We also visited another old favorite, the beach in Noordwijk. By the way, that’s where ESA is located, toon (they’ve got an awesome space museum we used to frequent when Simon was little). The Atlantic shore was probably the only place where the evenings during the August heatwave were bearable, and even pleasant, although the notorious underwater currents spoiled it. We don’t remember the currents ever being that dangerous. Red flags 🚩 meant we weren’t allowed to go into the water, not deeper than up to our knees in any case. Several people died. Neva is convinced this, too, is a consequence of global warming as the currents seem to result from prolonged periods of same-direction winds and unchanging weather, a well-known effect that climate change has introduced to Northern Europe. We used to have unpredictable weather, now it often resembles the tropics, with days on end of heat and draught and then days on end of heavy rain and floods.
For Simon, the escape to the beach was literally a breath of fresh air and a chance to do some more math, without feeling canned inside or roasted in the city streets. Here he is coming up with puzzles about factorials:
Geeks out of the box 