2012 - China and FIP Amsterdam

My last day in Amsterdam. Had a bit of a sleep-in which was quite novel for both of us! We had coffee in our room (instant) and then went for a fairly fast walk in the very brisk conditions and then had a later than usual breakfast at our favourite café – Coffee to Walk with Henk. As the Wi-Fi was a lot better in the café than the hotel, we lingered a bit longer and checked emails, etc and then went back to the hotel to do a pre-final pack, shower and final pack. It was sad to leave Greg alone in Amsterdam but I did not have enough leave days to take any more.  So, it was with much sadness that I hopped into the Airport Shuttle. However, Greg decided to ride out to the airport to get a better idea of exactly where to go and how long it would take him when he had to leave. So, I got to see him one more time before I cleared Customs. After going through all the obligatory security screens, etc, I found the BA Lounge and had some lunch, read a few papers and emails and then it was tim...

Greg, Jane and I had a leisurely breakfast at Coffee to Walk, a lovely little café about three doors down from the hotel, run by a guy name Henk (Greg went there often).   As Jane was leaving to return to NZ, we said goodbye after breaky and then headed off on foot into the city to have another look around and try to see some different places.  We certainly did that! One of the places we visited was the Gassen Diamond House – wow!   Gassen diamonds have more sparkle as they have more facets on them. After more window-shopping and then the obligatory souvenir shopping, we had lunch at Greg’s favourite department store food hall – V&D’s. It was OK, but not the best lunch I had consumed in Amsterdam. Did some more walking and sightseeing – walked through the Albert Cuyp Markets on the way back to the hotel.  Got back about 1600h and did some sorting out and packing ready for my departure the next day. Also had a nanna nap before having dinner at the Turkish/Italian ...

This was the traditional MEPS host nation’s military visit day. McDonalds was open for an early breakfast and we arrived at the RAI with plenty of time to spare before boarding the bus for Ermelo, about an hour north of Amsterdam. There we visited the 400 Medical Battalion. The unit consists of a staff section, two hospital companies, and three mobile (deployable) hospital companies. There were 34 of us on the bus and we were met and welcomed by Major Chin and his team and were treated to morning tea in the Mess before visiting the various elements that make up the hospital.  Then, it was back to the Mess for lunch, and as it was concluding, a number of speeches were made.  After making our way back into Amsterdam to the RAI, we all said our good-byes and went our separate ways.  As Jane and I were attending the Japanese Reception, we took a slow walk to the Okura Hotel and arrived a few minutes early. As the Closing Dinner is held on this night at every Congress, th...

  No rain today! As we figured McDonalds would be closed again, we headed directly for Central Station for our breakfast. After purchasing that, it was off to the RAI for the MEPS classroom day.  There were 10 presentations split evenly between the morning and afternoon sessions. All presentations were informative and relevant to MEPS. I co-chaired the afternoon session with Zheng-yu – a first for me and I quite enjoyed it. The MEPS Business meeting was held during the lunch break and a new VP was voted-in – Eiko! It was good to have someone from the Emergency side of pharmacy finally on the Board.  We finished about 15 minutes early which was just enough time to get back to the hotel, have a nanna nap, then get ready for the MEPS Dinner.  The MEPS Dinner location was organised by FIP and was held at an old, quaint/quirky restaurant that was kind of split into a number of different dining areas. It was called D’Vijff Vlieghen, or Five Flies in English. Wine was OK, b...

The weather has not been very kind to us in Amsterdam, and it was another miserable, rainy day. Not to worry, we had our rain jackets and brollies! And we were on the Tram or inside buildings for most of the day anyway. We had been having McDonalds for breakfast most mornings, however, this morning we found it to be closed (maybe 0730h was too early for Amsterdam on a Saturday??).  So, being mainly military personnel, we improvised, adapted and overcame – we found food at Central Station.  It was not McDonalds, but a supermarket of sorts. After visiting the Showcase again (and yes, more pens were acquired!), we held the MEPS Board meeting just after lunch, and then the MEPS Special Projects Meeting after that. This meeting was to set down some ground rules and persons to contact for the Pharmacy Emergency Management Guidelines which MEPS would be developing.  Then it was time to go back to the hotel to freshen-up and change into appropriate clothing to attend the Iris...

