Cantebury Cathedral...

Camilla, my other cycling buddy, picked us up at the tiny Kent Airport. After lunch and a visit to the Roman Museum, Camilla took Ashlynn, Freya and Beatrix shopping while Veronica and I visited Canterbury Cathedral, one of England’s oldest and most important cathedrals. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the leader of the Church of England. Veronica studied Thomas Becket, the Archbishop from 1162 that was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 by knights of King Henry II. Pilgrims visited the shrine built in 1220 until it was removed in 1538 by orders of King Henry VIII; today there is a sculpture and a candle burning in his memory. After all that history, we were reminded about the harsh realities of modern times when we stocked up at a bookstore and sporting goods store that were going out of business.

An Afternoon in Edinburgh...

It probably seems foolish, but we managed to squeeze in an afternoon in Edinburgh before heading down to England to visit more friends. After dropping our bags at our B&B, we walked up the hill to Edinburgh Castle, a castle fortress with mostly 16th century buildings and excellent views of this capital city. We then walked along the Royal Mile, where I bought a short kilt for myself for next year’s Burns Night Supper. We did some more shopping, then had a great seafood dinner at Seadogs and went back to the room to watch the classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. After a delicious breakfast, we flew to Kent on Flybe, a UK-based regional airline which had the nerve to charge to check-in online (so I just checked in the old-fashioned way--at the airport).

Not Your Average House...

The girls loved the kids’ pets--three big chickens that live in the backyard next to the trampoline. The boys’ chickens lay one egg each day, while Naomi’s seems to be eggless.
Their house was built around 1901. Marianne and John updated the house by putting in a new kitchen and finishing off the attic (which is where Veronica and I slept). I especially liked the drying rack on a pulley in the kitchen, which was the perfect size for a load of laundry. Our evenings with very mellow. Marianne cooked some great dinners for us, then us adults would enjoy an after dinner local whiskey.

Lost in the Bog...

On Sunday, we drove about an hour away to go orienteering (kinda like hashing without the flour or beer). We’d never been before, so we needed a quick lesson on how to use a compass in conjunction with a topographical map. Ashlynn and Naomi were one team and Veronica and I were another. We went on the orange trail, which was the first level that didn’t just follow along a logging road. Our teams met up just past the 2nd checkpoint; here you see Veronica looking at the map to determine the direction to the 3rd checkpoint.
After Veronica led us deep into the bog, I asked to see the map and realized that we’d gone the wrong way; once we got back on trail, I retrained Veronica how to hold a compass. Much of the rest of the 3K trail was in the forest. Although a GPS is not allowed, this is a competitive sport with printouts given at the end with split times from each checkpoint. Ashlynn and Naomi beat us to the end by 3 minutes as they leaped through the woods like deer, while I tromped through like an elephant. After lunch at home, Marianne and I took a walk around downtown Aberdeen, known as the Silver City because most of the buildings are built of grey granite. Aberdeen is now considered the Energy Capital of Europe because of the large finds of oil in the North Sea.

Dunnottar Castle...

Our hike to Dunnottar Castle was only 1.9 miles long, but it was challenging due to the rain and wind. The wind was so strong that when I turned this last visible corner, I was almost thrown into the barbed wire fence. Luckily, the wind was blowing us into the hillside rather than off the cliff into the wild North Sea below.
The final part of the hike was actually the most hazardous as we climbed up and down wet stairs without proper handrails. Most of the ruins were from the 15th-16th centuries, but the main tower was from the 14th century. After exploring, we went into town for lunch at a pub.

A Rainy Day in Scotland...

We knew that February was not the ideal time to visit Scotland, but that didn’t stop us from visiting our friends in Aberdeen, who had moved back from The Hague in May. Ashlynn was very excited about spending time with her friend Naomi and I was thrilled to see Marianne, my old cycling buddy. Little Patrick is a big fan of Veronica’s and was happy to take a hike in the rain as long as he was holding her hand. Alex hid behind John for this photo taken on a hill over the harbor of Stonehaven (check out the double sea wall).

Fun Times at the Airport...

As soon as school was over on February 18, it was time for us girls to head to the airport. Since we were leaving continental Europe, we were in the international terminal at Schiphol. We were really impressed with the renovations in the main hall. There was a new library with books in a variety of languages and iPads loaded with travel information. The girls were glad for the diversion while I visited the satellite of the national art museum.
The lounge was filled with a variety of funky seats, some also with iPads. Veronica couldn’t resist playing the grand piano.