荷蘭 Leiden / Utrecht 遊記

2017年五月份我到荷蘭 Leiden 找一位之前在劍橋認識的朋友。他目前在 Leiden 做博士後研究。

荷蘭剛好是 Liberation Day，放假一天。去之前其實是不知道他們有紀念二次大戰的 Liberation Day，看到滿街軍隊用車，而且還是二次大戰時期的軍隊用車，又是軍樂團吹吹打打的，才意識到他們在慶祝他們 liberated from Nazi Germany。
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以下幾張照片為 Leiden 街景。幾年前有到 Amsterdam 旅行，這一次則沒有時間多看幾個荷蘭的城市，不過朋友笑說其實荷蘭各地好像街景都差不多，大概就是 canal + Dutch houses + boats + bars 這樣的搭配組合。
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我個人的旅行態度是，很隨意的到處逛逛，尤其愛泡咖啡館或酒吧，如果剛好是去找朋友，那就跟朋友一起泡咖啡館或酒吧，我稱之為 cafe / bar hopping，一間一間喝過去。

如果不是跟朋友一起旅行，也不是找朋友，自己一個人的話，那就自己也可以 cafe / bar hopping，有時當地人無聊會跟你聊天，沒有人要理的話，就自己上網看想看的文章，或是看書，或是沒事就坐著咖啡看行人。

旅行最有趣的就是觀察人，以及跟當地人或是在當地住的朋友深入的討論各種政治、文化、社會議題。

朋友是葡萄牙人，在英國唸大學以及博士，我們討論的話題不外是荷蘭文化特色，英國脫歐，女性主義，英國脫歐，種族問題，英國脫歐，更多荷蘭文化特色，英國脫歐~~~~

後來發現我們超過八成時間都在討論英國脫歐，只能說國際學生到英國留學之後，對英國多少是有感情的，英國脫歐絕對是跑不了的熱門話題。
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Leiden is a city in the Dutch province of South Holland. It has a population of about 122K people. Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands, is located in Leiden. Leiden is known for its art and culture. One of the most famous painters in the world, Rembrandt, was born and educated in Leiden. Leiden is also known as one of Europe's scientific centres; the University has produced 13 Nobel Prize winners and ranks high in many university league tables. 

Leiden University is twinned with Oxford, UK. The two universities are similar in that they are both typical university cities - university buildings are scattered throughout the city, and international students give the cities a young, vibrant, and multicultural atmosphere.
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Leiden University was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. It has seven faculties and over 50 departments. The University ranks high in many international university rankings. 

The University came to fame during the Dutch Golden Age when scholars from around Europe came to the University because of the Dutch Republic's climate of intellectual tolerance. The Dutch Golden Age was a period spanning the 17th century when Dutch history when the country's trade, science, military, and art were among the most renowned in the world. Famous figures included Descartes, Rembrandt, Spinoza, and d'Holbach. 

Utrecht

這一次到荷蘭共四天三夜，本來是預計星期六可以去 Amsterdam，星期日可以去 Ultrecht，再外加一天看看 Leiden，結果大部份時間我都在工作，在處理幾位同學的申請文書修改，以及進行我預計今年要出版的「如何撰寫留學申請文書」的書籍編輯。

Amsterdam沒時間去取消。我白天時間大部份時間都在工作，把朋友晾在一旁。好家在他也是很悠閒自在的人，不介意我去找他的幾天有一半時間都在工作沒空理他。工作一有空檔，我們討論的話題永遠都不是很輕鬆，腦袋轟炸過度，又興奮但又很累。

不過至少Ultrecht是有去成，只不過從原先的一日遊改為二小時之遊，包含搭火車去一趟半小時，全部一個下午就完成了。
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Utrecht is the capital of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is about half an hour's train ride away from Leiden. It is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of about 330K. 

Utrecht is known for its ancient city centre with architecture dating back to the High Middle Ages (11th-13th centuries). It was a religious centre back in the Middle Ages and is still a major religious centre in the Netherlands. 

Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until it was surpassed by Amsterdam in the Dutch Golden Age (17th century). 

Utrecht University is the largest university in the Netherlands.