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Exploring Reykjavík

Paul van Tilburg — 2009-06-23T00:00:00+02:00

I’ve been here for over 2 weeks now and I feel like I’ve gotten used to the place. I am a bit behind with the journal posts but on the other hand always quite up-to-date with the pictures. The following describes event from Thursday June 6 until Tuesday June 16.

Sunsets

Sunsets are different everywhere. On Thursday we took a trip to the tip of the isle on which Reykjavík is located to a separate town called Seltjarnarnes. Since we were there around sunset, I took some (quite colourful) pictures.

2009-06-11: Sunset near Seltjarnarnes

Later in the week, when Arnar left for a workshop in Dublin, I took the bicycle out for a ride. It was nice to get some exercise again, Reykjavík being considerably hilly. When I arrived at the university around midnight, I noticed that Willard was just arriving. We had some tea, met other people that were hanging around and viewed the sun set from the roof of the building.

2009-06-14: Bike trip to the RU and back

Master and Bachelor Graduation

Reykjavík University, being a rather small university (there is also the University of Iceland here), does the graduation ceremony in one go. So, I went with some friends of Arnar to attend his graduation on Saturday. Well, this was quite different from the one I had. This ceremony is for 420 (!) candidates at once, while mine was more personal. However, they make a big event out of this which speeches and musical intermezzos while mine was rather bare in that respect.

From 2009-06-13: Graduation Ceremony

After the ceremony there was a reception for all students followed by a party at Arnar’s. This party ended with hanging around in the kitchen for two hours, talking and laughing. This formula is the so-called “kitchen party” which seems to be an Icelandic thing.

Work

I ended my work here in Iceland on Tuesday with a lunch and meeting with Anna and Luca. We discussed our previous work and a way to supplement the results to be able to make it into a journal paper. The discussion was productive and we decided on a plan, so I’ll start with this somewhere in July when I return from my holidays!

Working in Reykjavík

Paul van Tilburg — 2009-06-11T00:00:00+02:00

So, I have been here in Reykjavík for a while, working, exploring, eating, sleeping. I must say, some things are totally different from everything I am used to (especially the surroundings, nature) and other things are very familiar (if not to NL, then to Scotland).

Work

I have been working at the Reykjavík University, a private university coexisting next to the University of Iceland. It is located across the street of a big mall which turns out to be very convenient for lunch and instant-need purposes. The Computer Science school has a “theory day” on the 19th and I will giving a talk which I am preparing now.

Leisure

Although I have been here for just a few things, I have engaged in many activities already. First of all there was the very nice hike to the waterfall Glymur. It has shown me a glimpse of the adventure and nature that Iceland can offer.

2009-06-09: Hiking to Glymur

2009-06-10: Stroll through Reykjavík

Besides that, the infinitely long days seems to induce a very relaxed, free view on planning. Having dinner at 23:15, going for a hike at 20:00, visiting the cinema at 22:30. This makes every work day still feel like a holiday.

Iceland, Here I Come!

Paul van Tilburg — 2009-06-05T00:00:00+02:00

I am all set for my trip to Iceland! (Well, except for the actual packing of stuff.) The purpose of the trip is a work visit and holiday combined. In the first week (maybe extended to 9 days), I will be working at the Reykjavik University on some process algebra things and possible present my past work. During my time there I can stay at the appartment of Arnar, whom I’ve met when he was attending our university for his Master’s. Thanks for providing me with accomodation and congrats with obtaining your Master’s degree! When my days at the RU are over, I will explore, tour, hike around the island with him and some of his friends. Very much looking forward to that!

Some travel information for Sunday June 7 (travelling with Iceland Air):

09:45	Leaving by foot/bus/train to the airport
14:00	Departure from Schiphol with flight FI503 (UTC+0200)
15:00	Arrive at Keflavik Airport (UTC+0000)

I will be returning on Sunday June 28:

16:30	Departure from Keflavik Airport with flight FI504 (UTC+0000)
21:30	Arrive at Schiphol (UTC+0200)

I will attempt to keep you all updated via this journal and/or the usual microblogging sources: Twitter / Jaiku / Luonica.

