Holland’s Oldest Storm Barrier...

It just happened to be a holiday on Debby and Tim’s final full day in Holland, so Jimmy joined us for a major cycle ride. Along the way, we came across Holland’s oldest storm barrier. Built in 1958, these barriers are on either side of a bridge across the Ijssel River. We took a short detour so we could walk onto the bridge and see it up close.

A Major Dye Job...

When Jimmy photographed the end-of-year dance last school year, he made a giant photographer’s background out of some beige fabric. It was brighter than he’d prefer, so he turned our bathtub into a dying vat in order to turn it gray for this year’s dance.

Of course, a piece of fabric this large doesn’t fit into a dryer, so he rigged up a complicated wire and pulley system to hang the fabric to dry. As Debby and Tim brought good weather with them, that Sunday was the perfect day to do the job.

While Jimmy stayed home just in case of a rain shower, I took Debby and Tim on a nice cycle ride to have lunch in Delft.

Don’t Forget to Duck...

We had a great dinner on our favorite outdoor terrace at De Grote Beer (which means the big bear not the big beer).

When a small tour boat pulled up to the restaurant, Jimmy asked the captain if he’d be willing to give us a lift near the train station. What a pleasant surprise when he said that he was just cruising with his family and he’d be happy to take us. Rather than a 10-minute ride, we ended up cruising around the canals of Leiden for an hour. What an awesome ending to a great day!

Exploring Leiden...

The glorious weather, which arrived just in time for our visitors, continued for our day in Leiden. After lunch, we cycled into town to meet Dan and Nancy at the train station. We started with a visit to the De Valk Windmill Museum, then walked through the farmer’s market and to the De Burcht (a 11th century keep) for a beer.

While we were pointing out the oldest building in Leiden, which houses the American Pilgrim Museum, curator Dr. Jeremy Bangs opened the door. I’d been meaning to drop off a donation for some time, so this was the perfect opportunity. Dr. Bangs was especially proud of his latest acquisition: a church banner dating to before the Protestant reformation of the 16th century, which depicts an early version of the game rock, paper, scissors.

Underground Amsterdam...

Continuing on my nontraditional tour of Amsterdam, we went underground to see the progress of the north-south line of the Amsterdam Metro. Adding to the usual complications of digging a tunnel for a metro is that Amsterdam sits at just 7 feet above sea level. They are also building underground parking decks between the street level and metro.

It’s nice that the city is willing to open a construction site to the public. Unfortunately, this project is over 5 years behind schedule. It began in 2002 and should have been completed this summer; it’s now projected to be finished in 2017.

Beer and Art Restoration...

We met Nancy at the Heineken Experience for an afternoon of education about brewing beer. Of course, we had to drink a few beers to become fully educated.

We wandered through the passageway next to the Amsterdam Historical Museum and were lucky enough to see some art restorers in action. It would have been fun to see my friend Abbie working here, but her shift wasn’t until the following week.

Touring Amsterdam...

While Nancy was busy as the keynote speaker at her conference, Debby, Tim and I met up with Dan at Amsterdam Centraal. Our tour started with seeing this fantastic view from the top floor of the main library.

I managed to lead us astray, which resulted in us missing the main street of the Red Light District. Tim, however, noticed this child-friendly alley.

We eventually made our way to De Waag (the weigh house built in 1488) for lunch.