April, April - der macht was er will.

An old-school sign at London's Imperial War Museum foreshadowing the spring to be encountered on my return to Leiden.

Some indicators of Spring:

• Flowers wildly blooming opposite the Law Building in the Van der Werfpark.
• Ducks kissing in the canal.
• Not being able to recognise the way to the swimming pool as it was so unusually green.
• Bees attacking the white/pink cherry blossom outside my balcony, causing white petals to fall to the ground like snow.
• White blackheads popping out of my nose.
• Gogo and Mickey (my neighbours' cats, which uncannily look exactly like Hector and Hamish back in Sydney) having a wild rumpus in the garden.
• Leiden's locals filling the cafes by the canals and finding any excuse to absorb as much sun as possible. Note: AALL, one does not say "Let's meet at the cafe by the canal", which is akin to referring to "that letterbox - the one with mail inside".
• Free entry to the Hortus Botanicus Botanical Gardens for Leiden University Students starts to be very useful, if only to lie on the green grassy banks of the canal and watch the wooden boats drive by.
• I am not alone in riding to the beach. Interestingly, when I arrived at Katwijk Beach with a German and a Brazilian, the Australian and the Brazilian's nonchalent indifference was markedly contrasted to the German's excited reaction.
• Running training for the 6.6km Leiden Singelloop, and seeing the town and environs at dusk.
• Monday soccer, organised by Andreas, the football-mad Dane and model-Aryan.
• Post-class picnics in the park opposite the law school with my Japanese classmate.
• By the end of the month, a green canopy has appeared all over town creating a thin veil of leaves where before it was bare brown branches.