Lake Zurich...

Like all Swiss lakes, Lake Zurich is very picturesque.

It was lovely watching the sun fade to shades of pink...

...and the city lights come on.

It was also great to see Bill and Nina again!

Zurich with Bill & Nina...

The following weekend, Jimmy and I headed down to Switzerland to check out St. Gallen University where he plans to take an Executive Renewable Energy Management course in order to change industries and career paths. We were thrilled that Bill and Nina could spend the day with us in Zurich, where we were staying the night.

We had a great lunch on an outside deck and took a wander around the historic city center. The coolest thing we saw was this medieval wall in a coin shop. This part reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are. Another section was an early calendar.

While Jimmy and I went to our hotel for a nap because of our early morning start, Bill and Nina went for a swim at a lakeside pool. Then we met back up for drinks and to watch the sunset from a lakeside terrace.

Boating in Amsterdam...

On Saturday, we toured around Leiden. On Sunday, it was time to head to Amsterdam, where Glenn and Nicola were checking into a hotel for their final two nights in the Netherlands. After a walk around, we decided to rent a boat because the weather was perfect for being on the water. It was cool that we managed to find a company that rents solar-powered electric boats.

We brought along a picnic lunch. Although the skipper wasn’t supposed to drink, that didn’t stop Jimmy and Glenn from enjoying some wine between sharing the job of driving the boat.

We quickly realized that we hadn’t brought along enough wine. When a couple called to us from the shore to ask about the boat, we offered them a ride in exchange for some wine. Luckily Lori, her husband and son were a fun group to hang out with as we continued to cruise along the canals; it was also fortunate that they’d brought along a camera and sent me these photos.

Afterwards, we visited our favorite Genever bar.

The Hague with Glenn...

The next day, I showed Glenn and his girlfriend Nicola (they’ve since broken up) around The Hague, including a visit to the Mauritshuis...

...and around the Binnenhof.

While Nicola went for a massage, Glenn and I visited the Panorama Mesdag. This tent, on temporary display, was used by Mesdag while painting on location on the dunes of Scheveningen.

After some shopping, we headed to the beach to meet Jimmy for dinner.

Oktoberfest...

Jimmy might not have a drop of German DNA, but that didn’t stop him from planning the agency’s first Oktoberfest. He recruited Veronica to be a beer wench. He was thrilled that his old Navy buddy Glenn was visiting from DC.

Jan loaned me her vintage dirndl, a traditional German dress. I looked like the poor country girl next to the fancy city girl, but I was happy to be dressed up.

Bob got into the act with a traditional shirt.

German Turston wore his lederhosen proudly and convinced me that the tables would hold our weight for dancing. Sadly, we never did get many other folks to dance, but we had fun.

A Market Boat...

On our way to meet Michael and Catharina in Voorburg for lunch, we spotted this unusual boat in the Vliet. At first we thought there was a full market on board, but it turned out that the crates were empty and the fruits and vegs were plastic. However, the boat was used as a floating market until just recently and is now part of the Maritime Museum.

We had a nice chat with these gentlemen and they insisted that we take a traditional dessert from their village of Belfeld near Venlo.

More Trains...

While Catharina (aka Playtex) and Michael (aka Dead o’Fart) have only been married for about two years, they’ve been together over 15 years. Ironically, it took our visit for her to finally see NedTrain for herself. Here they are about to sneak through the big rear doors where the trains enter the building and the general public isn’t allowed.