UK National Oceanographic Centre...

We don’t fly enough to warrant joining an airline lounge, but turns out we don’t need to because our bank offers free use of a lounge when we fly outside of continental Europe. It’s great because they have free food and drinks plus lots of plugs. Even Ashlynn likes it despite the lack of vegan options.

After we booked our non-refundable plane tickets and hotel for two nights in Southampton, England for an applicant day at the University of Southampton, Ashlynn received an email that the event had been postponed. She wrote to the professor in charge and asked if there was any way to see the facilities anyways. He was kind enough to pick us up at our hotel and bring us to the UK National Oceanographic Centre where the university teaches its marine biology classes.

It was very cool getting a private tour through this impressive facility.

He also took us on board the school’s research vessel.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t show us anything on the main campus, which is where Ashlynn would have her biology classes, because it was all locked up for the holidays. Frankly, we were deeply confused why the marine biology department ever even considered that weekend to invite kids with offers to visit. A private tour was nice, but didn’t help Ashlynn to gauge the vibe of the school. 

Cycling in the Snow...

The Dutch don’t let a little thing like snow stop them from getting on their bikes.

Jimmy suggested that I take a shot of our next door neighbor’s tree and bikes, which we then used as the cover for the January issue of Going Dutch (although I am no longer the Editor, Jimmy still makes the cover using my images). 

Downtown Voorschoten...

I’ve always thought Voorstraat was a very pretty street, but it looked especially pretty under a light layer of snow.

 I walked down the street at two different times that day.

 It got even prettier as the snow continued to fall.

A Girl and Her Dog in the Snow...

While Kati isn’t a big fan of snow, she still needs to walk. 

So Ashlynn and I took her to the nearby park.

Of course, I brought my camera along as well.

Later that afternoon, Jimmy and I went for a walk so I could take more photos. 

An Early Snow...

Imagine our surprise when it snowed on December 10, the earliest we’ve ever seen snow. The timing was unfortunate as it complicated our journey to Amsterdam for a meeting with IMG Models. There were no trains in Voorschoten due to maintenance, along with major bus delays. Then when we finally got to Amsterdam, the metro wasn’t working and neither was our Uber app, so we resorted to having to take a taxi.  

 Amsterdam was quite lovely with a light covering of snow.

Light Walk in Scheveningen...

When I heard that a group of AWC ladies had registered for the Scheveningen Light Walk, I didn’t pay much attention. Then I heard that Hurricane Johanna was blowing into town on her way to Houston from Saudi Arabia, and I was thrilled to get a ticket from someone who couldn’t go. 

The 7.75-mile (12.5K) walk started on the Pier with a great view of the Ferris wheel.

It was very cool that the route went through Madurodam, the miniature park, that was lit up for the holidays.

It was quite impressive how many cool light installations were set up for just a single night. I included these blurry photos to show how colorful that dark night became.

This remote control car filled with fish was especially cool...

....and so was this giant moth.

Sinterklaas Hash...

The FILTH and AH3 combined efforts for a Sinterklaas Hash on December 3 in Leiden. How nice of Inga (aka Tasty Piss) to lead us into the House of Sinterklaas so we could get a group shot with the famous guy himself.

Here’s the rest of the gang at the beer stop at Smuller’s, a snack bar with an emphasis on the fried snacks rather than the bar. Although we had a tough time initially finding the trail, it was a great trail that took us through a surprising number of parts of Leiden that we’d never been to before.