Where's Grayleen?

I’ve got to say, we didn’t do a whole lot while we were in the Netherlands.  We were there to visit one of our very best buddies from college, Helen, and meet her (we now know) super-cool boyfriend, Sean.  The weather on each of the five days was simply atrocious with rain, wind, more rain, and more wind – and I had thought we were returning to summertime after our stint in the southern hemisphere!

However, for not doing much at all, we had the very best of times.  We hung out, played scrabble and Wii Tennis, ordered pizza, drank beers, and visited coffee shops daily for internet access (Sean and Helen just moved to The Hague two weeks ago to pursue masters degrees).   It was just what the doctor ordered and truly great times.  We miss them already.

We did find time and sun breaks enough to take in a few attractions like the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and the waterfront at the Hague.  At the latter we turned back immediately upon reaching the beach as the crazy gale-force winds were flinging sand in our eyes and mouths, yuk.   We also spent an hour watching a real war crimes trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  Both fascinating and a touch boring, I highly recommend taking a bit in if you’re in the area.

We also learned that something like 25% of the Netherlands is below sea level.  Much of the country used to be below a real sea, the Southern Sea, and they drained it using windmill technology.  Crazy.  More research is required on just how one pulls off something like that.

We took a grand total of one picture in all of the Netherlands.  Can you believe it?  Neither can we!  Without further ado, our photo from Amsteradam:

Hey look, it's a canal!

As I write this, we’re sitting in the airport in Madrid waiting to board our flight to Washington, D.C.  We’re pretty excited to be making our way home. See y’all very soon!