Kayaking Leiden
I decided to take a trip down to Leiden, about a half hour south of Amsterdam. Cost EUR 12.10 for a roundtrip train ticket. Earlier in the week I was supposed to meet Capt Steve there, who was also in Holland for a bit and used to live there, but due to some things I had going on I couldn’t make it. But now I had nothing else to do, so I ventured there to check it out. I don’t know much about it, other than what my trusty LP told me… which is that it’s a college town, home to the oldest university in the country. It’s actually fairly nice. Very Dutch, but a more quaint feel than Amsterdam.
I was lucky in that the fantastic weather was holding out. Clear, blue skies, temperature kickin round 30 degrees celsius, no humidity… However I was unlucky in that my leg was still fucking killing me. It was causing me to limp, and after about 15 minutes of walking, I had to sit down for a while. I thought about bringing my bike on the train. I should have, so I could still get around… but didn’t. So, I chose the next best method of transportation to see a canal town… watercraft. Specifically, a kayak. For EUR 5 an hour, you can rent one, payable on your return. So, no rush, no need to keep track of time… just chill out and relax…. which is exactly what I did for the next few hours. Not much to tell… so, here’s more pictures…
The kayak offered some nice, new views. It’s obviously a popular activity for many residents, as there were many others on the water, though luckily not so many that it was difficult to maneuver around. Just enough to offer a bit of social atmosphere, in addition to that provided by the people hanging out on the sides of the canals- on grassy banks, tables set up alongside the canal outside their houses (a popular trend in the areas populated by students), on docked houseboats, on couches set into rowboats (also popular in the student areas), or at tables belonging to cafes and restaurants. It as at one of these restaurant tables that I decided to stop to grab some beer, a broodje, and kick back with some Jack Kerouac. I found a table set up on a bridge over the canal, right along the side rail in the middle. As I sat, drinking my Weihenstephan wheat beer and reading, I watched people boat by, passing underneath the bridge on which I sat.
Eventually I hobbled back to the train station and made my way back to Amsterdam.
Tags: Amsterdam, Beer, Europe, kayak, Netherlands, Travel, University
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