Flugtag in Delft and the Panorama Mesdag

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After a tip from my friend Nick, Kat and I took a tram out to Delft to watch the Delft University Flugtag event. I was vaguely familiar with the concept because I believe Red Bull sponsors something similar in the states for marketing purposes.

Basically, the Flugtag is about the school's aeronautical engineers trying to design a non-powered, manned aircraft (a glider, let's say) to be launched down a huge ramp over the town canal. The goal of course is to 'fly' as far as possible over the water. The fun here is that no matter how well your glider flies, you end up in the drink. It was AWESOME! These guys spend so much time designing and building these things just to fly maybe 6-7 feet off the ramp; and most of that is just inertia based. Apparently, when we went to lunch, somebody made it a good 12-13 meters or so. Say, "Ooooooh, aaaaaaah." Oh, these crazy Dutch. Wait, these are the guys building tomorrows airplanes? Hmmm..cause for concern there.

Later that day, we visited the Panorama Mesdag. A panorama is basically a painting or mural done 'in the round', so that it encircles you on 360 degrees. The Mesdag is done from the perspective of standing in a lighthouse overlooking the Scheveningen beach on one side and an 1800's vision of the Hague on the other. This is really one of those things that is way cooler than it sounds. It's absolutely stunning. Around the 'lighthouse' where you stand is sand and other props that fade into the painting in the distance. Above, the roof of the lighthouse obstructs you from seeing anything but the painted sky of the panorama. Effectively, the experience blends your reality with that of the painting and the effect is amazing. The lighting in the room even fades and shifts to promote the realism of clouds blocking out the sun. You'll notice I have pictures, which were prohibited. See what risks I take for you guys! Don't worry though, the important thing is that I didn't use flash, which is why they're supposed to be banned anyways.

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Photos

Flugtag in Delft
Oh those crazy Dutch and their flying machines. Maybe if gas didn't cost 6 bucks a gallon.....

The Nieuw Kerk
...or rather the New Church in English. See, you just learned some Dutch! Another handy tip...'dag' (pronouced with the hacking up phlegm sound of the 'g'; think 'dakh') can be both 'hello' and 'goodbye,' like aloha. Look at you go...practially fluent.

Comments

[Bart]

www.bart-design.nl
I happend to see your site, and wanted to tell you that your dutch goes very well. If you want to learn more..just ask ;) Dag doei dikke kus