Arrived in Istanbul

Paul van Tilburg — 2008-07-04T00:00:00+02:00

I safely arrived in Istanbul yesterday. The trip went well, only it took some effort to get into the country. There was a huge queue at the passport checkpoint which was advancing very slowly. Then, when I finally was at the desk, the guy told me to get a visa first. Right, this is not Shengen, there is all this complicated stuff. So, I got in line for a visa. At the visa desk, the lady told me I could only pay in cash, in particular Euros and US dollars, nothing else. For the Netherlands, the Visa is € 10, which I left at home on purpose. So, I was directed to the ATM, where I got Turkish Lires, hoping they would suffice too, and they did. Back in the queue for the passport checkpoint, got through quickly. Next, the baggage. Because everyone is stuck at the passport checkpoint so long, almost nobody removes their baggage from the band. So, when 6 flights are assigned to that band your baggage will be dropped on, it will take a looong time. Also, it seems sometimes suitcases “drop off” in the corners of the band and moved to “some location”. When Amsterdam dropped of the board, I was worried, but I found my suitcase at “the location”. Finally we boarded the shuttle to the hotel and arrived there over 2,5 hour later. We had a nice walk and very good dinner (not for Sjoerd though). Just to prove I’m really here (info):

Now, on to some sight-seeing!

Preparing for GUADEC

Paul van Tilburg — 2008-07-02T00:00:00+02:00

I am in the process of packing my stuff for my holidays. Tomorrow, I will fly to Istanbul to attend GUADEC 2008. Because GUADEC does not start before the 7th, it will give me some time to roam around Istanbul itself and do some sightseeing, probably with some of the Collabora guys.

I’m flying on July 3 at 12:00 (0200) from Schiphol with KLM (flight KL 1615) and arrive at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport at 16:20 (0300). I’ll return on July 13 at 17:15 (0300), again with KLM (flight KL 1616), and land on Schiphol at 19:55 (0200). In Istanbul I will be staying in the Saint Sophia Hotel in Sultanahmet.

I’m looking forward to it, although it doesn’t feel like holidays to me yet. I should have an Internet connection over there, and probably Jaiku via cell phone will work fine too. So I will keep you up-to-date.

It is also clear that I will be skipping DebConf this year. This is unfortunate, because I wanted to work with the Debian/Ruby team to advance some of our goals. However, I’m happy to catch at least one free software conference.

Arrival

Paul van Tilburg — 2007-06-12T00:00:00+02:00

I have just arrived in Edinburgh. The flight was just fine. The weather is a bit foggy and cold (compared to NL), but it is exactly how I remember it. I was transported to MACS at the Heriot-Watt university. It’s weird to sit on my old working spot again. :-)

Schedule Spring 2007

Paul van Tilburg — 2007-04-06T00:00:00+02:00

Since Spring is well underway, I wanted to post a sort of schedule summary of my activities in the following three months. First of all, I have registered and booked the flight for Debconf 7, yay! I can stay with friends of mine that I know from the time I worked in Edinburgh. I want to thank Krzysztof for this offer, it saves a lot of money and it will be nice to catch up.

Besides Debconf, there are also several nice parties and events this spring, and of course the completion of my master project.

2007-04-19: Finish my Master Project paper
2007-05-16: Finish my Master thesis
2007-05-17: A State of Trance 300 celebration outdoor
2007-06-01: Master Project presentation (date not definite)
2007-06-12 — 2007-06-26: Attend Debconf7, holiday in Edinburgh
2007-07-19: Official graduation date (ceremony postponed till 2007-08-28)
2007-07-07: Intuition Summer event!

And after that,… who knows? It probably should involve some work in the summer and maybe an ad-hoc holiday. I’m looking at several options: maybe do a PhD, maybe working for Google or maybe something completely different. More about that later.

