With half a day on one side of the papers, and potentially a day on the other, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to venture out of the hotel room and see what Holland has to offer. The half day, I figured, would see me checking out the waterfront of Rotterdam, but of course not before paying homage to Feyenoord and Sparta, the local football clubs. The full day will be spent in Amsterdam, which, for all it’s fine attributes, I have just one I want to see: the Amsterdam Arena, home of Ajax. I’ll fit in everything else in between that – the people, the shops, the nice buildings. There is no rush. I have a strong hunch I will be in Amsterdam again before too long.
And then of course, a spanner is thrown into my carefully planned works. Reading up on Holland yesterday, I was introduced to the Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht: dubbed by the Guardian’s Jonathan Glancey as possibly, the world’s finest bookshop. Housed in a 13th century Dominican church with a wide selection of books in both Dutch and English, this is the ultimate non-sexual porn for me: books and old buildings! I. Must. See.
Except that Maastricht is about two hours by train from Rotterdam, or so my research tells me. Geographically speaking, Maastricht is closer to Brussels than it is to Amsterdam. Making a trip there from my base in Rotterdam would mean an effective five hour roundtrip; meaning it will not fit into the half-day I have planned. Add to that the historical nature of Maastricht itself which would mean that the trip would mean more than just a photo op at the bookshop.
Ah. I knew I should have slotted in another day. Unless.. on Thursday.. after my paper..
No. Cannot-lah. Kan…?
******
Addendum:
In light of recent news involving child prodigies gone wrong, here’s some food for thought: what did the Latif family do, that the Yusof family did not? And vice versa, of course.
1. Comment by norzu
13/Apr/2008 at 8:59 am
Amsterdam Arena vs Selexyz Dominicanen… aiiyyoo. decisions, decisions.
Pegi stadium (hopefully) tak akan membeli barang yang banyak, masuk kedai buku nanti sah2 akan mengheret beg berat. Hehe.
2. Comment by Theta aka Eliza
14/Apr/2008 at 4:38 pm
On the way from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, why not drop by Selexyz in Den Haag (The Haguez) housed in the beautifully restored old building DePassage. Books and old buildings again.
3. Comment by Theta aka Eliza
17/Apr/2008 at 8:47 am
Oh yeah, I just realise that there IS a Selexyz in Rotterdam – about 5 to 6 floors worth of books. But one snag is it is housed in a modern building.
It is slightly off the Rotterdam shopping haven – Beurs Traverse or Koopgoot – or across from Rotterdam’s own World Trade Centre.
While in (any) Selexyz, do try the beverages in Bagels and Beans cafe which claims that they only use fresh (read: organic) milk. Unless of course, you’re lactose-intolerant.