Sunny Utrecht....

A very quick flight from Aberdeen to Amsterdam and then a short train ride and we arrived in Utrecht. Everything is so close in Europe. We stayed in a little apartment with a lovely courtyard for the week. Fortunately the weather was perfect all week and Freya enjoyed pottering around the courtyard most afternoons, occasionally getting a visit from the owners friendly Bernese mountain dog. Mum and dad kept her busy in the mornings with visits to the Mifi museum, playgrounds, swimming and shopping. On my afternoons off we also made it to the botanic gardens and on a canal boat trip through and around the city.

Picnic at the botanic gardens, Freya with Nagymama and Nagypapa

Boat trip around the canals of central Utrecht

Although I had managed to make it to one day of the local New Zealand geoscience conference last November...this was Freya's first conference. She crashed the ice breaker and ate a lot of Dutch waffle biscuits and was introduced to many of my international colleagues (and friends) at lunchtimes and afternoon drinks. She was so fascinated by it all....constantly looking around and trying to take it all in. There were a few other babies and children there... But conferences are definitely not the most fun thing for a small child to be dragged around. I will try not to drag you to too many conferences in your childhood! 

It was a bit of a juggling act between trying to catch up with colleagues I needed to talk to about different projects, going to talks and trying to get around the many posters....as well as trying to spend a bit of time with Freya and mum and dad, who did a great job looking after her. Definitely not my most social conference....but I'm glad I made the effort to go and catch up with the world of paleoceanography!