June 24, 2026

 Wednesday. Left a little before 9:45. Blacksmith. Warm already, without a cloud in the sky, and light winds out of the east. Through the Berenkuil toward De Bilt and Bunnik. Then Odijk to Rijsenburgselaan. Outside of Odijk a pair of storks on a nest, monitored by a birder. From the bike, no chicks visible. Right turn after the church in Driebergen, toward Doorn. Across the Hoogstraat (quiet) then Maarnsegrindweg and Quatre Bras. Up Zeisterweg toward another detour in Zeist, leading to the Utrechtseweg by way of the Dreef. Utrechtseweg had a closure too, so back to the Berenkuil on the south side. Paper at Møs with a report on Germany pulling out of a frigate project at a Dutch shipbuilder (collaborating with German partners). It's the same builder having trouble (major delays, major cost overruns) on a project with the Belgian government. This comes on top of the recent news of the failure of the French-German effort to develop a new, European fighter plane (presumably as an alternative to buying American). And so where the rubber of Europe's aspirations hits the road of genuine and timely results, the continent seems stuck in neutral. It should still get a seat at the table if and when talks to end the war (not on the horizon) begin, but for its own credibility it would be good if, at least at the national level, some muscle could be built. Otherwise, surely the Russian president, but maybe Washington too, will continue to ask: "how many divisions does Costa have?"