Rotterdam

Apparently this type of weather is very rare in the Netherlands. This is evident in the fact that the dutch seem completely out of place in the snow. Cars skid, pedestrians slip, and the country's infrastructure is completely jammed by just a little snow.

This is just a quick post.

The lovely couple who rescued me in Utrecht:



It is really incredibly what kindness people can show a complete stranger. Unfortunately, after just two days with them in Utrecht (one in the silence of a meditative retreat) I had bike off to Rotterdam. The conditions ranged from alright to unridable. The worst parts were more like iceskating than biking. But it was beautiful.



After about 70km I made it to Rotterdam (the world's second busiest port) in the Rhine/Maas Delta. Visiting an old friend. We met in Cambodia several years ago. She was also travelling alone by bicycle.



This city is a bit of a shock after the charm of Utrecht and Amsterdam, with their beautiful old architecture and compact four story average skyline. Rotterdam is in the only "modern" city in the Netherlands, due in part to the Nazi Bombing campaign which leveled most of the city. I am peering out of Esther's 12th floor apartment and viewing glass-skinned skyscrapers all around.



For now, I am just kind of relaxing...



Spent a day out in Den Haag (the Hague)





Thankful that my bike is indoors:




I am resisting the urge to vent on comparative Dutch/American politics. I have a feeling immigration and integration will work its way into the next post.