I spent the weekend in Prague.

What a spectacular city.

It’s loaded with beautiful old castles and has a rich, exciting history. Amazingly enough it was a communistic country only 15 years ago. We visited a museum and were shocked by a documentary over ‘The Velvet Revolution’. It was much more violent and scary than its name suggests. Inspired by our new insights into communism, Jarno and I discussed the problems of the world over a romantic dinner under the Charles Bridge. Previously we’d concluded that much war and heartache would be solved if religion didn’t exist. Our visit to Prague forced us to the new depressing conclusion that due to mankind’s inherent greed, war is totally unavoidable. Apart from that it was a lively fun long weekend…. I’m busy this week so it’ s a short update.

You’ve probably already heard me whining about my drivers license not being valid in Holland. The INSANE French and Italian drivers are perfectly acceptable yet the Dutch don’t trust us Aussies on their precious little roads. Yep, I have to go through the tests all over again at a staggering cost of 2500 euro.

I’ve been fuming about it for three years and protested by not driving. Recently I realised the government isn’t hearing my plea for reform and I’m the only one suffering. So I’ve decided to swallow my pride and go for it. Today I had my theory exam. Before I even sat down to do the test I had to run around town to get six different forms, pay my money and deal with the xenophobe at the desk who told me foreigners shouldn’t be allowed to drive in Holland. Seriously…. There were fifty multiple choice questions and after a nerve wracking wait I found out that I passed. We celebrated this evening with dinner at my favourite restaurant. The biggest challenge still remains…. the practical test!

I’m happy to announce that for the first time in 7 weeks I woke up this morning and the sun was shining. It’s a miracle. I’m tempted to take the day off just to celebrate.

Other good news, Miranda got the job at my company. She glided through the two interviews and starts on 1 September. I can’t wait to show her all the company intrigues. On Friday night we went out with Miranda and Bas to celebrate. Jarno was dead tired and barely spoke the whole night. In spite of this we managed to have a good time 

Gosia is back in town after 4 weeks in Poland. We had a nice coffee on the weekend and cruised the shops. That’s about it.

The Dutch summer provides much variety. Some days it drizzles consistently while other days the rain pelts down at the most unexpected (and generally inconvenient) moments. Two things do remain constant, the grey skies and cool temperatures. Ok I am whining. But complaining about the weather is the favourite national pastime so it’s allowed. Yesterday we had lovely plans to watch a musical boat parade along the canals. We were armed with optimism, deck chairs, wine and nibblies. This was no match for the torrential rain that washed half of the boats out of the water. Luckily Lora Borderliner and Klaas Spineless invited us over for a cosy dinner afterwards Aside from that we’re busy with wedding and holiday planning.

What’s new with all of you?