Stepping off the Easyjet plane and into Amsterdam's Schipol airport, we jolted from our traveller's complacency after a month spent in an English speaking country, and once again things became more difficult. Our first difficulty was at border security when the passport control officer asked us in stilted English how long our visit to Europe would be, and Dale responded brightly "5 months". Instantly the Dutch man's face became serious and he began waving our passports at us "on these, only three months is permitted! Did you know this?" Elbowing my husband, I tried to explain that we are returning to New Zealand in October, but already the man was demanding to see our ticket and calling over his manager. His next question was to ask us what the purpose of our trip to Amsterdam was. Before I could reply, Dale helpfully chimed in "just visiting". The perplexed passport controller queried "just visiting?", to which Dale elaborated "just visiting...friends?" - "On holiday" I butted in with an inward rolling of eyes at my husband's continued attempts at arousing suspicion. The passport control manager arrived and my heart was in my throat as I waited for them to pull us off to one side and begin an interrogation. There was a rapid exchange in Dutch and suddenly the passport control man stamped our passports, handed them back, and waved us through without a word. Feeling giddy with relief, I continued with Dale to collect our bags and negotiate the Dutch transport system - first by train and then tram - to Karen and Dave's house in the Hague. Dale managed to redeem himself, since his smattering of Afrikaans helped him to interpret some of the Dutch being spoken to us.

Karen and Dave were at a Coldplay concert when we arrived at their three-storey semi-detached home in the Hague, but Karen had hidden a key outside for us and kindly left a pot of chilli beef out for us. As I reheated the meal on the stove in the lovely kitchen, with the cat rubbing against my ankles and Dale pouring us drinks, I felt as if I had stepped into someone else's life. It was lovely to again be in a home again, doing mundane things like sitting on the couch eating our dinner in front of tv and clearing up our dishes. From the room on the third floor which Karen had made up for us, we could hear the concert in full swing. Hit after hit rang out and the crowd was going wild. Feeling jealous that we weren't there ourselves, we headed to bed about 11pm.

The next morning, with Dave at work and Karen busy with preparations for their departure to Canada to following day, Dale and I were left to our own devices. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we walked into the centre of town dodging bicycles as we went. First stop was the Escher museum, a favourite of mine from a previous visit! Escher was fascinated with the concept of infinity and of filling spaces with designs that transform from one thing to another. A lot of his work seems almost to have been approached mathematically or scientifically and his use of perspective often challenges the viewer. Dale was fascinated by the pictures and how cleverly they were constructed. Upstairs there were more interactive exhibits, for example a projection of a tiled floor which when you walk on it appears to collapse into moving stairs and lizards of Escher's design.

Further into the city we passed the impressive government buildings, rows of trendy (and expensive) looking stores, and the many varying facades of buildings which seem to crest at the top. As we walked the streets we were dwarfed by the Dutch - they are enormous! Not overweight, just tall and broad. Hockey seems as big here as rugby is at home, and almost every cycling student that whizzed by had a hockey stick slung over one shoulder. Eventually we took a break from dodging bikes, trams, and mobility scooters and rested our feet at a cafe serving bagels and coffee. Sitting outside in the square we had a good vantage point for some more people watching!

In the evening, we joined Karen and Alisha (the golden retriever) for a walk to the beach at Scheveningen (sp?). It was a good walk - over an hour - in the evening sunshine. When we reached the beach we could look down the near deserted golden sands either way stretching as far as the eye can see. There were only a couple of swimmers (two male nudists), but a number of other dog walkers. After 10 minutes of strolling the sandy beach covered in the rectangular shells of razor clams, we came across Karens favourite beachfront cafe. It had a very Antipodean theme to it, so we felt right at home! We ordered Hoegaarden witbier and food from our long wooden outdoor table, while Alisha lapped up a bowl of water and tried to avoid the curious puppy which was on the loose! Poor Dave was working late, but planned to meet up with us once he finished. We had finished our meal and were heading for the tram when Karen finally heard from him. He met us at the tram stop, looking remarkably cheerful after his 12 hour day!