iamsterdam

I touched down in lovely Amsterdam.nl (their new PR slogan is i amsterdam) a few hours ago, followed orange vested nederlanders to big, white buses festooned with tiny TechEd signs, which I rode from Schiphol Airport to the RAI Convention Center, stumbled around with laptop pack on my chest and my huge trekking pack stuffed with Gotdotnet t-shirts and buttons on my back. Registered for TechEd Europe 2005 (yes!), didn't knock anyone down, and retrieved a third backpack...just what I needed. ;-)

Cloudy, rainy, windy, and 17c. Followed the few locals not mounted on ungainly old bicycles to a tram station nearby. Flashed my TechEd transpo pass (very cool) and tried to get the bus lady to speak to me in Dutch rather than English. Hah! She would have none of it. One transfer and 30 minutes later I sit in my hotel room, which overlooks the square where the chase scene in The Bourne Identity was filmed. You remember, the one with the Mini. Or was that Bourne Supremacy? Anyway, it's called Leidesplein. The "Go, Explore" impulse is strong. I think I'll go get lost and try to find my way back to the Convention Center for a Regional Director's meeting in a couple of hours.Update: my taxi cab driver informs me that the Bourne chase scene was, he thinks, filmed in Paris, France. Part of Ocean's Twelve was filmed nearby.

If you are attending TechEd Europe, I'd love to hook up with you and talk about the future of Gotdotnet and Microsoft.com communities. Oh, and don't miss Betsy Aoki's talk on corporate blogging. It'll be a humdinger.

Comments

• Anonymous
  July 03, 2005
  It isn't called Leidesplein but Leidseplein, thank you very much.
• Anonymous
  July 04, 2005
  TechEd Europe 2005 - Day 1
• Anonymous
  July 11, 2005
  After a too long drive I finally arrived in Amsterdam for TechEd 2005 Europe. Today is pre-conference...