Afternoon Bike Ride

Matt got home early from an out of town class today, so we took a bike ride to the park to feed the ducks. While not quite spring yet, we could tell it is on its way with the wild flowers starting to bloom. I can't wait until the end of the month when we can take rides through the tulip fields.

Checkers Game

After arriving in Geneva we stumbled upon a large park in the middle of the old town/university area. Even on a cold Sunday evening, it was bustling with couples, joggers, families, ice skaters, and tourists.

At the far corner of the park we were delighted to find a dozen or so large chess boards with knee-high figures. The boards were full of people playing and strategizing. Since we didn't have a lot of time before the light went, we opted for a games of checkers.

Matt realizing he's sunk...

Me with my winning kings

It was a lovely end to a lovely weekend...

Cheese and Chocolate

Switzerland is famous for two of our favorite things: cheese and chocolate. That fact alone guaranteed that our weekend in the of land neutrality would be wonderful. We arrived in the city of Geneva and headed to our hostel to drop off our bags. When we checked in, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Geneva gives all its hotel and hostel guests free transportation within the city. What a deal!

We then hopped onto the tram and headed out to Botanical Gardens for a picnic lunch. The gardens (and conservatories) were free to the public. Even in the dead of winter and the middle of the work day, they were quite full of people. It seemed to be a popular running spot for locals. After enjoying our lunch in the warm tropical conservatory, we perused the gardens and noticed there was even a deer reserve in the gardens. I imagine this would be the perfect place to spend a warm spring afternoon when the flowers will be in full bloom.

Our next stop was the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. The permanent exhibit explained the founding, history, and role of the organization. While I believe the museum was cutting edge at one point, the 10 projectors needed to show a single 8-minute slide show seems a little out of date. I wonder what the return on investment would be to pay someone to create a movie with the slides verses the cost of running so many projectors. However, features like the large transparent, layered photographs of wars and natural disasters were visually compelling. One of the rooms contains all of the POW cards from WWI and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Also on display was the Nobel Peace Prize that Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, was awarded in 1901. Dunant was the first recipient of the prize. The International Committee of the Red Cross has gone on to win 3 more Nobel Peace Prizes during the last century.

The highlight of the museum was actually the temporary exhibit Walls Between People. It was a look at 8 different walls that have been built to separate people. The photographs of the walls showed how people were separated, lives disrupted, and other effects of the wall. It was interesting to see the world/humanitarian view of the wall between Mexico and the US and how it wasn't depicted that much differently from the barbed wire enclaves of Spain in Morocco or the barbed wire line between Pakistan and India.

Our last stop for the day was the United Nations' Palace of the Nations - quite possibly the least inviting tour ever. Nowhere was their a tour schedule; water damaged directional signs pointed into locked doors and the one open door lead to workers sitting at their desks beneath signs that completely mislabeled their function. After the security check, badge issuing, and payment, we were directed to an obscure door #39 "past the parking lot and to the left." To our amazement, there were actually a lot of people behind the door, and we joined them for what was actually a pretty good tour.

The tour took us through the "old" and "new" buildings, a few conference rooms, temporary exhibits and past gifts from around the world. It was similar to the Peace Palace in The Hague, in that every part of the building was built with materials from around the world and decorated with gifts from visiting dignitaries.

As the sun set, we strolled along through the parks that follow the shoreline of Lake Geneva. The view of the lake and mountains was positively breathtaking.

The rest of the day's picture are on our Flickr site.

Cubans (cigars, not immigrants)

Unlike the US, The Netherlands does not have a trade embargo with Cuba. You know what that means...

Dad & Delft

On Monday, I gave my dad a bike ride tour of Delft. I started the tour by taking him to Delft Midden and letting him try out our favorite swing.

Oostport was the next stop on the tour. It used to be the east gate of the city and was built around 1400.

Then it was off to Delftse Hout and to the petting zoo. The goats were happy to be petted and even nibbled on your clothes.

The sheep, however, were not into it. Look at their pour little heads - they are bald from be petted a few too many times. They congregate near the gate to be let "out to pasture" (a.k.a. out of the petting zoo)!After visiting the parks, we headed into town to visit the Oude Kerk and the Nieuw Kerk. The old church is home to grave of Johannes Vermeer and was built in 1240.












The New Church was built in 1496 and is burial site of the entire Dutch Royal Family since William I, Prince of Orange.












The last stop on our tour was Royal Delft, the oldest earthenware factory in town.

Price tag on the vase? Over €6000!

Evening Bike Ride

This evening we went on a bike ride to a park on the outskirts of town. There were lots of geese feeding, but unfortunately they were out of range of my lens (hint, hint Matt!).

Agnetapark

Our nightly bike ride took us to Agnetapark, where Matt - still wishing he was in Belgium- enjoyed a chocolate waffle.

Abtswouldepark

Since buying our new-to-us fiets, we have been enjoying cycling after work and discovering new parts of Delft. It is wonderful to be able to ride anywhere in a short amount of time without worrying about being run down by a car - in fact we don't even have to share they road with them, as bikes generally have their own fietspaad. After a picnic in the park, complete with my new favorite beer Hoegaarden Rose, we found a zip-line swing!