My Spanish Sabbatical, 2007/8
Daniel W. Koon
Last update: March 24, 2008
What this is
This is the online diary of my sabbatical year, 2007/8 in Madrid. I prefer not to call it a blog. It just doesn't have all those bells and whistles of a blog. No comments area. No place for flame wars. Just my observations. If you want to respond to it, fine: drop me a note. If you find any of the information helpful, or if on the other hand you find any of it inaccurate, drop me a line. If you remember visiting these places and just want to reminisce, sure, drop me a line.

Who is writing this diary
Hi, I'm Daniel Koon, Professor of Physics at St. Lawrence University, a small liberal arts institution in the North Country of New York State, US of A. I am spending my third sabbatical in Madrid, Spain, at the Autonomous University of Madrid (wikipedia ). For the really curious, or the specialists in experimental solid-state physics, my goal in the lab is to introduce van der Pauw measurement of charge transport measurement into the repertoire of my hosts in the Materials Physics Department, whose expertise is in Materials for the Conversion and Storage of Energy. I have been excited about this collaboration ever since meeting members of the group because it seems like an ideal match between both them and me. Plus, they have been exceptionally gracious hosts. Right now I am up to my elbows in programming (LabVIEW) to control the instruments and the switching box that is needed to make van der Pauw measurements. Ironically, I've been getting a lot of "Syntax Errors" from the computer lately. Typical of my life outside the lab, too.

My family and I arrived in late July. We are still working out visa issues as of mid-October. Actually, we are waiting for an appointment with the appropriate (we hope) governmental personnel in November, but the point is that I have the proper Working/Residence permission, and we are hoping to have the appropriate Residence permission for the rest of the family shortly. I hope to add to this site some information on the logistics of getting that permission, eventually, since when I first decided to come to Spain on sabbatical, it was difficult to find that info, and I hope I can save some people some of that hassle.

Side trips:
Especially before my son's school year started, we made several side trips, usually day trips to various locations. Now, with the school year in full swing, we still do our share of traveling/sightseeing, but mostly during what are termed "puentes" here -- four-day weekends, almost exclusively Thursday through Sunday. I love to take pictures -- over 1000 so far after less than three months -- so the following links should give me the chance to show some of them off.

Descriptions of pictures and travelogues coming soon:

	Madrid sights and sounds.	Street marker tiles	Sheep parade
Aug 16, 2007	Toledo (day trip)	Synagogue	Synagogue window	Monstrance: Cathedral
Aug 24, 2007	Segovia (day trip)	Cathedral	The Alcazar	View from Alcazar
Sep 3-5, 2007	Valencia	Train station	Palacio Marques de dos aguas	The Holy Grail
Oct 11-14, 2007	"The Romantic Road" in Germany: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzburg, Hohenschwangau/Neuschwanstein.	St. George fountain	Neuschwanstein	Wuerzburg Residenz
Nov 21, 2007	Seville	Tough to be a statue	Mudejar archway	Italica mosaic	Judy, Eli, Mudejar tiles
Jan 13, 2008	Paris	Eiffel	Clocks: St. Lazare station	The Seine	Versailles ticket line	Panorama from Arc
Mar 9, 2008	Lisbon & Sintra, Portugal	Castle of Pena	Moorish castle	Sintra aerial view
Mar 24, 2008	Berlin & Potsdam	Welcome to Potsdam	Neues Palais	Fassbender & Rausch	Lustgarten	Eli isst ein Berliner

Lots to catch up on, so I appreciate your patience.

Cheers,
Daniel

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