Solstice Surprises
Sunlight crossed our skies for a total of eighteen and a half hours yesterday, ringing in the new season, and bringing all sorts of great surprises. The first one:
My Danish friend Merete, who shared many an adventure with me during my semester studying in Hawaii last fall, swung by yesterday afternoon with friend Sophie (seen taking the picture in the window reflection). The two girls were on a roadtrip kitesurfing through Holland. They were planning to visit Wednesday to Thursday, but the winds were too strong to surf, and instead blew them to me a day early! Luckily, I was able to take off work early at the last minute to spend the afternoon with them. One of the places we stopped:
This book sale happens in town periodically, but I’m still unclear as to how it gets here, and where these books come from. I bought a great handful of postcards for only 2 eur — so, expect mail, America!
The Danish girls stayed for dinner, and then headed out for their journey back to Copenhagen (only ~6 hour drive). It was great to see Merete again. When we left Hawaii, I thought there was no way I would see, considering the distance. Had you told me a year ago that I would be spending a summer in Europe, I wouldn’t have believed it. Funny how these things happen… I’ll also be visiting her in Copenhagen for a whole week at the end of the summer, so we’ll have more than an afternoon to catch up.
Surprise #2 — a trip to the beach! Stephanie were talking about going anyway, to celebrate the longest day of the year, when I received an email from my ultimate team saying that we’d have beach practice to prepare for our beach tournament in 2 weeks. A perfect excuse to go, and a great way to make it there for the first time without getting lost. It’s only about a 30-45 bike ride, and, as beaches go, it was pretty stunning (click for full image):
The wind was out of control, and playing was extremely difficult, but hopefully it will calm down before the tournament. This sunset picture was taken at ~10:15pm. It didn’t get completely dark until after 11:30.
And, to top off the day, one final stop on the way home to celebrate summer:
(note the Windmill in the background.) Now, hopefully, the sun will shine more and the temperatures will start to reflect the season we’re in.
PS: More about work, etc. soon. It’s all going great, and I’m enjoying it a lot. UNAWE is a terrific organization, and I’m loving the work I’m doing. But no pictures! It’s easier to blog about things that you photograph…
PPS: If you’re reading, drop a comment! It’s good to know who’s actually seeing this, (besides my Mom, of course).
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I’m a faithful blog reader, Maya. I mentioned my blog reading to Sara, but perhaps it wasn’t at the very top of her list of information to communicate to you halfway across the world!