A New Twist on Hashing in Amsterdam...

That afternoon, Opee hared the November FILTH Hybrid Hash from Haarlemmerpoort. Due to further COVID-19 restrictions on group sizes for sports, we broke into groups of four at the start based on speed.   

I was happy to run with Excremental Earnings and Start Me Up, who was running her first hash trail since Just Dylan was born in July. Hard Drive was kind enough to take Mama’s Bitch on the walker’s trail. 

It was chilly, but a beautiful day with lots of nice scenery. 

Opee changed his plans after seeing the big elephant the night before as he thought it was the perfect spot for a beer break. Het Stenen Hoofd (The Stone Head) was a harbor pier built in 1902 that was used until 1968. This nice big space allowed us to keep apart since we weren’t supposed to be hanging out together.

Opee made a game out of it by hiding the beers. Here you can see the T + A for Tuna + Abbie, designating that our beers were nearby.

Excremental was braver than me to stretch out above the Ij River to retrieve our beers.

The Weeping Elephant was built by Jantien Mook as a travelling piece of art, spending just a few months at any one location. Supported by four gigantic tree trunks (which are apparently untreated and will eventually rot), the steel sculpture is 16.5 feet (5 meters) high and 23 feet (7 meters) long.  

Mama’s Bitch was happy to see me, but wasn’t thrilled when I left her again. 

 

A Morning in Westerpark and the Jordaan...

After breakfast, Jimmy and I took Kati to Westerpark, where there’s a very large off-leash area. 

Afterwards we took a long walk around the neighborhoods between the park and Bob’s place, where we spotted reflections on a silver head...

…and this building that looked like a prison from the lower floors.

I liked how this bright yellow tree contrasted against the black bricks...

…and loved how the colorful band on this houseboat matched the shutters along the street.

This particular stretch of canal wasn’t nearly as colorful, but the houseboat on the right...

…had two sweet fairies on the garden roof.

Conveniently there was a small patch of dirt along the canal just around the corner from Bob’s as the closest park wasn’t very close. It’s definitely easier to have a dog when living in the suburbs.
 

Amsterdam Bridges...

Still amazes me that this is the view from Bob and Lisa’s living room. 

Here’s the view from across the canal of the same boat...

…and of the nearby lit bridge.

This bridge was just down the block...

…and this one was just a few blocks away. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of this magical city.
 

Thanksgiving in Amsterdam...

At the end of November, Bob invited me, Jimmy and Kati to spend a night at his place in Amsterdam for a Thanksgiving celebration. I can confirm that Kati wasn’t the only one super excited about getting out of Voorschoten for a night.

That afternoon we took a very long walk before returning to Bob’s for a delicious dinner. We didn’t have either fat pig or fat calf, but I’ve included this just because I like the pig sign. 

Other interesting things we spotted included a colorful bear...

…a golden kissing Dutch couple...

…a giant metal elephant in the fog...

…a playground on a barge in a canal...

…and some anti-lockdown graffiti.

 

Meanwhile in Exeter...

Veronica was very excited to buy a used medium format film camera.  

She was also excited to buy a used Christmas tree that she and Brett brought home by bike.

The tree even came complete with decorations, but they didn’t put them on so that we could decorate our trees virtually together once Ashlynn arrived in mid-December.

Veronica and Brett have really gotten into processing their own black and white film. Love this romantic shot taken in their kitchen. 

 

Random November...

As usual, here’s some random shots that I just couldn't resist posting, including this cute shot of Kati...

…a surprise visitor that magically appeared in our living room...

...oliebollen (oil balls) and hot chocolate...

…a lovely sunset as seen from our backyard...

…and a rather unusual early Christmas tree.

 

Moving the Hash Museum...

On November 25, I volunteered to help Neptunus to move his Hash Museum from the temporary location that I’d visited in September to a new location about two kilometers away. During the relocation, he was also hoping that the new location would be temporary (little did he know just how temporary that would be). 

Before I’d arrived, he’d already spent a lot of time packing. 

Neptunus, his son, one other Hague hasher and I managed to move everything down into his moving van for four trips to the new location. 

No doubt that one of the highlights of the day was seeing Neptunus attempting to  move Neptunus into the van. 

Honestly don’t remember if we took the bust of Neptunus or left it behind.

The new building, another anti-squatter location, was smaller and filled up quickly with loads of boxes.

We were able to use both elevators by locking the doors open using paper to block the sensors.

This fellow lost his head...

…but it was only for a moment.

It was a lot of work, but we managed to reach the goal of moving all of the boxes, display racks and mannequins. The long-term plan was to move everything to Kuala Lumpur (the hash was founded there in 1938), where a hasher had secured a location for the museum. 

Ironically, just hours later, Neptunus got a quote from a reasonably-priced moving company for door-to-door service. The following week, everything was transferred to a shipping container, which he later confirmed had arrived safely to Malaysia just two months later. Now he just needs international travel to open back up so he can put his plan in motion to live half the year in KL and half in NL.