Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“How the heck does this machine work?” Mark was frustrated. He and Hannah were at the
end of an amazing day, but now they were having problems getting back to Amsterdam. They
had visited The Hague that morning and spent a wonderful afternoon touring the village of
Delft
.
When they had arrived in Delft, they had been pleasantly surprised by an antique market,
where Hannah had collected a few pieces of Delftware ceramics to take back home with her.
They had then visited the so-called Old and New Churches, with the New Church completed
in 1496. Mark was amazed at the staggering architecture of the Old Church, with its tower-
ing and slightly leaning steeple, and Hannah had pointed out how the empty alcoves on the
outside of the church had once held religious statues. As the Reformation had swept through
the Netherlands, she explained, the so-called iconoclasts had destroyed all signs of what
they considered to be Catholic idolatry. But although those actions were directed toward the
religious icons, she continued, the real motivations were political, as the Netherlands at that
time was still recovering from years of Spanish Catholic rule. Although Mark was interested
in the story, he was much more interested in the way Hannah passionately related it to him.
She had been a political science major, after all, and he liked how she was reconnecting
with that part of herself during this trip
.
After they had completed their tour, they had eaten dinner at the African restaurant
Abessini
before heading back to the Delft train station. And now here they were, trying to catch one
of the last trains back to Amsterdam and having serious problems buying a ticket. The ticket
counter was closed, and their only option seemed to be to use an awkward-looking yellow
machine. The machine didn't accept cash or credit card. It only wanted a special “
chip-
kaart
” that neither of them had. They looked around for help, but the station was deserted.
“Well, what do you think we should do?” Hannah wondered aloud
.
“We could just get on a train to Amsterdam and see what happens,” Mark responded, only
to be surprised when Hannah recoiled from the idea
.
“I don't know, sweetie. I was reading that if you don't have a ticket once you're on the train,
the fine is pretty steep. I think that one guidebook said it was a thirty-five-euro fine per per-
son.”
