Reflections in the Hofvijver…

On my way back from the beach, I stopped on a whim at the Hofvijver to check out the reflections of the Binnenhof, which were incredible. 

From this angle, you can imagine that you’re viewing a painting from the Dutch Golden Age as you can’t see anything modern.

Here’s the Mauritshuis, my favorite museum, with the Prime Minister’s office to the right...

…and high rises seen in the background. 

Admired this painting, but this fellow clearly saw a different color sky than I did.
 

Scheveningen Beach...

A few days later, the AWC hosted a coffee morning at Scheveningen Beach to kick off the new club year. Along the way from the tram, I spotted cool reflections at the Pier...

…and lots of urban art. 

Funny seeing a mural on the sand of sand falling out of a sandglass.

This one was particularly humorous with a particular body part pixelated.

Surprised to not see a big 2020 splashed across this one as after all that had already happened that year, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Godzilla arrive.

Unlike past Kick Offs, which include lots of mingling, this was a low-key event to allow us to have a chat and some cake.

Blue Skies and Fluffy Clouds...

My favorite time in Leiden is when there’s no wind and blue skies with no other boats around, which leads to incredible reflections. As you may have noticed, I just can’t resist taking photos of reflections, so be prepared to see many more posts as we continued to take the boat out throughout the fall. 

Those blue skies didn’t last long. 
 

Hashing in Virgin Territory...

The following day, Opee left early to de-virginize (teach a new hasher how to lay trail) an enthusiastic fellow that lived in Zuid Oost (south east Amsterdam). Just Pjotr had planned out a potential trail, but Opee tossed those plans and instead helped him to lay a trail in an area that we hadn’t hashed in before. 

After a brief start in his neighborhood, the very scenic trail soon headed off-road combining bushes...

…forest...

…rivers...

…and lakes. 

I was thrilled that Strap Me Down and Lockdown Shag (his first non-virtual Amsterdam H3 Hash) were joining us for a quick stop before leaving for Germany. 

They didn’t stick around for the circle, but at least enjoyed a great trail. It was emotional hugging Ashlynn goodbye knowing that she would be moving to Glasgow the following week and we couldn’t go along to help her get settled. Good to know that we didn’t need to worry as she’s proven herself to be independent and resourceful, but I was still sad not to be with her during such a big rite of passage. 

We had the circle under this sculpture.

After several false promises to bring along a female friend to the hash, Just Pjotr was appropriately named Is She Cumming? Sadly, he has since found a girlfriend who isn’t interested in hashing, so we probably won’t be seeing much of him in the future. 

 

Coolest Ride Ever: Symbolica...

While Ashlynn and Bjarne were riding all the big rollercoasters, Jimmy and I headed over to Symbolica: Palace of Fantasy, the park’s newest, most expensive and by far coolest ride. We were quickly surprised to realize that the ride is trackless with three different routes. The animatronics were superb. This whale was huge and it was implied that he broke the glass...

…and real water started pouring down. 

Apparently how you answered questions on your control panel determined which room your car went to next, allowing each ride to be at least slightly different. We enjoyed it so much that as soon as we finished the seven-minute journey, we dashed around to ride it again and again. In pre-COVID days, apparently you could pick which route to take, but that was no longer an option and we never managed to get on the third route.

Just before the park closed, we squeezed in one final turn on it with Ashlynn and Bjarne and they agreed that it was very cool. 

This photo doesn’t do justice to this cool hall of mirrors with its seemingly endless reflections. 

My favorite room was the great hall where King Pardulfus is hosting a grand ball and our car spun around as if we were dancing. Jimmy was jealous that his tech job doesn’t allow for this level of creativity. 

 

Efteling...

The following day, we jumped in Bjarne’s car for the 1.5-hour drive to Efteling, a theme park—the Netherlands’ largest and one of the world’s oldest—outside of Tilburg that I had last visited in 2008. After injuring a rib the night before, the Vogel Rok, an indoor rollercoaster in the dark, was the biggest thrill ride that I could handle. 

There were limits on the number of visitors and social distancing protocol at all rides. Here we were waiting outside with white lines indicating where each group should stand; once inside, there was loads of plexiglass separating the switchback lines with white paint or tape designating where we should stand. 

We had never gone to one of the shows and were really impressed by the set of the show Ravelijn...

…the bird lady…

…and the sword work of the knights. Most impressive was the acrobatics done on horseback that I failed to capture.

Ashlynn has always loved mermaids, but seemed shocked by this topless mermaid. 
 

Spotted in Leiden...

This was one of the fanciest boats we spotted...

…and this was one of the nicest houses with large walls of glass and a two-boat garage.

This was definitely one of the strangest houseboats we saw as it was built on top of a barge. 

We also spotted a treehouse...

…this fancy house...

…this reflection that was cooler than what it was reflecting...

…and a live aboard.

There wasn’t a colorful sunset, but it was a lovely sky for some shots of windmills...

…and bridges.