Thysius' Library!

The first attraction we got to see in Leiden was Bibliteca Thysiana, the first public library in the Netherlands EVER! It was so interesting and our guide was so enthusiastic about the history and about the books in general. He knew all of the answers to our questions, and when we requested books that library didn't have, he had an explanation about why it wasn't there. The overall history of the library was amazing; who knew that someone back then was so enthusiastic about preserving books from that era?

The day before we had gone to the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, and they had all the books and atlases they had in glass cases, so it was interesting to see all the books up close and not in those cases. & when someone asked about it, the guide actually said that it's better for the books because they aren't constantly being exposed to the light because they're closed and put away.

All the books he showed us were awesome; his choices that he thought we would find interesting actually were. The old Bible printed in German was fantastic, and all the hand colored drawings were beautiful. The smallest book in the library was adorable! & all the others that were requested were awesome!

The library was beautiful and it wasn't flashy, and didn't have the "bling bling" (as our guide put it), but it was still beautiful. & the history behind it was amazing. If I'm even in Leiden again I'll definitely have to stop by, even if it's just to admire the gorgeous facade!

Tour of Biblioteca Thysiana

So yesterday we traveled to Leiden from Amsterdam, and visited one of the oldest library's in the world! It was called "Bibliotheca Thysiana", and its a public library in Leiden, close to Leiden University. Honestly, I loved this place! I was so amazed by the many books that were there, not to mention, the conditions that they were in! I was also very surprised to see how differently books were made back then. Call me crazy, but for some reason I thought that books back then were made the same way they are made today, but it turns out, they were not. As I saw, books back then all looked the same, and were really all "relatively" the same color. They were even ordered/placed by size of the book, and not alphabetically, or by genre. 

However, there was one book that stood out to me the most, and that was ... the Bible. This one Bible that was at this library was from the 17th century, and was from Germany, in German! However, aside from the fact that I couldn't understand what it said, because obviously I don't know how to read German, but what was really unique about this specific Bible was that the Bible itself had hand drawn and colored drawings, to go with the stories of the Bible! For example, I managed to take a picture of the Adam and Eve story, and the picture shows Adam and Eve being exiled from paradise, the garden of Eden, for eating the forbidden fruit, which was really cool! Because I thought it helps show the readers an idea of what that might've looked like, or been like. 

Though overall, I'm so grateful that I got to visit this library, and I can't wait to see what other adventures are to come! 

XOXO

-Ivan Almendariz

National Maritime Museum

The national maritime museum was my favorite site so far.  This was due to how the history of shipping playing a major role in the Dutch past and how it directly relates to the advancement of the Dutch. I really enjoyed learning about how the Dutch East India trading company played a role in this. The vast fleet carried all sorts of cargo from spices to slaves. The ships on average would have crews of 300 although only around 30 people were needed to crew a ship. This was due to the major losses during the journey. With the trading occurring it created an influx of income the Netherlands. This allowed the Dutch people to have extra spending money.
      In the maritime museum there was a whaling exhibit which went through the history of whaling.  There were displays of different sizes of whales along with why whaling was important. The whaling industy was popular for the whales oil, which was used to light up homes.  The problem burning whale oil is that its sinks when burned. The major decrease  in whale population  and the discovery of gas brought an end to the whaling industy.
The museum there was more information on navigation, ship building, and the effects it had on the Netherlands. I found that this site really related to the book readings ando offered both instructional and hands on experience.

Wow, what a symbol!

Johannes Thysius was a man with a passion for knowledge and learning. At an early age, he sought out books to read, and other topics to explore. Over the years of expanding his knowledge, he had a vast collection of books and an amazing library. Before dying at an early age, Johannes wrote in his will that his books be kept in a public space, where anyone who wished to learn about the world through books could by explore his library, and do so. By keeping his library open to the public, Thysius allowed his books to live on through the years, which kept knowledge and theories of the past fresh in the minds of those who wanted to learn.

With the background of the library, and who Johannes Thysius was in mind, I expected to find a more extravagant display of the wonderful books in his collection. However, the library was actually really modest, and simple. The amazing thing about the modesty of it all is that the library didn't need flashy gold trimmings, or fancy rugs to make the library beautiful. The simplicity of the library is what made it so gorgeous! There were only two elements of color inside the library. One, being the crest of the Thysius family in all it's colors, and a red phoenix.

A phoenix was placed in the library to symbolize the rebirth of knowledge and learning, which is what Thysius wanted. The phoenix really resonated with me but it is the idea of rebirth and leaving a legacy. One of my main goals in life is to do exactly that, leave a legacy and a name for myself after I'm gone. It's so amazing to me that even after 400 years or so later, Johannes Thysius has still left his mark on The Netherlands, and great scholars are still going to his library to this very day.  

Our Little Slice of History

When I first heard that the Museum Boerhaave was closed for renovations, I was disappointed. Little did I know that we would be treated to a rare opportunity. In the past 20 or so years, the exhibits have been untouched. With the redesign of the exhibits, they were now in storage. Thanks to the curators, we got to take a sneak peek at several artifacts, most notably, a Leeuwenhoek microscope.

The microscope itself may have been small, but its effect on history was enormous. The continual development of microscopes and other technologies have sparked millions of scientific discoveries. The fact that we, a random group from Platteville, got to be closer to this piece of technology than the author our book made me speechless. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I was honored to witness my own little slice of history.

The First Adventure: The Maritime Museum

Our first big attraction that we got to see when we arrived in Amsterdam was the Maritime Museum on Wednesday, May 18th. The Maritime Museum was able to showcase the history of the ports of Amsterdam and general sea life. The tour was split into two parts: the exhibit tour and the boat tour. We had a wonderful tour guide who made the tour very enjoyable and was able to answer all of our questions and take our time on exhibits that we showed more interest in.

My two favorite exhibits at the museum was the boat tour and the whale exhibit. I enjoyed the boat tour because it gave guests the ability to have a realistic look about how life was like on the sea. We were able to lay in the hammocks that the lower class had to sleep in, see the officer sleeping quarters, see the difference in meals with the rich and the poor shipmates, and learn about overall survival and social class status on the ship. The whale exhibit talked about the history of the Dutch and their involvement with hunting whales throughout history. The exhibit also had details on what the whale was used for and how it contributed back to the Dutch society and how they are trying to save the whales today.

With the two exhibits mentioned above, we were also able to see hand drawn atlases and 17th century  compasses and navigational tools. Overall, I had a wonderful time on the tour and would highly recommend it as a site to see if visiting Amsterdam.

National Maritime Museum Photography Exhibit

At the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, there is an exhibit that has many old pictures from boat excursions that date all the way back to the 1800's. There were multiple different types of pictures that were taken, such as landscape, still life, and portraits. There were many different amateur and professional photographers who would accompany the boat excursions to take these pictures. The excursions were mostly made for leisure for the upper/middle class at this time or for people who wanted to travel and explore the world. At the exhibit, there were books of photos which compiled either many different excursions or a few specific ones. The photos were put together in book by either a photographer or an upper class individual who had used photographs from many different photographers.
One of the most interesting things that I found in the pictures were some of the activities that they did on the boat. One of them was a pool that the boat passengers would be able to swim in when it was nice outside. The pictures had around four people in the small pool, which was located on the top deck of that boat. It was supported by wooden boards and beams. Another interesting aspect was two different pictures that featured two separate entertainment bands on the boat. One band was dressed up very nicely, while the other was not quite as fancy. The difference between them was one band was for the upper class and the other was for the middle class. Overall, I thought that the multitude of pictures shown in this exhibit gave a glimpse into what life was like on boat exertions from the 1800's.