My uncle and one of my sisters welcomed me to the Netherlands when I flew in from Iceland. It was great to see familiar, friendly faces! Together we went to a beachside café and had an excellent meal while gazing at the North Sea. Just the sight of waves (these ones not as icy) was calming and refreshing after a relatively short flight.

Afterwards my uncle dropped me off at my cousin’s place in Oegstgeest, a residential area filled with charming homes, some of which used to be farmhouses. Apparently, the builders of this area modeled the layout after a tree trunk and branches, and you certainly notice this when traveling along the meandering streets that seem to flow into each other and away without a clear pattern.

I started working remotely again the day after I arrived and spent a good number of hours just catching up. Afterwards, with excellent instructions from my lovely cousin’s husband, I took the bus to nearby Leiden to visit the old section of the city. (Dutch transportation is great, but you pay for distance rather than for a ride, so you use a transit card to “check in” and “check out.” And you don’t want to forget to scan your card when you get off!)

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