I went to the country today, to a couple of small towns 15 minutes
North of Amsterdam. Although the crappy weather forced me to cut my time short, I got to taste some cheese and ride a bike so I
consider the trip a success.

It was SO nice to get out of downtown Amsterdam for a bit.

I was told that if you live in this area, you're either really rich,
or you've had property since before Holland switched to the Euro. I
talked to a boat operator with a house out here (he said he got lucky
and inherited the property) and he told me that nice places can go for
over a million euro in the country. He also said the lake freezes over in
the winter, the grass turns a brilliant yellow, and locals open up
soup and hot chocolate stores so people come to skate.

It was a beautiful place, but price-wise it was San Francisco all over
again, plus the hassle of Dakota-style winters. Nice to visit,
wouldn't want to live here.