Tech Topics - Spring 2008 - (Page 13)

AlumniHouse stop had local guides, many absolutely superb in their storytelling abilities. The Alumni Association often sends a representative on its sponsored trips as well to lead the singing of “Ramblin’ Wreck” and get Tech travelers together for a reception or two. Many tours of the waterways of Holland and Belgium begin and end in Amsterdam, where boats dock at Ruijetkade Oost. The M.V. Heidelberg serves as the ideal craft for getting from place to place. With only 56 staterooms, it is a floating boutique hotel with lovely accommodations, superb staff and fine dining. One docking point is at Stroomkanaal, about two miles outside Gouda on the Gouwe River. Passengers are taken by bus to St. Janskerk, built in the 16th century and famous for its huge stained glass windows, including one titled “Christ Driving the Moneylenders Out of the Temple,” presented to the church by William of Orange in 1561. Gouda, of course, is even better known for its cheese. A cheese museum is located in the weigh house, erected in 1668. Proprietors of the surrounding cheese shops are more than willing to let you sample their products and seal your purchases for travel. The pronunciation is HOW-da, as in: “How da heck are we gonna get all this cheese home?” While on the subject of regional foodstuff, note that nothing is as Belgian as fries and mayonnaise. Honestly, it’s not a bad combination. There are frietkots (fries shacks) everywhere in Belgium. I’m told raw herring and onions isn’t a bad combination either, but you’ll have to figure that one out for yourself. And I hear there are more than 1,000 types of beer produced in Belgium. A select few were brought out for a lecture and beer tasting onboard the Heidelberg. Back on course, the metropolitan Antwerp is like a 21st century reality check after quaint towns like Gouda and Middelburg. Then amid the bustle is Rubenshuis, where Peter Paul Rubens lived from 1577 until his death in 1640. Obviously no starving artist, Rubens had the mansion built when he was 33 years old. A self-portrait of Rubens is in the dining room of the home. Roman statues he collected are still there, as are the lovely gardens. Today, guards are situated throughout the inside of the museum to ensure the no-photographs, notouching rules are followed. From Rubenshuis, walk down a thoroughly modern thoroughfare, turn a corner and be stopped in your tracks by the impressiveness of the largest cathedral in Belgium. The Cathedral of Our Lady has seven naves, 125 pillars and three huge Rubens masterpieces. Since 1150, the Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges has housed a fragment of cloth stained with what is said to be the blood of Christ wiped from his body after the crucifixion. Both churches are must-sees, as is a tour of Bruges by boat, which allows tourists to appreciate the incredible medieval architecture. Thanks to unusually warm and dry weather in early 2007, millions of tulips had been deadheaded by the time we got to Keukenhof Gardens outside Amsterdam in early May. Still, there had to be millions of tulips — orange, red, yellow, white, purple, pink and even black, thousands in their final throes of glory — everywhere you looked throughout the beautifully manicured 70-acre grounds, typically open from late March through May. Like the gardens, Delft is a requisite stop for tourists. Delftware has been decorated in blue since the 16th century. The Delftware factory is more like an artisan’s studio than a factory, as workers can be seen painstakingly painting the porcelain. The attached gift shop carries exquisite dishware, vases and tiles, as well as tiny painted windmills and wooden shoe key chains. Whether buying kitschy souvenirs or fine porcelain, tourists here feel assured that the products truly are made in Holland and are told to look for “De Porcelyne Fles” on the bottom of each piece they buy. In the southern region of Zeeland, the Rhine, Waal, Maas and Schedlt rivers pour into the North Sea. Zeeland also is home to the Delta Works. A 1953 hurricane in the North Sea killed more than 1,800 people. Following the disaster, a massive system of dams, dikes, sluice gates and stormsurge barriers called the Deltawerken were constructed. Some engineers may find the museum movie about the making of the Delta Works fascinating. Others may be fascinated by the Dutch term for the eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier: oosterscheldestormvloedkering. There are dozens of Alumni Travel trips offered to fascinating points around the globe throughout the year. For more information on expanding your horizons, visit www.gtalumni.org/site/TravelTourSchedule or e-mail Alumni Travel director Martin Ludwig at martin.ludwig@alumni.gatech.edu. 13 A fraction of the size of Antwerp or Rotterdam, Bruges may be twice as enchanting. In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated the Belgian city’s center as a World Heritage Site, one of only 851 on the entire planet. One of the best spots in Bruges may be inside Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc (translation sugar belly). The chocolates are irresistible, particularly after watching a candy-making demonstration in the kitchen. Inside Bruges’ Church of Our Lady, Michelangelo’s “Madonna and Child” is the only one of the artist’s sculptures to be taken outside Italy during his lifetime. TECHTOPICS | SPRING 2008 http://www.gtalumni.org/site/TravelTourSchedule

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Topics - Spring 2008

Tech Topics - Spring 2008 Contents Mail Call Gold & White Honors Alumni House Sweet Spring Centennial Buzz Supreme Court Victory The Hill ‘Treasure Trove’ of Stories Living History Forget-me-not Fashion Student Life Investing in Graduates Giving Back Training the Next Generation Burdell & Friends Ingredients for Success Yellow Jackets Hockey Club Ices Georgia Tech Job Hunters Fare Well Real World

Tech Topics - Spring 2008

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