I had a wonderful stay in Amsterdam with some great colleagues, attending a teacher conference at the RAI, and enjoying nearly every minute of it. What a sweet city Amsterdam is! It was most beautiful in the wintery dark of late afternoon, with all the little windows lit. It looked like a life-size advent calendar. Its beautiful winding canals, the many restaurants, and the charming people gave me a lovely break from the routines of everyday work.
I stayed at a private place with a lovely host family, in a very clean and cozy house. When I ran out of coffee, my hostess prepared a very good-tasting large cup for me - later I found she had put some extra coffe into the upstairs kitchen. We had inspiring conversations and she gave me the pleasant feeling of being a welcome guest...