Off to The Hague...

We were so relieved when we arrived the morning of April 10 into the Netherlands without any visa problems. However, we had some minor transport problems and ended up on the Randstad Rail into The Hague; at least I finally got to see this cool new platform at Den Haag Central. We dropped our stuff off at Terri’s, where we were staying for two nights. 

Terri was just getting back into town herself, so I left to meet up with Carlin, who happened to be in town on a house-hunting trip, and Jimmy went to the office. Most of the trams in The Hague have been replaced with modern cars, but it brought back good memories to ride on one of the old versions that we first started using regularly for the school commute back in November 2005. 

Carlin forgot to bring along walking shoes, so we kept our plans pretty nearby. We saw the beautiful tulips in front of City Hall... 

…which had Escher murals on the side.

After trying to find an artsy movie, we settled on a film that we had never heard of: Arthur the King. We were both amazed how much we enjoyed this exciting movie based on a true story about a stray dog that becomes part of an endurance race team. Couldn’t resist taking this photo of a dog in the loo after the show.

Terri threw an extra special book club that evening by inviting a few of the ladies from the AWC Book Club as well. and surprising me with an incredible photo book entitled The Life and Times of Melissa in the Netherlands. It featured photos of many of the parties, balls, AWC activities and hikes Terri and I have experienced together, but also had sections with other close friends with their personal notes. No surprise that it brought tears to my eyes that she dedicated so much time to make me such a beautiful and loving gift.

The love, wine and tears continued to flow after everyone left. I am so thankful to have this amazing woman in my life!
 

Art with Terri...

While on the train from Berlin to The Hague on January 3, I got a message from Sally that we couldn’t stay with her because she had just tested positive for COVID. It was fortunate that she had no symptoms, but we couldn’t take any chances with our upcoming trip to visit Jimmy’s dad. Luckily Terri came to our rescue and offered us a place to stay. The following day, while Jimmy worked from her guest suite, she and I went for a 10K walk to Scheveningen Beach for lunch and some culture at Museum Beelden aan Zee.

We both loved the special exhibit by Dutch sculptor Tom Claassen. 

 

Hashing in Scheveningen...

We had incredible weather and a very good turnout for a FILTHy Dark Side of the Moon Hash at the start of June.

After hashing for 14 years, it took DogSh@t coming into town from Hong Kong to get Lucy to finally hare for the first time. It was a great trail combining woods, city...

…harbor...

…and beach.

DogSh@t helped Give It a Blow get the baby jogger across the beach and up the stairs to the jetty. 

After entering Westbroekpark, we had to cross the canal in a raft attached to a line and pulley system. Lucky for us, there was a young girl who was very excited about turning the crank to help us across so one of us didn’t have to stay behind to help the others.

We circled up next to this canal near Lucy’s house, then we went back to his house for a BBQ and a few hours of partying. 

Lucy owns several companies including a pet supply company, so we went home with a bunch of dog treats. Several of the guys were happy to take home some condoms, which ranged in size from fox to buffalo. 
 

An Afternoon in The Hague...

Veronica and I enjoyed a yummy creamed tea lunch on May 21 at Scallywags while Jimmy was away in Belgium for a marathon. 

As always, we walked around and found some spots to photograph, including a mirror for a selfie... 

…some storks...

…other birds...

…and red shutters.

That evening we headed to Amsterdam to see Trevor Noah. I had originally bought the tickets for me and Jimmy for May 2020, but two pandemic postponements later, Jimmy wasn’t in town so Veronica took his place. Our seats weren’t close to the stage, but we had an excellent view and a shortcut to the loo. We both loved seeing one of our favorite comedians live! 

 

May Hashing...

In honor of The Hague H3’s 40th anniversary, there was a special hash with 40 beer stops, on a Saturday in mid-May. I must confess that the idea sounded disastrous, but the beers were thankfully tiny and it was really fun. We learned a lot of interesting hash trivia at each of the 40 stops. And the long trail itself was quite good, starting in a park that I didn’t know well. Here’s a few of the things we saw along the way: a swan who misunderstood that sitting on all of the eggs was the goal... 

…some urban art...

…a non-hasher that looked dressed to go to a Red Dress Hash...

…and lots of folks enjoying the sun at the Hofvijver. 

A great time was had by all!

Two nights later, we had sunny skies and a good turnout in Leiden to celebrate May’s super flower moon with another trail live hared by Opee. It was great that DogShit, the FILTH’s previous RA, was visiting from Hong Kong with his girlfriend.  

Comes Too Soon couldn’t resist stripping down to take a quick dip in the canal in front of the beer stop. 

She swam across the canal and back.

 

More Views Over The Hague...

Jim invited us back around and this time I brought my camera when we visited his penthouse apartment in Scheveningen with its bird’s eye view over The Hague. 

Most of the dozens of photos I took were lousy, but these seemed worth sharing.

The moon showed up early.

Can you spot the Man in the Moon with two eyes and a circle mouth?

It was great to watch the sun set...

…and the city lights rise.