Delft Interest

I didn’t get much sleep before riding to Delft because I stayed up trying to watch the LSU-Auburn instant classic. I did not make it through the game but there is no doubt in my biased mind that the SEC is the best football conference in the country.

Me, Mitra, Zheni, Randall (from Florida Coastal), and Chris all met at Chris’ place for our Sunday bike ride to Delft. Delft is about 6km (10 miles) from The Hague. I was excited about Delft because of its aforementioned historical significance. The ride was nice if for no other reason than the sense of accomplishment. I took Jon’s bike since Willie’s back wheel was on its last spokes.

Delft is beautiful. Cobblestone streets line picturesque canals with music coming from every pub and restaurant. We walked around in a lazy Sunday mood, marveling at the architecture and enjoying each other’s company. Each charming street gave way to another, and another, and another, and a carnival. You have to be kidding me, a carnival in the central square of a gorgeous historic city? Sure enough, there it was, a carnival just like I have in my back yard and Blessed Trinity puts on every year was happening in this romantic city. The girls automatically reverted to the fifth grade and wanted to go on the swinging death trap roller coasterish thing. This thing was like the bear cages at Blessed Trinity, without a cage. It flipped, spun, dove, and revolved. They asked if we would like to join them. Yeah, I want to end my life at twenty seven years old by falling out of a giant windmill and slamming into a sixteenth century church tower. I am not one to tempt death so Chris and I walked around the burial place of William of Orange while the girls and Randall staked their existence on a carney’s competence and hope for a thrill.

Chris and I sat in a nautical themed bar called, the Clipper, watching soccer and Dutchmen yelling at soccer. While watching the games we hatched our plan for becoming official ADO Den Haag fans/hooligans. I hope we don’t end up in Dutch jail but if we do it is the will of ADO Den Haag and thus our destiny. We couldn’t remember the date of the next home game so we agreed to get the 2008-2009 schedule tattooed on our forearms. This way there will never be a doubt about our allegiance or what time ADO next plays.

Delft was very nice but we didn’t get to see the resting place of William or where he was shot or anything else because the whole town shuts down on Sunday and throws a carnival. We had another beer at the Clipper before leaving Delft. I watched the carney strap more victims into the death trap. As he turned away from us I noticed something shiny coming out of his pack pocket. A wrench.