Il mio Overseas a Sydney, Australia (Gen-Lug 2007)... e il mio periodo di Tesi all'Estero a Rotterdam/Utrecht, Olanda (Ott 2007-Mar 2008)!

UTS in NL/1 - The Invasion

Sometimes history repeats. In October an Italian sneaked into The Netherlands and established in Rotterdam after spending a few days in Vlaardingen.
It seemed just a normal visit to the country, but actually he was spying his Dutch friend. The Italian also bribed his friend's girlfriend, and then started to plan everything.
After a few months, in February 2008, the invasion began. A strong German-Italian alliance entered into the country. Germans passed the border with cars while Italians flew and landed in different Dutch airports. It was Friday 7th March 2008.
Germans Nico, Tobi and Timm occupied a restaurant in Rotterdam while Italians Silvia and Simona explored the whole country to make sure that the resistance was set off. The Italian spy Russian-named Iurij was waiting for them at Rotterdam Central station, while the bribed Dutch Britt was kidnapping the Dutch master Zjenja. She brought him in Pizzeria Pavarotti, and suddenly he found out that he was surrounded by all those strangers. He was shocked, and could not say a word for a while.
The Dutchman was under surveillance for the whole night and then brought to a room in Rotterdam from where he could not escape. Eight people would have blocked him. His dreams of a relaxing weekend were already in the bin!

The following morning all the people were already around Rotterdam. The Dutch victim was kind of left alone at the beginning. He was forced to become a guide of the city for all the invaders, and brought them to a meaningless sculpture (which then become a meaningful sculpture for the whole history) before showing them something that left everybody astonished. Are you curious? Sorry for that... it will remain a mystery.

Later on the Dutchman called some help and managed to get his sister and her boyfriend with him. However, in the meantime some troops from France arrived as well. Their position in the conflict was cryptic, but at least at the beginning they were surely together with Germans and Italians. Everybody strolled around Rotterdam before ending for some food at the Cruise Terminal. 

Postato da: DexterH46 a 14:57 | link | commenti (2)
holiday, accomodation, rotterdam, overseas, uts , netherlands

Goodbye EUR!

On the 7th March I have officially spent my last working day in The Netherlands. I went to the *Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam*, and I think I have at least to show you a couple of pictures of it because I have never done it so far.
Coming from the city centre, just before the University there is the *Stadion Woudestein*. This is the home of one of the three football teams of Rotterdam (restricting them to those which play in the Erendivisie). It is not Feyenoord anyway! On the back you can already see the shape of one of the buildings of the Erasmus University.

One more minute riding the bicycle and we are arrived at our final destination. Coloured flags under a grey sky welcome us to the University, and a big sign on a wall tells us we are at the right place. But for me it was the last time there.

Postato da: DexterH46 a 11:05 | link | commenti
rotterdam, netherlands

A windmill in Rotterdam

After weeks wondering about a windmill in Rotterdam, I finally found the time to go and see one of them next to an artificial lake not far from my house. Actually it was only 20 minutes on my bike.

The place looked like a true Autumn landscape, with brownish and yellowish leaves on the trees, a silent and quiet atmosphere, and some animals going around.
After a twenty minutes walking around the lake I was below the windmill. Unfortunately it was too late to go inside and visit it. However it was still nice, I could finally see one of the most popular Dutch trademarks!

Postato da: DexterH46 a 19:54 | link | commenti
holiday, rotterdam, netherlands

A Great Dinner at Dino’s

One day before the last of the year, we remained in Rotterdam. I was still fighting with my cold, so tidied the room a bit, studied something for the exam, and joined the others in the late afternoon after their visit to Rotterdam. We listened to the Vuelle’s match on the radio and then we went out for dinner. The area seemed desert (it was Sunday evening), but we finally found a place called Dino’s, with an interesting “steakhouse” writing outside the restaurant.

Great choice!

I put here two pictures… even if they hurt me: every time I look at them I feel hungry and I want to go back there!!!Yummmmmmm!

Postato da: DexterH46 a 22:57 | link | commenti
holiday, rotterdam, netherlands

The Rotterdam routine

So now if I have to go somewhere in Rotterdam... first choice is always the bicycle (even if it left me alone the second time I was using it... but then –as I’ve said- I’ve learnt how to use it!).

