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234 days left. Portugal excites. In the picture on the right, the reason for muscle pain in my shoulders. Arms too. Hands a little less, they are a bit used to in the kitchen, fingers too. Bouldering is the new fun. With one and soon two branches in The Hague, the current one coincidentally and very practically in the same building as the gym (you can learn to combine), Beest Boulders is a handy hangout if you secretly want to combine the useful with the pleasant, and in between #photooftheday want to shoot.
Bouldering is not a cheap sport; of course, you pay for the facility, which is possible with both separate tickets and as a subscription. We opted for a strip card with ten climbs, as a trial subscription, just to see if we like it. In addition to the entrance to the hall, you also need climbing shoes. These are available for rent - just like bowling - but at Decathlon, this footwear is available at a friendly price, so we are proud owners of real climbing clogs.
Through pre-planned and planned routes, you try to make your way to the top. The difficulty of the various challenges is linked to the color of the handles and footrests. Start and end points are marked and the rest is up to the adventurer. Supported by motivating music and some miraculous magnesium, you'll work on your resistance against the steep wall. Sometimes straight to the top, sometimes with a detour, and more than once you're upside down and then you're blown away by your own performance. It's tiring though, which is why I take a break after each successful or unsuccessful expedition to give my muscles a rest and pick out the next course.
Once you've reached the end point of a route, the idea is to stick to this building block with two hands for three seconds and then either surrender to gravity; for this purpose, the floors are covered with the thick mats that we all remember from the boring somersaults in physical education at school, either via the beaten path or else descending to solid ground under the climbing shoes. Exciting, strenuous and relaxing at the same time.
Due to a start time of 12 pm (lunch), I had the opportunity to plan a slightly longer walk and left home without fixed plans for this purpose with a lovely sunshine in the sky. First visited the Laakkade and then dived into the Binckhorst via the mill. A beautifully extensive industrial area with beautiful, sleek, straight bike lanes and tall office buildings and other companies. Via the Diakonesse House to the Vliet to set sail for Delft. Relax by the water where you always meet oncoming traffic, sometimes on the other side of the wetness, the other time they meet you panting and sweating. Rowers who paddle in different formations are a great source of entertainment, sometimes distraction, and sometimes even act as hares.
