Category Archives: Europe

Attractions, Destinations, Europe, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Poland, Science, Travel Tips

Experiment Science Centre in Gdynia (Poland)

Leave a comment

If you’re traveling with kids or if you’re a grown up who likes to push, pull, touch, and spin things set some time aside to visit the Experiment Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Experyment) when you’re visiting Gdynia, Sopot, or Gdańsk in Poland.

Main entrance to Experiment Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Experyment) in Gdynia, Poland
Main entrance to Experiment Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Experyment) in Gdynia, Poland

Sadly, the Center is closed right now, but let me show you what you can see inside once they reopen.

We visited the Centre in June 2019 when we were vacationing in Gdańsk, and Gdynia is just a short train ride away.

The center covers one very large room and has 5 major exhibition areas:

General view onto the floor of the Experiment Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Experyment) in Gdynia, Poland
General view onto the floor of the Experiment Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Experyment) in Gdynia, Poland
Continue reading Experiment Science Centre in Gdynia (Poland) →
College Tours, Eindhoven, Europe, Nature, Netherlands, Science, Stockholm, Sweden, The Hague, Travel Tips, Universities, Where we stayed

7 universities in 2 countries in 12 days

1 Comment

Can you visit 7 universities in 2 countries in 12 days? Sure, you can. We did just that in May 2019.

We visited 2 countries:

  • The Netherlands
  • Sweden

5 universities in the Netherlands:

We visited 5 universities in the Netherlands
Continue reading 7 universities in 2 countries in 12 days →
Attractions, College Tours, Destinations, Eindhoven, Netherlands, Universities

TU/e – Eindhoven University of Technology

Leave a comment

In May 2019 my son and I visited several universities in the Netherlands to see if he’d like to apply to any of them. The first one we saw was TU/e or the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Why do a Bachelor in the Netherlands?

  • Attractive tuition even if you’re an “international” student (compared to the US)
  • Three years instead of four
Continue reading TU/e – Eindhoven University of Technology →
Attractions, Europe, Historic Sites, Museums, Poland, Science, Tours, Warszawa (Warsaw)

Warsaw from the viewing deck of the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN)

Leave a comment

There are few buildings in Warsaw, Poland that are more controversial than Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science), also known as PKiN (pronounced Peh-keen).

As it’s a symbol of Soviet Union’s communist oppression of the country, some would like to see it demolished and gone from the landscape. Others say that even though it’s part of painful history, it’s history nevertheless and should not be touched.

Until recently, it was the tallest building in Warsaw, but it has been eclipsed by the Varso Tower, which is now not only the tallest building in Warsaw but also in all of Europe. 

“The Controversial Story of Stalin’s Palace in Warsaw” by Wojciech Oleksian published in Culture.pl offers a very thorough history of “Joseph Stalin’s idea of building a skyscraper over 200 metres (650 feet) tall in the middle of Warsaw’s post-war ruins” complete with photos from the early 1950s showing how out of place this gleaming white building looked like in the middle of bombed ruins of post-WWII Warsaw.

Continue reading Warsaw from the viewing deck of the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN) →
Attractions, Destinations, Gdańsk, Historic Sites, Poland

Walking around Gdańsk, Poland

Leave a comment

“Where would want to live, if you had to (wanted to) move somewhere else, and why?”

I was recently asked this question in a networking group that was supposed to help the participants get to know one another better.

My answer? “Gdańsk, Poland.”

It’s not where I grew up (that would be Warsaw, Poland), and I’ve only spent two days in Gdańsk proper, once in 2016 and once in 2019, but I know I would love to live close to the Baltic sea and beaches, and also within short distance of this charming, historic town.

Continue reading Walking around Gdańsk, Poland →
Art, Attractions, Destinations, Europe, Museums, Netherlands, The Hague

Soaking in Escher’s artwork

1 Comment

Visiting Escher in The Palace Museum

If you love M.C. Escher and find yourself in The Netherlands, not too far from The Hague, head over to the Escher in het Paleis, or Escher in The Palace museum!

The first time I’ve heard of M.C. Escher was in “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 2009 parody video “White and Nerdy” when Weird Al sings “MC Escher that’s my favorite MC.”  I had seen reproductions of Escher’s prints here and there before, but I didn’t know the artist’s name.

Weirdly enough, my nerdy son had already knew of M.C. Escher by then, and we spent a bit of time looking at Escher’s work online together.

M.C. Escher's litograph "Hand with reflecting sphere" (self-portrait)
M.C. Escher’s litograph “Hand with reflecting sphere” (self-portrait)

Continue reading Soaking in Escher’s artwork →