As my days are coming closer to an end here in the Netherlands I'm thinking how different the weather is this year compared to the last one when I was here exactly at the same time. I mean, I didn't expect a Mediterranean summer either time but at least last year there was some sort of summer, despite the breaks of winter. This year is just a random mix of all seasons. Literally, as long as Dutch winter is excluded. As I'm typing these words it's 10:00 am but there's absolutely no sun at all and I am wearing my brand new leather pants indoors, not only without sweating but feeling like that's proper stuff for this weather.
This point of my trip is also the most Northern I've ever been on my motorbike and from now on I'm only heading South as I have to start my way back to mama Hellas. Pretty impressive how this trip shrunk the time. It must have been the "shortest" months 3.5 months I've ever experienced so far. Fascinating how the sense of time changes according to what one experiences and how we place ourselves emotionally towards what we are about to face. I might get back to more analysing from this perspective after I finish this longest journey of mine, having digested this massive amount of experience.
Is Arie the diabetic cat aware of this cloud of thoughts in my head hence he faces the other way while enjoying my lap?
Not sure but he does look sleepy:
I don't blame him, this cloudy weather is so hypnotising. He does look pretty with his eyes open though:
During one of my last walks "downtown" in the small town of Heeze, I see that they are about to have some sort of fair here:
With the latest climate collapse I wish that when they open this stuff for public use the sky will be at least as good as this:
What a tragic contrast, fortunately kids here will be lucky enough to play in this "danger zone" while unfortunately other kids in Ukraine experiencing a real danger zone on a daily basis:
It just can't be more windless than this:
How many colours can you handle? For kids there's no such thing as "enough":
Regardless they age we all need food to survive and most of us also consider it as one of the priceless joys in life. Time to make myself happy:
What you see above is tortellini stuffed with tomato and ricotta. I put on top a bit of humus, tzatziki and basil to take the whole thing to another level. And yes, it worked though I haven't tried it before. But wait, I'm not done yet. I told you I have 3 chickens here right? Why not try a fresh poached egg, again for the first time. And yes, it also added to the joy:
While I enjoy my food birds enjoy sex in the trees on this peaceful windless day. Contrary to humans though, no cigarettes after sex, they just fly:
OK, we also "fly" if it is good enough but...not exactly as this balloon over my head later:
I hope they have better pilots here than the one who crash landed us in Cappadocia a decade ago. See part of their flight in 4K here:
While this view is a bit exotic for me as an Athenian such balloons are rather regular here. Makes sense, it's a flat country if nothing else with less challenging conditions for a flying object that is not an F-16. Speaking of fighter jets, I saw a couple and was wondering whether they were in some regular drill but actually they took off to intercept a pair of Russian bombers as I read in the news later. The Danish Airforce did this for them so they just returned uneventfully. Times become less predictable...
That's it for now folks, hope you're all doing fine wherever you are, see you soon in my next one 😉