A couple of weeks before Christmas, exactly on the 5^th/6^th of December, it was Sinterklaas. If Christmas is –sadly- becoming often a commercial event to make presents, Sinterklaas is only a commercial event to make presents, with no meaning behind it.

We got from the NS a Dutch cake, which is very common on this day, when all young (and less young) people usually get presents from their parents... or from Sinterklaas (Santa Klaus) if you prefer!

A couple of days later, just to be able to “get something back from the expensive Sinterklaas period” (as Niels wrote in the invitation mail), a number of PhD students of the Erasmus University Rotterdam gathered to play Texas Hold’em. I am not a PhD student there, but since I am sharing the office with them, having lunch with them, and so on, I was invited as well. I have had calculated all the money I needed before going back Italy...without taking into account this invitation! And since we were playing 10€ each to make it more serious, I was really risking not to have enough money for my travel back to Italy! Anyway I got the third prize, exactly 10€, without making any gain or loss, and it was enough for me to have fun one night and enough money to get back to Pesaro one week later.

After our playing night we all went home at around 2pm (they accused me of slow playing... just excuses!) and on the way back I stopped and took a picture at a roundabout close to my house.

Postato da: DexterH46 a 22:09 | link | commenti (2)
sport, rotterdam, netherlands

17th November – A Sunny Day in Rotterdam/2

The second part of my tourist day in Rotterdam brought me to the "fake" Erasmus Bridge, but before going there I still had another look to the Pencil and Cubes from another point of view.

Then I finally moved to the aforementioned bridge. It is a huge building made of steel, linking the central part of the city to an island from which another bridge brings to the southern part of the city, where the Feyenoord stadium is. But the "true" Erasmus Bridge is another one, and you will see it in one of the next posts...sooner or later!

After going forth and back from the bridge I visited some jazz clubs to see if they were planning to do jam sessions around New Year’s Eve (I’ll be visited by some friends and one of them would like to play the bass guitar there). Then it was time to go back home, and before getting there I stopped one more time, just to take a picture, of a church in an Autumn landscape.

Postato da: DexterH46 a 19:56 | link | commenti (1)
holiday, rotterdam, netherlands

17th November – A Sunny Day in Rotterdam/1

After many rainy days, finally the sun came out.
Since I cannot go around during the week because I am always busy with my thesis, I can only enjoy my time during the weekend. On this weekend a bright sun was shining in the sky. And it was not even that much cold, so I decided that it was the ideal time to visit Rotterdam.
I took my bicycle and started my journey. After 5 minutes I stopped for the first time to take two pictures of a nice garden with a small artificial canal.

Five more minutes (this time walking distance) I was in Rotterdam Central station. More precisely I was on the bridge linking all the platforms and I took a picture of the tall buildings of the Rotterdam business district from there.

From there I went to Blaak, an area in Rotterdam, where every Saturday a small (well... not really small...) market takes place. It is possible to find a lot of different stuff there without paying much money. Anyway I didn’t have money with me and I had been shopping just the night before, so I didn’t need anything and I only walked through the market, which is next to the Pencil and Cubes buildings.
They are very strange, especially the cubes. Either offices or apartments can be found inside these yellow buildings, which seems to fall if observed from outside. Furthermore, I still cannot really focus how they are inside... I may go and visit them in the future...

Postato da: DexterH46 a 04:44 | link | commenti
holiday, rotterdam, netherlands

31st October – My Kingdom in Rotterdam

On the very last day in October, the 31st, I moved to a room I found in Rotterdam. Finding a room in Utrecht turned to be nearly impossible, so I had to adapt myself to the idea of becoming a commuter, catching a train from Monday to Thursday to go to Utrecht where the NS Headquarters are.
So here you are my new kingdom. Maybe it is not the best place I have ever lived in, but it is absolutely ok.
I am not paying that much money (well... 150 Euro per month is nothing compared to the average prices!), I am quite close to the station (so I ride my bike for just 5 minutes), I have a supermarket not far and I can even take a tram if I am lazy and don’t want to walk, the stop is just 100 metres from where I live.
My room is quite big. I have got a double bed and two sofas that can easily turned into beds as well. I have also got a small table in my room and a well-equipped desk with a lot of room to store many things. The heating is inside the room and there is internet as well. What can I ask more?!
Here you are some pics of the place, including the kitchen and the corridor... more stuff is coming soon! ;-)

Postato da: DexterH46 a 22:02 | link | commenti
accomodation, rotterdam, netherlands