Holiday 2006

Paul van Tilburg — 2006-08-01T00:00:00+02:00

In July I have been on a holiday for two weeks with some of my friends: Lotte, Sjoerd, Bram, Admar and Henrieke. We decided to spend our holiday in the centre of Bretagne, France. During this holiday I have kept a small journal of the things we saw and did to help preserve some memories about it. See also my holiday photos. Anyway, here is a summary of the holiday journal:

Saturday, July 08

Left at 7:20, arrived at 18:30 in Lamballe to pick up Admar from the train. Arrived at our rented house-on-the-hill in Perret at 20:30. Nice weather for travelling, a bit clouded, 22°.

Sunday, July 09

Did some shopping in Gouarec with Henrieke. Visit the “Tour de France” that passed by in Gouarec in the afternoon. Made dinner and read a lot. Weather improved in the afternoon, 26°, very sunny.

Monday, July 10

Read a book while Admar, Sjoerd and Lotte were doing more shopping. Hiked around in the area following the yellow trail to “Les Forges”. Again the weather improved in the afternoon, 24°, sunny.

Tuesday, July 11

Finally found a bigger store to do some large-scale shopping. Celebrated the 8th anniversary of Utopia. Drove to the lake “Lac de Guerlédan” in the afternoon and chilled on the beach at Beau Rivage. A bit cloudy day, but still 25°.

Wednesday, July 12

Left at 10:00 and visited Carnac with it’s prehistoric menhirs. Scenic route back home in the afternoon. It was a hot day, 27° degrees but fortunately still a bit cloudy.

Thursday, July 13

Another resting day. Read while other did some shopping, played Settlers of Catan the entire afternoon. In the evening walked the other way around to “Les Forges”. It was a nice day, 25° and clear.

Friday, July 14

Visted the Beau Rivage beach again, rented canoes and paddled around on the lake. Visited Gouarec and Mûr for 14 juillet festivites but couldn’t find any. Watched “Carcasonne” fireworks at home. Another nice day, 26° and clear.

Saturday, July 15

Did some shopping with Bram and Henrieke in the morning. Another resting day, hanging and chilling in our garden. Had a bit of a headache. Warm and clear day, 28°.

Sunday, July 16

Left for a day at the beach at the north coast of Bretagne at 10:00. Landed at St. Quay at 12:00. Took a nice walk with Sjoerd in afternoon along the coast line. Dinner at a “crèperie” in St. Quintin.

Monday, July 17

Rest of the group went to Mûr to buy postal cards and get some touristic information of the lake area. Spent the afternoon planning the following days, reading and chilling. It was a warm day, clear and 30°.

Tuesday, July 18

Left early at 9:30 to visit the forest of Arthur in the morning. Travelled to Lizio to visit the Insectarium. It was a very hot day, 35°.

Wednesday, July 19

Left early again to drive to Rochefort-en-Terre. Visited the village and then the “Parc de Prehistorique”. Afterwards some shopping in Pontivy on the way back. It was a clouded day, had our first rain during our park visit.

Thursday, July 20

Left very early at 9:00 to rent mountain bikes. In the morning we followed route 6 and 7 back to “La Croix Rouge” (with a very steep ascent at the end). Then, in the afternoon, we finished route 7 through the higher lands alongside the valley. In the evening went out for dinner at “Le Blé d’Or”, a crèperie-pizzaria in Mûr. It was a partially clouded day but still quite hot for cycling, 30°.

Friday, July 21

Cleaning up and packing most of the things we had brought with us. Visit the abbey of Bon Repos and the village of Rostrenen that we had passed by many times. Another nice day, 28° and a bit foggy and clouded.

Saturday, July 22

Awake at 6:00, cleaned up the remaining part of the house, packed the rest, and left at 7:30. Returned home around 19:30. Partially clouded day, a bit foggy in the morning, perfect for travelling, 25°.