Back in the Sun

Second weekend here in Holland. I had intended to go into Amsterdam today; However I have only enough funds left on my travelcard for two bus journeys. So I think I'll leave it until next weekend. Instead, I went back into Heemstede today, to see what the town looked like on a busy day. It was surprisingly busy considering how dead it was every other time I've passed through. Puppets and human statues were attracting crowds of onlookers. I was nearly run over by a bicycle, during a lapse where I checked for oncoming traffic in the wrong direction.

So I did the laundry today. Not exactly a thrilling adventure, but a man can never have too many pairs of clean socks and I was running low. I was concerned about the laundries short opening times, but it was grand. 45 minutes to wash, 20 minutes to dry, €5 on the counter and I'm off home. Most straightforward and easy washing experience I could ask for. Can't see myself running out of socks soon.

Opened a bank account today too. Turns out one of the banks here does open on Saturdays. Course, I'd forgotten my details as I was in town for the laundry, so I had to run home and come back out. They even handed me a bank card on the spot, told me they'd post me out a new one to replace it in a few days. Once I get some funds flowing into that account it'll make life here somewhat simpler.

I also picked up a charger for my phone today. I had been using my adapter to charge it, and swapping the laptop in and out when my phone got low. Now that I have a dutch charger, things should be smoother. Also turns out they sell unlocked phones, which is deadly. They had an Xperia X10 Mini on display, so with luck they'll be getting in the X10 Mini Pro; The phone I most want to buy, once it's released.