May 5th 2019
Our last day in Leiden.
Friends of ours who live in Leiden had just returned from a holiday to the UK yesterday. They came to collect us in the morning and after the kids had spend enough time petting Captain Fluffy we all had breakfast together outside in the sun.
The 5th of May is Liberation Day in the Netherlands, so the city was alive with festivities and music. We strolled through town, through all the little streets and alleys, and visited ‘De Burcht’, the old fortress of Leiden. After the festivities we had dinner at our friends’ place, and enjoyed the evening together.
When we were back on our boat late in the eventing, there was still the decision to be made either to go to Haarlem or Amsterdam. We were still not sure which one to choose. We kind of dreaded the nightly passage, but sailing in convoy the whole day and the tight schedule on which you had to pass through Haarlem didn’t sound too great either.
In the end we chose Amsterdam, because we could find more information about this route, and we didn’t fancy sailing in convoy the whole day and pay for it as well. And although we’ve never done a nightly passage before, one time has to be the first, hasn’t it?