To Den Haag Temple by Bicycle

My Church has a temple in The Hague, and a couple days ago I rode there by bicycle and train.  I felt really clumsy and awkward at first.  There were all kinds of Dutch features on the bicycle that I had to get used to.  For instance, although there is a break on the handlebars, it doesn't do much.  The main way to stop is by peddling backwards.  I kept forgetting this, and when I came to a stop light I would frantically try to stop and end up just kind of jumping off the bike!  Very embarrassing!  At the train station there are special grooves on the sides of the staircases so that you can wheel your bike up the stairs.  When you're a clumsy American, you are painfully aware that people are watching you and laughing to themselves!  The most awkward part of all was learning to take the bike apart on the train. If you don't take it apart you have to pay for an additional ticket!  It looks easy, but again, everyone knew who the foreigner was!  Even harder was putting it back together again--and trying to do so quickly before getting off... and before the train started moving again!  One good thing is that when I ride a bicycle, I don't have to worry about being hit by other bicycles.  I'm used to watching for cars but not for bicyclists zooming around the corners, ringing their bells to warn you to move aside!

The temple is actually not in Den Haag but in an adjoining city known as Zoetermeer, which means "sweet lake."  So the Dutch temple is in "Sweet Lake City!"  It is small but very beautiful, and it was a wonderful experience to visit.  The weather continues to be very cold, and the large canals have ice along their edges, while the smaller ones are frozen solid.  I saw acres and acres of empty, frosty fields, which will all be planted in bulbs during the spring.  The crocus will come in February, then daffodils, tulips in April, and finally the iris.  It's going to be spectacular!