More from Liberation Day...

Check out the GoPro on top of this tuba.

After the parade, Reinhardt and Inga headed back to work and I took a quick glimpse at the booths around the Rembrandt Bridge...

...which highlighted traditional crafts such as clog making...

...and spinning wool into yarn.

Those Crazy Spaniards...

There were definitely a lot of unique floats this year including these tubs on wheels...

...this giant paella also on wheels...

...and these strange balloon creatures.

Definitely the craziest was the mobile tomato fight, with real tomatoes flying all over the creative float.

Leiden Liberation Day Parade...

I met up with Reinhardt and Inga near his office to watch the Liberation Parade held every year on October 3. This year’s theme was Spain, which is somewhat ironic as it was Spain that Leiden was liberated from in 1574. The parade aptly started with the Spanish royalty...

...followed by the poor Dutch.

Looks like there’s going to be a royal feast with some entertainment...

...including this talented tight-rope walker...

...and this bearded lady.

Oktoberfest...

It was quite funny to see Ashlynn serving German beers at Jimmy’s office for Oktoberfest as she helped Project Africa earn some money.

Jimmy took a photo of me with this fellow, the only other person dressed in an authentic German outfit. Two nights later, we went with Carlin and Kent into The Hague to check out the city’s attempt to celebrate Oktoberfest. We ran into a few hashers and ended up partying with them for a few hours.

I wore my dirndl again that rainy Sunday at the Amsterdam Hash.

 We ran through a park that had some cool mosaic balls.

Lots of the ladies wore dirndls and Steve even wore a girlie wig with his lederhosen.

Project Africa...

Ashlynn has weekly meetings as a member of the Project Africa team, which has grown to 30 kids heading to Kenya in July 2017 to help build a school and go on a 50-mile trek.  

Being a member of the Project Africa team means that Ashlynn needs to volunteer at a variety of fundraisers to help the group reach their €25,000 goal. This photo was taken at the BSN Summer Fair in June 2016...

...and this was taken at Oktoberfest at Jimmy’s office.

Beach Clean-up...

Just a few hours after I arrived by ferry in Holland, Ashlynn and I headed to Scheveningen Beach for a beach clean-up with the WWF. While most folks wandered the wide expanse of sand, we concentrated our efforts in the small dunes which were surprisingly full of hidden trash.

In addition to collecting trash, we kept a tally of what we found. Often our bag was on the verge of ripping when we returned it for weighing.

Afterwards, we had a snack and entered a raffle, in which Ashlynn won this coat.

While I Was Away...

Ashlynn is really enjoying A-Level Biology this school year. While I was in Norwich, she dissected a sheep’s heart, which she found fascinating.

It was a beautiful day when she and Jimmy explored the canals of The Hague by kayak.