Transit and basketball season in review

Last week I got the opportunity to visit the London Transport Museum. Let me tell you this place is an absolute gem. If you love trains, you have to come here. It's located in Covent Garden, which I had been to previously. The building is a unique, shed-like facility which adds to the authenticity. Scattered throughout the museum are replicas of train carriages, subways, buses, and horse and buggies which you can you in. There are several interactive exhibits including one which features a diorama of London's streets while they are being excavated during the construction of the tube.  There are also several maps along the wall of where the original lines went. Admission is a little steep, like most things over here, but I got a student discount and on top of that my ticket is valid for a whole year! This place is great for all ages. By the way I also rode the Central line of the tube all the way to the end, at West Ruislip. Yes, I'm that dedicated.
Changing gears, I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on my beloved Tar Heels' accomplishments this season but also look ahead to next season. As I feared, we ran into a brick wall against Kansas last night and got demolished in the second half, despite giving it all we had. I think our accomplishments this season were notable, despite losing to Duke twice. After losing the likes of Tyler Zeller, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, and John Henson, we knew we would be faced with a tall order. Roy's decision to go to a smaller lineup was key in fueling our late season success. The question now of course is, will we continue to grow next season or will we have to start from square one again. That depends mostly on whether Hairston, McAdoo, and Mcdonald stick around and whether we can add another post presence. UNC basketball is about playing with resilience and having a great transition game, and that will depend on who we lose and who we gain over the next several months. There are too many unknowns at this point to determine what kind of team we'll be. You also have to factor in the addition of teams like Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC, which will present new challenges, but also possibly motivate players to play at a higher level. I do think next season will be entertaining without a doubt, but I hope it's just as much fun for the Heels as it is for everyone else.

Amsterdam

Alright, it's been a while, so I figured I'd tell you about my trip to Amsterdam last week. This week was Reading week at City, so were given time to catch up on our work, but I had to go somewhere for at least a couple of days. I decided on Amsterdam--a quick 45 minute flight to the east. Really weird how the gate closes 30 minutes before departure, but I guess it speeds up the boarding process since it puts some pressure on people. It was a nice smooth flight over the North Sea to the Netherlands, where it was probably sunnier than at any point so far in my time abroad.
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is large. There are large shopping areas for travelers coming in. Passport control was practically empty! That may be because they had a do-it-yourself passport station where you could scan your passport and go through. That may only be for people with EU passports. Anyway, it took me all of 30 seconds to go through. I then navigated my way through the various set of concourses to the train ticket counter. Only 4.40 in euros to get into town!
The platforms are below the airport, and the trains leave about every 10 minutes for Amsterdam's Central Station, located at the center of the city. The train ride was smooth and fast, just like all of the trains I've ridden on thus far.
Central station is beautiful. It is this grand building which looks like a palace on the outside and contains 15 platforms. It was a short walk from the station to my hotel, the A-train hotel. Yes, once again I'm keeping trains in the mix here. It is an authentic hotel covered with train pictures and other merchandise. My room was nice and cozy. Would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone traveling to Amsterdam. Another strange thing; when you go out of the hotel you give your key to the front desk and they give you a card. When you come back you return the card to them and get your key back. I soon ventured out toward the Ann Frank House, but first I needed to eat. I found a cute Italian cafe not far way. Good meal, but somewhat expensive, like most things.
The Ann Frank Museum was wonderful. It is the actual building where she and here family went into hiding during the Holocaust. Having studied this period in history extensively as well as reading her diary, I did not see much that I didn't already know. But I did appreciate seeing all of the artifacts. There were so many letters and pages from the diary, mostly not in English, but it was still really moving to see them. The bookcase which was used to cover the doorway to the annex where they lived was still there. There were also several videos of Holocaust survivors recounting their experiences and describing what the Frank family was like. It felt very authentic, going up the steep staircases in the house. I felt so connected with what I was seeing I almost forgot I was in Amsterdam. Nothing felt foreign. I think that is the sign of a meaningful experience, when you can go to a new place and feel connected to something or someone. That's what happened here. While this is a painful period in history, I feel it is very important to study it and know what happened so that we can prevent further atrocities.
I continued my walk through the city, stopping at points to take pictures of cool looking buildings and canals. I think the canals are really what make Amsterdam what it is. This is not a city of skyscrapers and grand boulevards. This is a city that combines a little of the old and new. OK now I'm being cheesy to the nth degree.
I wanted to see the Jewish Quarter of the city, but it had closed by the time I got there. I had dinner at a pub, which I enjoyed and walked through the main shopping area back to my hotel.
I started the next day by having breakfast at the hotel and then taking a tram down to the south side of town. It is there that the stadium used in the 1928 Olympics lies. I took a few pictures and went inside to the museum they have there. Honestly, it was not the coolest thing in the world but it does have some interactive stuff. There is an exercise bike where you can measure your time against Olympic runners, as well as a game where you try to anticipate what corner of a soccer goal a player's shot will land in. Only 6 Euros so I guess I can't complain too much. I then went back into town, where I had a heft omelette at this pancake restaurant. To finish off my visit I checked out the waterfront area. I then boarded the train and was whisked to the airport in 15 minutes.
The flight back was a little delayed since there were some mechanical problems with our plane. I flew in to the tiny Southend Airport, about an hour East of London. I took the train back to Liverpool St station. It was dark so I didn't get to see much during the ride.

I have now been to six countries and to sum up this trip, I'll quote Borat: Great Success!