Life in Netherlands- Part 1

I'm in love with the new place I live in.. Delft, The Netherlands.. Moved in here 3 months ago for pursuing my long standing dreams...Frankly, not in my weirdest fantasies did I dream I'd be here.. in this country. I never talked about Netherlands before Mr.R.A, a scientist from NAL, Bangalore mentioned TU Delft to me. For me Netherlands didn't exist then! But now, I love this peace loving country where prisons are being shut down due to low crime rates and of course for various other reasons mentioned below and that will be mentioned in the future posts too.

At the city center in Delft.

This has been beyond my expectations. Delft though has a city status now still has the making of country side and boy! do I love that and how!! Its green, all around. So pleasing, so soothing and yet technologically as good as any city in this country. I just love the overall effect it delivers. Friendly people, neighbourhood shops, a mind blowing university, a student town literally, a culture so different wrapped around by cheese and wine!

This is a picture from a recently held cheese and wine tasting event. TU Delft holds such events every now and then.. Lots of friday night events where you can relieve the week's stress and learn and savour different cultures and festivities.

THE mentionable trait of Netherlands would be its countless canals and wind mills.. In Delft there is just one windmill and it hasn't captured me enough, for me to take out my camera and capture it! I hope when I go country exploring I get to find more of them..

But the canals are the best part of this country. I so totally love it.. The water so pure, silent and enigmatic always eases the frown between your brows when you are done for the long fought day.

I'm bowled over by the Dutch in general. They are so so tall.. ;) In India I was a 'tall' girl.. Most of the guys were either almost as tall as me or shorter than me.. Rarely you could find a guy actually tall so that I have to crane my neck to look at him. Here, I realized how tall the Dutch are when, during one of the breaks, I ventured out to get some coffee..It was so crowded and it hit me as I was trying to make my ways past them. All I could see was shoulders and chests or shoulders and bags! I actually had to crane my neck a complete 90 degrees to get a full view of the face! :D I felt like a little kid amidst grown ups trying to find my way back into the class! :P And that's saying something.. (you'll know why I said that if you have seen me!)

The Dutch are pretty strong and athletic too.. They have perfect bodies-men and women alike. I think it comes form constant cycling. Cycling to them is the 2nd natural thing. In India, use of cycles are limited to high school and at the most pre university.. But here, its surprising as well as exhilarating to see working class use cycles. They are so good wit cycles that, when my cycle had a problem, a friend suggested "Just catch hold of a Dutch guy yaar, He'll fix it in no time!" n its true! Cycles (more so called bikes here) just add on to the city outlook perfectly!

That's near my department..

That's near my studio..(individual bachelor rooms with basics, kitchenet and bathroom are called studios in general)

The other day Anil and me were biking with heavy shopping bags on our backs and cycle handle bars trying not to lose balance. Riding with too many add ons is not advisable in India amidst the raging traffic.. We were wondering about the same topic and lo! there goes a dutch super mom with 2 seats for her kids-one toddler and one may be a 5 yr old, bags hanging on the rear end from both sides and a basket of flowers perched on the front handle bar while she herself wore a huge bag on her shoulders and was munching a sandwich held in one hand.(teh Dutch do it often-eating while biking is what their lunch hour means!) The kids weren't excatly sitting still and helping her either. And yet she whizzes past us with such ease and grace.. We couldn't stop laughing at our own state after that..

And now I'm totally loving cycling.. After a long time I have got a cycle of my own and I love it! I love it! here is my cycle below..:)

And my university is absolutely fantastic.. Every field is developed in every sphere and equal opportunities for all without any bias.. Universities in India have to change in this aspect. Plus the aura inside the campus is so adept; be it just for walking, cycling or studying.

That's my department entrance..

That's the library from outside.

I get to see such beautiful sky and contrails(many which are due to our faculty experiments!) on my way to the faculty and back..

This is one of the tallest building in Delft..EWI faculty.. Lost your way? just look out in the sky for this building, follow the roads that lead you here and you'll reach home safely! :)

There is so much more to explore and exploit in this city! I'm hoping myself I will be able to post more about life in Delft soon! :)

aeroyogi

Nov 22 2009, 11:17 pm