Noordwijk, Netherlands (Post #14)
Here we are at the beach hostel. We have still not been able to find a USB port yet so sorry, no pictures again. We caught a shuttle bus to the beach but waited an hour for it since it was supposed to be there at 10:30a but instead it arrived at 11:30a. On the way to the beach we saw the 1928 Olympic Stadium and some windmills (which of course one thing that Holland is famous for). This hostel has a bar and is geared towards providing a party atmosphere to 20something year-olds and Michele (who of course is not 20something). We went to the grocery store upon getting here and bought lots of salad stuff. A funny thing about this place is that you can store your own alcohol at the bar. So, Michele has her bottle of red wine with her name and the date on it sitting on the bar with other people’s bottles of wine. After the store we took a bus to a nearby town, called Leiden. This town, which was a 30 minute bus ride away is known as “Little Amsterdam” and has all the things Amsterdam has but it also has windmills (you have to see those in Holland, you know). We walked around there for a couple of hours before coming back to Noordwijk. This morning (Saturday, June 18th) we found out that you can’t use the hostel kitchen until after 10:30am. This is a serious problem since we were told we can’t have food in our rooms either. So, when Michele got up to eat at 7:00am she had to wait several hours. We tried to explain that this policy is stupid and encourages people to store food in their rooms but the owner didn’t care. So, we are now storing food in our rooms. O.k., then, we are off to the beach (meaning the actual ocean and sand place). We have been hanging out in the beach house too long and need some fresh air. It’s sunny here but not too warm. We estimate in the high 60s. Bye!
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Tags: Category #4: Netherlands (Holland)
Michele Harmon
I’m enjoying the play-by-play account of the trip. As a baby-boomer, my childhood education actually included classes in geography. Still, my geographic grasp of the world is seriously lacking, and I must confess I didn’t even know for sure where Iceland was. So, I’ve been pulling out our world atlas and old encyclopedias and reading up on the countries you have been visiting. It’s all very exciting. Looking forward to the next group of pictures of Netherlands, the beach, etc.
We are all having so much fun following you two around the world! Keep up the good work and your pictures are fantastic!
Hey Michele! Sounds like you are having a blast. I especially enjoyed your discussion of Amsterdam. I trust you’ve arranged for a shipment of those special lollipops and space cakes to be sent back home to your Westat colleagues. You know how much we enjoy such goodies! Take care.