike Ramp which holds around 7000 bikes. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it to show it off but was too busy keeping up with everyone. Hopefully on the way back through.

The Amsterdam Bike Ramp at Central Station is behind the tree, but you can see the line of parked bikes moving into the distance.

From Amsterdam Central, we took a streetcar to the hotel. It took a while to figure out which streetcar we needed since there is such a huge network, and we again had to ask for help. Although the ride was similar to a Portland streetcar (rough and jerky), the streetcars in Amsterdam move very quickly, nothing like the ones I'm use to. The streetcar (and others we seen) was also full of people commuting to where they needed.

After arranging our hotel rooms and dropping off our luggage, the group sought out food and then took a canal tour. Through the canal tour, I was able to see many wonderful buildings and landmarks, including the house of Anne Frank. I also was able to start getting an idea of the city's layout while also becoming intrigued at the amount of bike traffic. Sure there were people in automobiles (lots of Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, and Volkswagens), but the number of people on bikes was just absolutely astounding. There were bikes EVERYWHERE, being ridden, parked along the canals, falling into the canals, being walked. I don't think it's possible to throw a stone without hitting a bike (who wants to accept that challenge?). They weren't exaggerating saying that 40% of all trips are made by bike in this area.

Bikes parked along the canal in Amsterdam. Cars also parallel park along the canal edge, which would be a little unnerving for me.

The attitudes of people traveling around Amsterdam was also something I couldn't believe. On most major streets, there was a lane for cars, a cycle track, and a sidewalk. Where this wasn't the case and lanes were shared, everyone moved around with a strange sense of ease. One person in the group referred to it as looking like "controlled chaos". I didn't see hardly anyone have trouble or get impatient navigating the crowds. If a bike was coming up on someone slower and wanted to pass, they rang their bell and the person would move over to let them go, bikes rode down what seemed like alleys filled with people without anyone getting upset about letting them pass, and cars yielded to bikes in many cases without issue. Throughout the day, I don't think I became tired of seeing the traffic navigate the brick roads of the city.

I'll try to get another update in soon about the bus ride to Delft, my day in orientation for class, as well as some work on the two assignments I should be doing.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Bags are being packed, checklists are being reviewed, and it's almost that time to take off on my new adventure to study abroad in Delft, Netherlands. For two weeks I shall be observing transportation practices used around the area in hopes of being able to apply something to my future designs (when I actually get to the point where I have a career). Since I grew up in areas that were designed based on automobiles, I'm looking forward to experiencing a transportation system that involves a heavier emphasis on bicycling. In my current state of mind, I couldn't imagine riding a bike for most of the trips I make around my home area in my comfortable car. We'll see if that changes after this trip.

This will be my first time leaving the country (other than a short trip across the border into Canada back in 1998), so I'm starting to feel a little nervous. I keep meaning to pick up a small notepad for, well, notes and a book that has some travel information and phrases in Dutch (like "where is the bathroom?", "where can I buy a cup of coffee?", or "no thanks, I'm married"), but each time I go to the store they slip my mind. I've heard that most people in the Netherlands speak English, though I've never seen a negative aspect to being over prepared.

So far in preparation for the trip I've picked up a power adapter so I can plug in my electronics, double-checked my laptop's power cord to make sure it can handle the increased voltage, and cleaned up my laptop's hard drive. It will be my link to everything back home for the two weeks I'm in class, so I better baby it to make it last. I also picked up a travel chess set and Jane Jacob's The Death and Life of Great American Cities (link) for those moments I am not in class or using my computer. Over the next day or two I plan on packing the less important things, such as my clothing and toiletries.