My vacation basically started. Tomorrow I will have to guard the score board during the basketball tournament, so I had no lessons to prepare today. Waking up with a whole free Sunday ahead of me was wonderful. I decided to do something I had wanted to do for months: visit the new city archive.
During my MA research project I used to visit the city archive daily. It was located in the old city hall, a small building along the river. This summer vacation, when I wanted to do some research, the archive was moved to a new location: a monumental building along one of the canals in the city centre. The building, which hosted a bank for decades, was built by a famous architect in 1919.
I was really excited to enter the building today. I left the fierce winter cold behind me, and entered the big entrance hall. It was sheer magic. The original green and blue mosaïc floor, the modern white furniture, and of course the magic cupboards and drawers full of information, waiting to be reviewed and read, ready to reveil the secrets of centuries past. It made me grateful for being a historian. I plan to take my students to the new archive some time this year, and I hope I will be able to pass my love for this house of keepsakes on to them.
