out of the blue

I'm safely and happily in Amsterdam now. It was an interesting trip, despite my sleep deprivation.

The walk to the airport was great. I wasn't quite dead tired, so I was able to enjoy the cold morning air, the blue light and silhouetted clouds, the birdsong, and the sun as it peeked over the horizon. I got a cornish pasty from a bakery which had just opened. Quite tasty. Then I got to the airport and felt the tiredness hit me. I shook it off and read a book to pass the time before we boarded.

The flight was beautiful. We quickly rose above the puffy white clouds. I caught a glimpse through them at the Norfolk coastline before we were over the open sea. Every once in a while there would be a large break in the clouds, and you could see the rippled texture of the ocean with the fuzzy cloudprints shadowed upon them and the clouds themselves above (but still below). As we approached the Netherlands we flew alongside a towering mass of clouds and could just see into the gray beneath it as we skirted its edge.

Funny thing. My first glimpse of the Netherlands was a very brief view through a break in the clouds. What did I see? The stereotypical green fields crisscrossed with canals, and two windmills. Then the clouds came back together and I haven't seen a windmill since. Lots of canals and wind turbines, but no windmills. It was somewhat mystical.

Nathan met me with hugs at the airport, and we took a train to Amsterdam Centraal. We walked through an impressive rainstorm to the Blender Institute, where I met most of the Blender team and ate their sandwiches. Mmmm.

It was less rainy when we walked to Nathan's apartment. My bag (and some of the clothes inside) was soaked, but everything dries out eventually. We ate New York Style pizza for dinner, then took a crazy walk along midnight canals. Lots of good conversation throughout, and warm tea upon our return. Now Nathan is sleeping, and I'm making a quick post before bed.

Goodnight.