Sunday, July 28

We decide to hit the road today and introduce Dan and Sue to a few places. We start with finding the bus station at Utrecht that they will leave from for their trip to Paris next week. Having figured that out, we drive to Gouda. Its a beautiful, clear, dry day. Just like its supposed to be. We wonder around Gouda with most of the stores closed because its Sunday. The Gouda Cheese Museum is open, so we check that out and they buy some cheese. Its a perfect time to stop and have a coffee, served by a lovely, young, blonde, Dutch girl. All is good.

We wonder around a little and find a concert in the park and an old traditional windmill. Pictures, pictures, pictures. Then its back to the car and on to de Haag. It takes us a little bit of time to figure out where to park. We can't park on the street, because the parking ticket machines will only accept Dutch debit cards. No cash and we don't have any Dutch debit cards. Finally, we find  a parking garage. We are two blocks from the action, so we walk around and eat lunch outside in one of the squares. Dan and Sue have a Ceasar salad and we share a steak salad and some Thai spring rolls. Of course, everyone has a beer.

After a little more walking around, we fetch the car and drive out to the Peace Palace. This is where the World Court tries all those tyrants from around the world. We pull over to the curb and Dan and Sue get out to take pictures. Then we head out to the beach so that Dan and Sue can see the North Sea up close. There is no where to  park, so its just a drive by.

The drive back to Soest is about an hour and we drink and eat leftovers to clear things out to get ready for 6 days in Germany and a stop in Zurich, Switzerland to visit with Claude and Pierre. The rest of the evening is spent preparing for an early departure for Germany tomorrow.