Belgian Nash Hash...

On June 10, Opee and I caught a Flix Bus from Rotterdam to Brussels. Since I’m immature, I laughed when I saw this sign that no poop was allowed in the loo. 

Later we met up with a bunch of hashers for a beer and then boarded the BNH Party Bus to the Ardennes.

We stayed at Domain Mozet, a castle dating to the 17th century, that felt more like a manor house than a proper castle. The weather was great and we spent a lot of time hanging out in the courtyard.

While we were anticipating having to share our room with another couple, we were pleasantly surprised to learn we had the room to ourselves. 

Opee was happy to host one of the cocktail stops for Friday’s pub crawl around the castle grounds. 

He was excited that his location was in the Zen Garden. 
 

Veronica and Brett’s Interrailing Trip...

Veronica and Brett took their first Interrail train journey together through Western Europe for two weeks beginning in late May. They were accompanied on part of the trip by Dan and on the entire trip by Paul, two other physics PhD students from Exeter. Veronica travelled alone to meet them in Innsbruck, Austria after their conference in Vienna. You can read all about the trip on her blog. Here you will find my favorite photos from their trip. 

These two photos were taken on their hike to Grawa Waterfall.

They really loved taking the Transalpin Panorama Train from Innsbruck to Zurich, where they then caught regular trains to their Swiss destination of Lucerne. 

I was really pleased that they met up with Bill, our old San Diego hash buddy, for a walk along Lake Lucerne.

Veronica and Brett couldn’t pass up the chance for a swim in that beautiful lake.

Their next stop was Lake Como, which was clearly beautiful but they were a bit overwhelmed by the extreme crowds.

Veronica and Brett enjoyed a swim in this beautiful area of Nesso, between Como and Bellagio.

She was the only one of their group brave enough (or stupid enough, depending upon how you look at it) to jump off Ponte della Civera, a lovely stone bridge.

Their next stop was Menton, France, east of Nice. It was one of Veronica’s favorite places they visited with its vibrant colors.

They continued heading west to Marseilles so they could hike at the Parc National des Calanques.

Their final stop was Voorschoten, where they were kind enough to take care of Kati for the weekend.

 

The New Institute...

After visiting the temporary roof, it was time to visit the architecture museum itself. It must have been fun decorating their toilets by throwing paint every which way. 

The bottom floor featured a temporary exhibit on the future of housing. 

We especially enjoyed the exhibit on the top floor of the museum featuring models of many of the incredible projects completed by MVRDV, a local architecture company founded in 1993 that now employs 250 architects. It was very cool to see a model of the Markthal, which we have visited many times...

…plus a sample of what the giant ceiling artwork is made from. 

It was also interesting to see a model of The Valley, a new complex in Zuid Amsterdam that we would be visiting two weeks later as part of Day of Construction in Amsterdam.  

The highest peak hits 330 feet (100 meters) in this complex combining commercial space on the lower floors with living space above and public space in between. 

 

View from The Podium...

It was very cool to see the Art Depot from a high angle. 

If you look closely, you might spot me and Jimmy on the right corner of the temporary pink roof.

We were happy that a nice stranger offered to take our photo.

The view was definitely impressive despite the blah skies. 

We spotted the actual roof on our trip back down the steps, which was clearly more functional than welcoming.

The staircase was definitely more magical from the front, but it was cool to see the infrastructure. 
 

Heading Up The Podium...

The following day, Jimmy and I headed down to Rotterdam to visit The Podium, part of a rooftop festival. As soon as I learned that free tickets were offered for the month of June, I ordered tickets for us to check it out and then 20 tickets to bring the hash back later that month. This was our first view of the 95-foot (29-meter) temporary roof above Het Nieuwe Instituut (The New Institute), an architecture museum. 

As we approached the Art Depot, we could see the reflection of the thin building topped with pink.

It was impressive as we neared the wavy pink external staircase...

…consisting of 143 steps.

When Jimmy caught sight of the elevator, he was jealous he wasn’t eligible for a ride. I was just happy that Celine would be able to bring Dylan up in his baby jogger during the hash. 

 

Hashing in Scheveningen...

We had incredible weather and a very good turnout for a FILTHy Dark Side of the Moon Hash at the start of June.

After hashing for 14 years, it took DogSh@t coming into town from Hong Kong to get Lucy to finally hare for the first time. It was a great trail combining woods, city...

…harbor...

…and beach.

DogSh@t helped Give It a Blow get the baby jogger across the beach and up the stairs to the jetty. 

After entering Westbroekpark, we had to cross the canal in a raft attached to a line and pulley system. Lucky for us, there was a young girl who was very excited about turning the crank to help us across so one of us didn’t have to stay behind to help the others.

We circled up next to this canal near Lucy’s house, then we went back to his house for a BBQ and a few hours of partying. 

Lucy owns several companies including a pet supply company, so we went home with a bunch of dog treats. Several of the guys were happy to take home some condoms, which ranged in size from fox to buffalo.