It was a spur-of-the-moment thing - Ahmet called me up and pitched a road trip to Holland, since he had a business meeting in den Hague Monday.Next day, I'm on a train to Trier to join him and his two Russian room-mates for a whirlwind tour of the Netherlands. We hit Amsterdam on Saturday afternoon - and discovered parking is an expensive sport. After ditching the car out of the centre, we explored a maze of cobblestoned streets. I found my dream shop ...
Saturday night, we took in the notorious red light district, coffee shops and kebab. Sunday we discovered the flower market. Then we hit the road and braved the cold North Sea, walking the strand in Noordwijk.
I stayed over with friends in Leiden and joined more ISU alumni at ESTEC for lunch.
A tasty dinner in den Hague with more friends, and then the long drive home through snowy Belgium surrounded with a chorus of Russian and Turkish and a Canadian trying to remember Frêre Jacques to keep the driver awake.Sorry, my batteries died, but the memories of the red light district are burned into my brain. (click on photos for the albums - thanks Ahmet, Sasha and Alena!)
