Rain, rain go away

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Saturday



So as I write this it's still raining, or rather it's raining again. It stopped for a while last night but has rained steadily all day. We dropped our bags off on the barge, which really is nicely outfitted and then ventured out for one more walk through the city center where we promptly got soaked again. Perhaps we will get all the rain out of the way before we begin riding tomorrow.



I realized I left out a few important reflections last night; most likely because I was nearly exhausted while I was writing. Here is a glimpse that defines the difference between the two of us: while we were eating in the Van Gogh Cafe I was talking about the paintings and the connections between some of what we had seen in the Rijksmuseum the day before and how they fit with Van Gogh and his mental health challenges. Willard, on the other hand, called my attention to a big tank outside the window and a plume of white smoke. That, he announced, was a nitrogen tank pumping liquid nitrogen underground to stabilize the ground beneath the museum. Huh, quite the conversation stopper. And there you have the perfect example of why he has a masters in engineering and I have one in theology.



Back to the barge: surprise--the sun is coming out! Hopefully it will be out long enough for our test ride this evening. It is still windy and chilly but everything is green and pretty. We also learned that we will be staying together as a group as we ride. We thought we just took off in the morning and showed up in the evening, but this isn't like riding the C&O Canal; we will be on actual roads and changing roads frequently so I'm happy to play 'follow the leader.'



After a delicious dinner our guide, Marjan, decided it was time to test our bikes. Fast forward a couple of hours and we just returned from our first "training" ride. It was a hoot--a few falls, a few bike mishaps (but not by me!) and we made our way safely back to the barge. That's all for tonight. I'm not sure how often I will be able to post as our wifi is very limited and spotty. In this instance if you don't hear from me it's probably a good thing.

Laila Tov (Good Night)



Sunday



Let me debunk a few myths for you: first, the Netherlands are not completely flat; true they don't have mountains as we know them, but they do have rolling hills. Second, those windmills aren't here for decoration--they work everyday, all day because the wind never stops blowing! Third, there are no tulips this week; in reality they only bloom for three days at the most before the farmers cut the blooms to fully nourish the bulbs. Fourth, there is a reason everything is so green--it never stops raining. So, put all of this together: wind, rain, rolling hills, no tulips and imagine how much fun we are having! Believe or not we are having fun. We happen to be with a great group of people (there are only 15 of us plus our guide) so it's working. Of course this is just our first full day......



We are docked in Gouda (pronounced Hoda) but because it's Sunday the only places open are restaurants; Holland is still a pretty religious country . We stopped in a cafe for something hot to drink while we waited for the barge. By the time it arrived a torrential rain had begun, yep you guessed, we got completely soaked on the last five minutes of our ride.



Riding in Holland is really fun, even with the wind. There are so many dedicated paths and every road has bike lanes. We road through beautiful countryside and small towns to the sound of sheep bleeding and cows singing to us. We crossed several dikes where the wind nearly knocked us off our bikes sideways. As Marjan, our guide, says it's wet wind--I think it helps to have a sense of humor to live here.



Tomorrow we head to Delft which is suppose to be a lovely historic town and since it's Monday everything will be open. We have also learned that we will only have wifi periodically and at specific times since things work very differently here. Time for wine and chocolate, and the sun is shining--maybe we should ride more in the evening.



Sorry, no photos. Our connection is just not strong enough. Perhaps tomorrow.

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