The car return went smoothly, and it was time to fly to Rotterdam. It was a little risky, I’d only given myself three hours to get from Heathrow to London City Airport for the connecting flight. Had there been an issue with public transport, things could have become very stressful. Thankfully, I made both the train and light rail without a hitch and arrived with plenty of time for my flight, which ended up being delayed by 30 minutes anyway.
I arrived in Rotterdam in the early evening and thought I’d catch a cab from the airport to The Hague… bad move. I should have known better. As I watched the euros ticking up on the meter, I did some quick maths and realised it would cost me close to €200 to get to the hotel—insane! My flight was cheaper. I asked to jump out at the earliest convenience and decided to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully, it was only an hour’s walk. I made it to the hotel and crashed out.
The next two days were spent at a game/streaming convention at the Ahoy in Rotterdam. It was amazing to finally meet my friend Kait, who’s been an online mate for about six years. After many chats and games, it was brilliant to see her in person. Along with her partner Dan, we headed off to explore the convention. It was pretty eye-opening, nothing I was quite prepared for. Loads of online streamers walking around filming themselves and chatting to their communities on their phones. Plenty of cosplay too. There was heaps to see and do, a particular favourite was playing a tabletop game of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as checking out the retro arcade machines. I got to meet a few of Kait’s friends too, which was really nice. All in all, a great couple of days. A big change from the castles and countryside I’ve been exploring so far. It was so awesome meeting Kait—she’ll be in the UK in July, so we’ll catch up again then.
The Hague is a lovely town. Aside from a small issue with the accommodation on the first night, it’s been a great stay. I went out to a bar called Ned Kelly’s… because, come on, I had to… and had a great time chatting with the barman and some patrons, who all seemed to be musicians. Only a quick explore of the town though.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Gouda and the cheese museum!
