Lambs in Leiden

     The train ride to Amsterdam was terribly early, but as usual, we reached the station forty minutes after we planned.  We arrived twenty minutes before the departure, but it took us fifteen minutes to figure out how, exactly, to transform our booking numbers into actual tickets.  The French ticket people looked at us suspiciously and finally handed us our tickets, just in time for us to dash to the train like maniacs.
      We arrived in Amsterdam, only to split up; two of us headed to Amsterdam proper, while Megan and I boarded yet another train to Leiden, a small city about 40 km from Amsterdam, to visit my uncle's brother Don and his family.  (For those snarky people who are thinking I'm stupid because I don't realize my uncle's brothers are also my uncles, I say to you I am RIGHT. It is my uncle by marriage, therefore he is not my uncle.)  The little boy on the train next to us snored louder than my father, which is quite an accomplishment. However, he was cute, which made it endearing instead of annoying (as in my father's case).
     Don met us at the station and whisked us away to his house, where he and his lovely wife Corinne gave us everything we could possibly desire (in this case, grilled cheese, the very Dutch stroopwafels, and laundry).  The combination of food and free laundry was too much goodness to bear, so we escaped on bikes into the wilds of the Netherlands.  Megan and I borrowed bikes from the family, and biked across the town of Leiden and into the plains of the Netherlands. It was beautiful.

An artsy shot, graciously provided by Don.

The wilds of the Netherlands! I stopped at every photo o

This is the house where Corinne's father hid from the Nazis for two years. Her family isn't Jewish, but the Nazis were taking men away from the Netherlands to work in German factories, so he hid out here and worked as a pharmacist for the family living here until the war ended, hiding somewhere in the attic when searches were held. The two families remain friends to this day.

SHEEP.

   We also stopped by farms by the road to pet the little lambs. They were adorable.

My favorite of the bunch. So adorable!

    We visited a farm-turned-petting-zoo to pet some more lambs. At least, I thought they were lambs for a very long time, until Don and Megan informed me that these fluffy white creatures were in fact baby goats. In my defense, they are both small, fluffy, white, and gangly--practically the same!  They grow up to be distinguishable creatures, but until then I am not entirely convinced they are separate species.

Newly-born calf--there was even still blood on his fur!

Kissing a lamb (goat?)

    We then biked back to the center of Leiden, a lovely little college town, for some lounging and drinks with Don and Corinne.

The beautiful town of Leiden!

     We biked back to their house, and Corinne and Don made us Indonesian food.  Indonesian food is actually really popular and good in the Netherlands; we had no idea why until Megan (resident history buff) remembered that some parts of Indonesia were Dutch colonies.  The food was amazing and seemed authentic for a born-and-bred suburban girl like me, so I'm not surprised.

     We headed back to Amsterdam with the sun setting in the sky.

The Netherlands.