Leidschendam

 21 June

Amsterdam

We docked in Amsterdam late.  Something about traffic on the water. I guess we were about an hour late.  We ran off the ship as soon as we docked and scooted over to the main train station.  We had initially planned to stop by Schaak- en Gowinkel Het Paard like we do every trip here, but with the delay of an hour, we wanted to get on the train as soon as we could. 

The scoot to the station took us all of 5 minutes.  We reloaded our travel cards and hopped the first train to Leidschendam. The ride to see Oskar and José was only about an hour, but yours truly messed up and got off at the wrong spot, then we had to change twice to get where we were going.  No matter.  We texted and they kindly waited at the station for us.  

Of course they came on their bicycles, so we all rode back to their home.  George gave Oskar a lesson on how to ride the scooters and they took off around the neighborhood. 

We packed the scooters into the back of their garden shed for pick up in the fall when we come up for DCD.  We spent a few hours catching up until George went up for a quick nap.

Dinner that night was BBQ.  Oskar is a grill king.  We had a lovely meal and even better conversation. As always, José offered me a bit of Veltwater after dinner.  I simply love this local drink.  We were a bit tired so we retired at around 10.  

22 June

Leidschendam

Yes, we woke up at 4:30 in the morning. Yours truly forgot to shut the curtain and between the birds and the sun, I was up.  I stayed in bed looking at auctions and answering emails.  George woke around 8 and sent off a few emails.  

After breakfast we took a walk over to the Westfield Mall.  The last time we were here it was still under construction. My goodness is this thing big!  Our destination was The Gamekeeper.  A puzzle shop!  We managed to find the Hanayama Planets, but nothing else.  Oskar had a long conversation with the owner about puzzles that he designed and a few that George prototyped.  

From here we went to Intertoys for a look in the hopes I could find the new SmartGames IQ Mini.  But first!  The Lego store.

At intertoys I found what I was looking for!  And a few more. 

I bought a ball for Oskar that lit up when you bounce it.  Not for anything more than to get them out of the store so we could head for lunch.  I also bought a set of small dexterity puzzles and a water puzzle in the shape of a gameboy. 

We walked back to their house to pick up our bags and then it was off for lunch.  We had a nice meal in an Italian place next to the locks. José told us that she lived in the building just across the road, and we watched the boats go by.  

Sadly, at around 2:30 we had to leave so we could get back to Amsterdam in time for all board . 

We arrived about 1/2 hour earlier than necessary, but all was good because I’d rather not miss the boat.  

At some point during the day we played with a few puzzles and had a tour of Oskar's workshop.  He's got a fantastic system for storing filament.  

On our way out, George and I sat on the balcony and watched the world as we sailed by.  I enjoyed looking at the locks.  It's the first time I have seen them.  It was also the first time I saw the road that runs under the river.  Interesting. 

23 June

Sea Day

We did what we always do.  Put up the do not disturb sign in the morning and ordered room service. We didn’t have cards today so we played a few games of Rummy tiles and watched the most wonderful movie: Love in the Afternoon.  I’m not sure how we had both missed this old one but we’ve made up for it now.