FPL25 and Semicon Conferences

Had a very busy schedule for a trip to the FPL 2025 conference in Leiden.

Amsterdam

I flew via Dubai and arrived in the afternoon. Here is a photo of one of the canals in Amsterdam.

Flower market.

That evening we took the train to Leuven and had raw pickled herring.

Had dinner in this restaurant with a strange entrance where one walks through a cupboard.

Day trip to Leuven

In retrospect, a day trip from Leiden to Leuven was not a great idea as an 11 hour trip for a 2 hour meeting was not exactly relaxing.

This is the square opposite the Leuven train station.

At least they have a sense of humour at IMEC.

Leiden

The main purpose of the trip was to attend the FPL conference.

A very clever canape. It’s a piece of sushi and the plastic bottle is soy sauce.

On the second day of the conference, we took a walk around Leiden City.

An old windmill.

Rembrandt’s birthplace.

A castle in the city.

Before the conference dinner on the Leiden University campus, we got talking to a professor who kindly took us on an impromptu tour of the original building of Leiden University (which is a former church).

This is the room in the central building at Leiden University where they do PhD vivas. Portraits of senior professors line the walls.

Conference dinner site.

Dishes at the conference dinner.

Amsterdam

On the last day, we went to Jazz Cafe Alto and had a great time. Francisco Morales was playing.