Excellent, such a long weekend. David and Milena just left; they'll spend the day in Amsterdam and take the train to Frankfurt in the afternoon.


The weekend was basically a
holiday. Saturday evening we went out in Amsterdam, in a bar at the Grimburgwal. Although we didn't plan to, we somehow stayed in this bar all evening, trying triple-beers.


We almost missed the train home. I thought there would be one at 1:40 but the train we took at 1:20 turned out to be the very last one. Yesterday morning we woke up late and had a long Easter breakfast. Then we went to the beach at Zandvoort where the weather was surprisingly good. I felt rather overdressed with my shawl and coat.

Yesterday night we had another beer in Café Studio. This morning one of the house-boats we usually see from the window was gone! I wonder if they're moving or if they are taking a holiday with it. It's a strange sight with the mailbox still there.

We went out in Haarlem yesterday. David and Milena took us to "El Pincho", a tapas-restaurant at the Riviervischmarkt. It was the first time I had tapas; enjoyed it very much. There were many different things to eat. Even though I don't really like fish I found the octupus-dish very delicious. Not only the food was good, the place also has a very cosy atmosphere -- warm and a bit noisy.

We basically spent the whole evening in the restaurant; we left after midnight. Had another beer in In Den Uiver, it was a great evening.

It was cold -- quite remarkable to see so many people dressed in shorts and T-shirts when it was only 7 degrees outside...

13:05




13:35 -- slightly better

14:05 -- ready

It's even on the news: "Duitsers het land in, Nederlanders eruit".

Welcome David!

This morning I took a risk -- I walked to Chess without a coat.


Since last summer I don't have a summerjacket anymore. It got ruined when I fell while bicycling downhill in the Ardennen, and I tried to call somebody on the mobile. The phone was still okay, me too, but the jacket was torn. In the winter my coat is wonderful: nice and warm, but these days it feels a bit awkward to wear it when I see people walking in shorts and T-shirts.

The (ex-) Iraq Minister of Information became very popular on many websites.

If he says the Easter Bunny isn't dead, it must be true.

Is there something wrong here?

Basically in the same category as the mirror from a while ago.

What a wonderful weather! It's almost midnight and still warm outside.

We went for a beer at the Botermarkt. Somehow we picked the only pub that closed at 23.00 o'clock already, so at the end we were the only table left outside.

At the Grote Markt they're building a fair; it will start on Friday.

Good news perhaps for the summer. On the website of the Dutch embassy in Bulgaria this press-release:

"Bulgarian flagcarrier Balkan Air Tour will launch direct flights to Amsterdam twice a week as of 4 May. This became possible after the company signed a cooperation agreement with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The agreement allows for direct flights to most KLM and partners' destinations and for flights with a stopover to cities across Europe, USA, Canada, South Africa and the Far East."

See the original press release too (notice the typical Dutch photo). They are looking for pilots too.

I just went to the trainstation to pick up Milena! She'll stay here a week.

It's great weather for a holiday; at Chess somebody brought us all ice-creams.



The previous time David and Milena were here was in August 2002.