Bye bye Netherlands (for now)

Saturday we took the train to Utrecht and realized how wonderful it is to hop a high speed train and be in another city within minutes. Why can't we do this in the US? Initially we were very turned off by the town as the train station is attached to a shopping mall that was developed in the 70s. Back then it was all the rage--the train allowed for quick and easy access from other towns. But, if you're a traveler--you have to walk through (I am not exaggerating) a half mile of enclosed stores and food stands. When we emerged, the village was a sea of people--Saturday in the sunshine brought everyone out. Difficult to walk through and nearly impossible to find a place to eat. We kept walking until there were no people to be seen and it was quiet and beautiful. I was photographing someone's house when he drove up and asked me if I liked his house! Yes, I said. I was admiring the artwork and flowers in the windows. He and his wife invited us into their walled garden where we talked about flowers and life in Utrecht. It was one of those special moments that happens when you are open to meeting strangers.

It pays to learn a little Dutch before ordering food. Joel and I had no idea what we ordered. Consequently, we received (and ate) two raw beef sandwiches. It did have pesto and arugula on it--but . ..

Exhausted when we returned we spent the evening in the "world's smallest pub". Packed and lively. Again, meeting and conversing with new people is always interesting. We sat next to a Brit who was just coming through for a few days--on his way from Kazikstan (sp?) where he works for the oil industry. He told us about the presence of the Brits and Americans in the area as they attempt to drill the hell out of what they believe is the largest oil field in the world. He gets paid very, very well and has a bodyguard attached to him at all times when he is away from the work field. He says that it's great for a single guy because so many men were killed in the cold war and the pickings are slim for the local woman. Very friendly ladies. K....stan is larger than all of Europe with room to spare and has the greatest weather fluctuation in the world. A couple of weeks ago it was 35 below and then days later 50 to 70. Much more to tell about that . ...
Sunday we took the train to Haarlem. It was a frigid 35 and quite windy. We made the trip to see the old church--but it was closed. Bopped around and then returned and finally got into the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam which was incredibly moving.

Today we got up bright and early, took the tram, then a bus to the airport, then another bus to Lisse to see the great Keukenhof Gardens. The pictures on our flickr site speak volumes. It was sunny but extremely cold and we had to duck into greenhouses stop for coffee to stay warm. As a gardener and lover of flowers, I was really in heaven. We did the trip in reverse, uploaded the photos and are now going to have some Indian food. We have had mediocre Chinese, Thai and Dutch food. We finally lucked upon an Indian restaurant yesterday and we're going back with the winner. Got to run. Blog time is up.

Micah, thanks for the photos of the little chickies! Oh my they are sweet looking. Wish I could hold a little fuzzy one right now. Take are all. Much love L


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