Another Hash in Amsterdam...

On the final day of summer, I went alone up to Amsterdam for a nice AH3 trail through Amsterdamse Bos. It was both disappointing and shocking to come across a food festival in the park—disappointing that there wasn’t enough time to grab a nice snack and disappointing how crowded it was with most folks ignoring social distancing rules.

While on trail, I spotted some boats...

…spots...

…and Missing Link, who was waiting for us to get to the end (he was in charge of cycling the bokfiets to the beer stop). While it looks like he was meditating, he was actually listening intently to a podcast. 

We were greatly entertained at the circle by a young guy who was trying to encourage the geese to get out of the way of his picnic. 

He originally led them over to where we were hanging out, but they refused to permanently relocate.

Next he chased them into the water...

…which was successful and earned him a free down-down beer.

 

A Bride on Wassenaar Beach...

Jimmy had to work the final weekend of summer, so he didn’t join me and Jim when we cycled to Wassenaar Beach for a walk. 

We came across a photoshoot featuring a bride.

At first we assumed it was either a fashion shoot or bridal portraits for an upcoming wedding...

…but once we spotted the bride running into the waves...

…and throwing sand all over, we were completely mystified what was going on. 

Whatever the motivation, she was clearly having fun. 

Jim was in shorts, so he didn’t hesitate to wade through the water obstructing our way back as the tide was rolling in. 

I, however, could only roll up my capris a little, so I tried to stick to the shallower bits. We’d failed to plan ahead and hadn’t booked a table, so we were out of luck at the beach huts. Instead we had to settle for takeaway fries and beer from one of the kiosks.

 

Spotted on the Hash...

It was fun that the trail was quite different than any we’d done in the last few years. We saw hi-rises...

…allotment gardens...

…and a colorful train underpass.

The drink stop was in a park in Voorburg on top of a hill.

One extra large hasher nearly got stuck in this extra long slide. 

We were surprised to see a crawdad along the way. 

We passed under this dramatic building near the end of the trail...

…which started and ended at the Hash House Harriers Museum.

From the outside, the museum almost looked like a travel agency.

Abbie joined us for the trail and then came back to our place for the night. Jim was very honored that she gave him a tour of her favorite artworks at the Mauritshuis.

 

Heading to The Hague Hash...

The following evening was a special Hague Hash featuring the Hash House Harrier Museum, so Jimmy and Jim met me there after work. Along the way to the start, I saw these cheerful murals...

…and this cool section of the light rail line between The Hague and Rotterdam.

Here’s a sneak peek of what the museum looked like inside (much more on that later). 

Opee had asked me to bring his running stuff, but I forgot his shorts. Lucky for him there were plenty of shorts in the museum and Neptunus generously loaned him a pair.

 

More Boating in Leiden...

Jim arrived that week to stay with us for a work trip, so we had yet another excuse to take out the boat. 

It was a beautiful summer day with lots of folks hanging out in any grassy spot they could find.

This time we passed a boat maker...

…and some birds hanging out on a derelict building.

Here’s Jimmy solution as he was determined to be able to stay out on the water even if it got dark...

…a Christmas decoration mounted on top of a flashlight strapped to a pole. It also helped that our next door neighbors had a spare rechargeable lamp that was easy to strap to the front of the boat. 

That evening we passed a windmill...

…and a big group of paddle boarders.
 

Hashing in Arnhem...

After the museum, we caught a bus back to Arnhem Centraal Station to go to a Wageningen Hash, which had a fantastic turnout. 

The incredible trail took place through two huge parks: Park Sonsbeek and Park Zypendaal, which were beautiful and had lots of interesting features.

Can you believe it—a waterfall in the Netherlands? Despite being in the part of the country which isn’t entirely flat, it was too good to be true. Once the trail actually crossed on top of the falls, it was very obviously manmade. 

While a big group headed to a restaurant in the park, where they opted to sit very close to each other (completely disregarding any coronavirus guidelines), Bob and Lisa joined me in search of the Mexican restaurant that Jimmy and I ate in during our cycle ride to Arnhem way back in 2010. None of us were disappointed when I recognized Amigo as the margaritas were still as good as I remembered. 

Arnhem Centraal Station dates back to 1845, but looks extra modern after its latest renovation in 2015.