If all were to go swimmingly…

I just thought I would mention that while Matt and I were away in Indonesia, one of the Leiden academic buildings was reopened (after a long construction project), and the Queen came to officially reopen it.

The Queen.
Queen Beatrix.
Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Before this, I had never experienced living in a country with a Queen, nor had I ever attended a University so old and prestigious that the leader of the country attends the ceremony for reopening an academic building. I suppose her Majesty probably wouldn’t attend all building reopenings, but since this particular building was the first academic building of Leiden University and was built in 1516, she probably decided it was worth her time.

(The Academiegebouw, although built in 1516, didn’t actually become a university building until 1581, or so says http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academiegebouw_(Leiden).