Conferencing in Amsterdam

Had a four day visit to Amsterdam in Oct. first week for a conference where I presented a paper. Travelling outside India after a long time, I found our airports have improved visibly- at least the Bangalore one has, in terms of time taken to clear passengers while coming back. I remember long lines at Mumbai on my earlier trips many years ago. Amsterdam is a pleasure to be in, because of a permanent party atmosphere. Unlike the U.S., you see a lot a people outdooors, on bikes and in the buses and trams. It is a pictureque place, well-laid out and very, very liberal in attitude towards minor vices. English is widely understood, so it is not a problem to move around.

I took long tram rides across the city, and the names of places like Slotermeerlaan (where I stayed), Bos en Lommerplein, Voorburgwal, all sound like familiar territory now. Prices in restaurants were sky high, but I managed to eat a lot of burgers and save! One of the highlights was a walk in the Vondel Park, a large area with waterbodies, and a lot of cyclists, joggers and walkers-even in 10 degrees Centigrade weather. Another was a Spanish dinner at the Paella, which is also the name of a dish- a sort of seafood Pulao, with fish, prawns and squid etc. The average Hollander is tall and fair and good-looking, and fun-loving, at least from the viewpoint of a visitor like me.

The conference had a small yet diverse collection of people from Turkey, Lithuania, Sweden, India, and the US, besides Netherlands. My presentation on the use of CRM for major stakeholders in Business schools was pretty well received.