Mon, 10 Nov 2003

author Tim	location Hamburg, Deutschland
posted 17:20 CET 12/11/2003	section Europe2002/Europe/Netherlands/Netherlands 3 ( all photos )

Around then out of Utrecht ( No photos )
We awoke to a lovely Dutch day - apparently Penny and Jono didn't sleep too badly, but were quite cold all the same. They can't say we didn't warn them! After doing very little for quite some time, Jono and I eventually dragged ourselves up to the supermarket to grab some breakfast gear. Also there was a large clothing bin, into which we put an amazingly large number of items of clothing that Liz and I had decided were not going to make it home. Quite a score for the recievers of such things as the clothes are still fine, but the task of getting tatty yet warm clothes to the other side of the world was going to cost us too much.
I cooked a bacon and egg breakfast for the hungry masses - much appreciated after so much baguette and bread!
After probably the most touristy photo we've taken in a place tourists probably never get to, we headed into town as we all had things to sort out - Jono and Penny tickets to their next destination Frankfurt, and Liz and I further north in Deutschland, once again back to Hamburg to visit Sebastian and Jessi. This was all done through Eurolines, the big daddy of bus companies over here.
After stopping to sample some local cuisine known as Oily Balls (kind of like donuts with fruit pieces and much oilier, covered in icing sugar), we went further into town, where Jono and Penny went off to check their emails while Liz and I put on a much needed load of washing at a laundromat. We also checked out postal rates for sending stuff home from the van - sea mail is quite cheap, so we purchased a large postpack to fill with stuff and post when we return to Utrecht in a few days.
The town overall was actually much more scenic than I at least had expected - nice canals and old buildings everywhere, even the post office was quite an impressive building inside.
While we were waiting for the laundry to finish, we found a café across from it, staffed by some very friendly locals and a huge cat called Tom Cat. We still miss our animals! Not too suprisingly, we played a few rounds of cards while there, and eventually decided to head back to the van to organise a cheap dinner.
The chosen meal was spag bol, so we got some mince for that and a large serving of frites (hot chips) to snack on, eaten as by the locals totally smothered in about a jar's worth of mayonnaise.
Back at the van, Jono and I did the washing up while the girls prepared dinner, but the 240v light in the van was knocked down (again), blowing the bulb and taking the fuse of half of Donna's house with it! Apparently that's fairly common as her house does support a mechanic's workshop, lots of people and now us sitting in the driveway.
So, we ate our dinner candle-lit, which was rather nice anyway, and everyone pitched in with a big effort to make a dent in our rather large alcohol collection which will never make it back through customs. We had a great night in the van, just chatting, laughing and enjoying the last time we would all see each other until at least August next year, when they return from their round-the-world trip.
Just before eight, Penny and Jono saddled up and walked up to the station to get their bus - it's been great being able to meet up with them here and there, share tales and suggestions. Enjoy the rest of your trip guys!
We convinced Donna's Turkish mechanic to have a look at the blown fuse, and the power was restored. We installed a light-bulb that Penny had generously walked up in the cold and purchased from the supermarket, and then we had light! In retrospect, the candle-lit dinner was cooler anyway.
Liz and I now had some packing to do, and then we read until it was time to head off to the bus stop at Jaabersplein at the front of the station for our turn. The bus was due at 23:55, but by midnight there was nothing but people waiting in the freezing cold.

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