"Summer" break in the Netherlands (June 2005 - March 2006)

Back to the Netherlands? Yes, I will spend the rest of 2005 in the Netherlands. This was not my original plan to but you know how things turn out: no job, no women, no money, so better go back to mummy. No serious, I have to go back to find new people to rent my house to, and I (ab)use the occasion to visit family and friends, work and party. And when I started looking for a decent job, it turned out to be a half year's contract, so I'll see you back in March 2006 when I'll continue my trip around the world.

Back to my family.

Back to my city bike, so I had to park my travel bike for a while.

Back to work. I first started with manual labor, but allthough healthy fun it didn't pay much and since I was going to stay for some more time in the expensive Netherlands, I took up my profession as a Mechatronic Designer and investigated robot dynamics for half a year at ASML, the most high-tech Dutch firm and world's leading manufacturer of semiconductor lithographic machines.

Back to my hobbies: making furniture, sporting and working at the Plaza Futura.

And of course back to party with my friends, since Holland is also world's leading partyland.

MOVIE: Netherlands Decibel zomerbollen.avi

MOVIE: Germany Defqon1.avi

MOVIE: Netherlands new years eve.avi

Topping it all off with a skiing holiday in the Italian Dolomites with Skibeer. The last picture shows a ticket for speeding and not wearing a helmet on the piste, handed over to me by a nagging Italian police officer on skies...

MOVIE: Italy skibeer telemarkles.avi

MOVIE: Italy skibeer spaetzl.avi

But most impressive highlight was assisting Kinky giving birth to Binky at home. Holland is the only industrialised country were it is common to give birth at home.

What else about Holland? Well, we don't have piramids like the Mexicans but we do have some nice architecture.

We don't have giant sequoia trees like the Yankees but we fit in our trees as well (because we're not so fat).

We are not as warm blooded as the Latino's, but we can smile once in a while (even if we crash our brand new Porsche).

And we might seem a bit weird to the rest of the world, but it's just so much fun...

Time to say goodbye again. My dear ASML colleagues constructed a piramide containing not only handy bike tools but also magical powers to redirect the esoterical earthly forces into my travel destinations so that I will be practically unvulnerable on any malign happenings, as if my two St. Christopher's medailles handed to me on my first goodbye wouldn't be enough heavenly protection.

June 16th 2005: Amsterdam Schiphol
June 17th 2005- 20 March 20th 2006: Netherlands / France / Italy
March 21st 2006: Amsterdam Schiphol

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