On the 7:41 Sneltrein Amsterdam -> Den Haag

Franz pointed it out this morning. There's a few hours in the morning when the water is pristinely still, and the canal houses are paired with their reflections before the traffic of the day obscures the scene. The sun rises early here, but for hours only the tops of the houses are lit, highlighting some of the statues, carvings, and even golden roosters that blend in to the houses during the bright midday.The sky is reflected in the windows, and things are calm. Sure there's plenty of urban decay to see at street level, but there's so much more to the city than that.

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I'm joined for a few days by Franz, who managed to work his days off in such a way that he can visit Amsterdam. He's doing the tourism and gastronomy tour; one comment he had, "Three days is not nearly enough to eat my way through all the things on offer." I think he'll make a few more trips up this way. This time he seems to recognize this as a business trip for me, and he's letting me have some of the space I need in the mornings to get rolling, which is nice.

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The commute on the train goes through a lot of agricultural area. I'm sure my mom would be all giddy at the flower fields that change their hue from morning to afternoon in bright painted stripes of pink and purple and white and yellow. Big business out there that the train zips past.

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The free news sheets that are handed out to morning commuters have run stories on the Texas polygamist story that has unfolded this week. One called the compound a "breeding machine" for the sect. Editorials have questioned how this happens when the practice has been outlawed since the 1860s. Religious extremism in all its forms is a hot button issue right now in the Netherlands, so I'm not surpised the Dutch are slack-jawed at how Americans can seemingly allow sexual abuse to be carried out for so long. There's privacy concerns here too, but the sense of community as a nation leads to very few things being secret for long. Its a curious balance, the way they've traded a few different sets of liberty for security.

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Nivea score! They're giving away samples of their "Extreme Comfort" shaving line at the Den Haag station. Off to the office.