Greg’s birthday and I only got to spend a little bit of time with him.  We were up early to make it to the breakfast session where Eiko was presenting with one other person. Both were excellent presentations, and the breakfast hit the spot as well. After an interview with Sherwin Fernandes (a Canadian Forces student) on my experiences with emergency pharmacy, Jane and I wandered around the Showcase and managed to find a few pens and paper pads (isn’t that what these events are all about anyway?!). After having been around the stands twice we decided to find a table to sit down and do some work – well check emails and discuss the course of events for the next couple of days. Jane then went to a BPP meeting so I went back to the hotel to see if I could find my husband. Had to change clothes again to attend the FIP Welcome Reception which was held at the National Maritime Museum.  We all met at the RAI and then walked a short distance to the canal boats which took us across t...

As we only had half a day to spend sightseeing, we decided on something that was relatively close to the hotel – the Dutch Resistance Museum which tells the story of the Dutch people in World War II . The exhibits try to re-create the atmosphere on the street during the war when the Netherlands was under Nazi Germany occupation, complete with sound and moving pictures. The exhibits portray the people’s resistance (and heroism) to the occupation. Lunch was had almost right next door to the Museum and we had a scrumptious hamburger. The FIP Opening Ceremony was held in the afternoon, so after lunch we took a slow walk back to the hotel, got changed and caught the Tram to the RAI. After the Opening Ceremony it was off to the FIP Showcase where we manned the MEPS poster for a while.  After the FIP Showcase, it was my job to gather all the MEPS members to jump on a bus provided by the Dutch military for a trip to the Naval Barracks in Amsterdam for the MEPS Meet and Greet. The Meet an...

It was a relatively early start for MEPS members as we wanted to get to RAI for an early registration to beat the crowds. After registering we dumped the conference bags back at the hotel and did some more sightseeing – the Amsterdam Museum, which was very well done, although one could get easily lost in the maze. After we had finished in the Museum it was time to eat (again!); this time at Burger King which wasn’t too bad, but not the best lunch we’ve had. We did a little more walking around and then it was back to the hotel to change into something more appropriate for the Council Dinner which was held in a very flash hotel; the food and wine were also excellent, and a good night was had by all. Showing some important landmarks in Amsterdam and their elevation levels. Interesting to note the airport in 3.9m below seal level. Showing the different types of drugs used in Amsterdam Entry ticket

As Jane was involved in meetings all day, Sylvain, Greg and I did some more sightseeing – free stuff today! Our first stop was to the Amsterdam Central Public Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) which was just a five-minute walk from Central Station.  Whilst we weren’t there to neither read nor research, we did observe a rather spectacular view of Amsterdam from the observation deck. From there we made our way over to NEMO - the New Metropolis Science and Technology. We wanted to get to the top deck and thought we could from the outside, but alas, all the gates were closed. Instead, we walked around it. A magnificent structure, the building is in the shape of a ship’s bow and reminds me of the Titanic from the movie. Its panelled façade is made of copper and has corroded to resemble the green shade of the water surrounding the building. It was then back to Central Station, well the harbour-side of the station, to catch a ferry across to the North Shore where we walked around ...

Jane, Sylvain and I went on a bus and ferry tour of Amsterdam which incorporated the Windmills, Marken and Volendam. As Greg had been to Amsterdam before, he was not interested in this tour. We hopped on a bus near our favourite McDonalds and our first stop was the Windmills of the Zaanse Schans (Zaans Museum). The weather was not very kind to us, and it drizzled all day. However, we didn’t let that stop us. We were able to view the inside workings of one of the windmills, all of which are still active mills. The mills were all built sometime after 1574. We wandered the surrounding countryside which was very lush with plenty of sheep. After a short walk it was back on the bus to Volendam ( well known for its old fishing boats and the traditional clothing still worn by some residents) where we had an early but much wanted lunch in a lovely café/restaurant.   After lunch we boarded a ferry for a ride across the Gouwzee to Marken.   This fairly large body of water is relatively s...