We have noted before that much of the history of Leiden is preserved in its buildings, and there is around the university a Doelensteg and a Doelengracht; My Leiden history book (more about this later) tells me that the Doelen in question were ranges where the militiamen, archers and crossbowmen, could practice. I went one day to see whether anything was left of these, but they have left no traces, replaced by an undistinguished apartment complex and a truly awful university building.

February 16th was the first day the sun was far enough north that the setting sun no longer hid behind the great bulk of the Meelfabriek, the enormous flour mill next to our berth.

Reluctantly, he turned and walked uphill through the Basket-makers' Alley to the pub on the corner of Broad Streeet, where he delivered his load. He always felt a little out of place in this part of town, but he liked seeing the rich merchants in their fancy clothes and their carriages with their shining horses.

Leiden was developed in stages, with the earliest (medieval) settlement being south of the Rhine. The river curves here to the southeast, and a small moat (today's Rapenburg) was dug to the south and east, enclosing a foobtall-shaped oval. The Breestraat still runs parallel to the Rhine, and on old maps it is shown as the Breedestraat, or Broad Street.

The new merchant class lived along both sides of this street, on the high ground. To the southwest, the remaining space in the oval was divided between the Count of Holland (who maintained a seat in Leiden) and the church authorities, the Teutonic Order, who were assigned to staff the new St. Peter's Church.

Apart from the Count's own homestead and orchard, his section was largely filled by military installations, and in 1574 the University was founded in this area, originally in what had been a convent before the Reformation. In the manner of major universities everywhere, Leiden University has spread out and taken over buildings all over the area, many of them originally housing other kinds of institution (the Count's prison, an arsenal, the the aforementioned shooting ranges, among others).

Of the original military presence, there remains only the lovely gate on the Doelengracht, with St. George (patron saint of crossbowmen) slaying his dragon on the pediment and military items in relief on both sides.

The experience of a city so full of old buildings, and so conscious of its history, is greatly enhanced by knowing something of how it got to be that way, or at least I think it is.

She invited us to her house for dinner; we (particularly Barbara) were already so scheduled that it was a little tricky to find a date, but we succeeded and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Hanneke's husband Wilbert is an engineer and an avid sailor, so we had many interests in common. One of their twin sons was away as an exchange student in an American high school, and because they then had an empty bedroom they had invited a Japanese exchange high-school student to stay with them.

Leiden was not developed beyond its 17th-century borders until the 20th century, and Wilbert's grandfather bought their house when it was new, in the mid-30s. It is a beautiful house, 3-story, with a little garden in the back, and doubtless unaffordable nowdays.

"Push" is duwen in Dutch (one sees it on doors, for example), and a push-tug is called a duwboot. One day, in one of those blinding glimpses of the obvious that occasionally come along, this answered a question that has been in the back of my mind for many years.

I could never figure out why such a boat, which never "tows" anything, should be called a towboat, but suddenly it came to me. "Towboat" is not so far from duwboot, and is one more maritime word borrowed from the Dutch, like "tide."

In the mid- to late-19th century, industries began to develop in Leiden, and with them an increase in population. The space inside the old city walls began to be quite crowded, and at some point it occurred to the city fathers that their walls were not really very useful for defense any longer, so they were demolished.

Many of the old houses are now owned by a huge corporation, Portaal, and many of its tenants would say it is not so benign as its predecessors.

One of the main streets, however, is Munnikenstraat, the "Monks' Street," because the earliest building outside the walls in this part of town was a monastery of the Minor Friars.