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Hi Sweetheart 20.3.60
It's now 7:15 and we just finished dinner here in the hostel (The Hague) so now I
have plenty of time to write you before bed and maybe I'll write one to Mom + Dad too
As you can see from the fact that we're in th the Hague already we changed our plans
again today We first spent about an hour after breakfast riding - around
Amsterdam partly covering the route we followed in the boat tour yesterday afternoon
I rally came to like Amsterdam in our two days there It is loaded with canals
one down the middle of almost every street They run in concentric rings from the harbor and there are usually streets on each side of canal then solid house fronts many of which now serve as offices or shops In the canals are many barges (coal or an infinite variety of other cargoes) some houseboats (which are also open instead of homes) other small boats On the streets of Amsterdam (and also other Dutch cities apparently) there are virtually (if not actually) more bicycles than cars and the cars must make their own way as though passing through a herd of sheep. It is really a cyclists city he has all the rights Between the cities along the highways (and often in town too) there are special "sidewalks" for bikes and motorbikes in addition to the sidewalk for pedestrians So our means of travel is well recognized here (and in northern Germany too)
We left Amsterdam at about 10 AM to bike to Haarlem; and with a strong tail wind we made the whole 20 km in one hour non-stop The sun broke through the clouds off and on to make it still nicer But when we got to Haarlem it was cold and dreary there are two or three beautiful churches but services were on so we couldn't go in (especially dressed as we are in greasy cords and dirty jackets) The Franz Hals museum is in a side street and looks small and since it didn't open on Sunday until 1 pm (1 1/2 hours wait) we ate lunch on a bench in a small pack then decided to go ahead on to The Hague instead of staying for the night in Haarlem as we had planned to do
The ride between Haarlem and Leider (and from there to the ocean) is the famed tulip section of Holland which thousands come to see each year Unfortunately we here too early by about a month so we saw mostly huge fields of small green plants which will later be ablaze in color But there were several sections now in blume- yellow daffodils especially beautiful and other flowers in deep purple white bright yellow pale blue; so we got a taste at least of what is to be seen later in the season and it was indeed beautiful
In Leider we looked up the old university which like all others we've seen (e.g. Wazburg) was physically completely unimpressive for all its academic nature Then we came on the remaining 16 km to The Hague and then yet another 9 km out to Loosduinen a suburb to the west right on the ocean So altogether we came about 65-70 km today after planning 20; but it was flat largely downwind and thus not too tough and tomorrow will be sightseeing in the Hague so well have that day to rest up before our short ride on to Rotterdam on Tuesday
Golly Annie but I got caught again in conversation tonight here in the