November 30, 2025

 Sunday. Left around 9:45. Nikor. Rain overnight, and everything sparkled in the sun. Some clouds, and moderate southwesterly winds which made it feel on the cool side. Singel  (leaves brown, yellow, and red high and low) to Koningsweg and Vechten. The entire Marsweg without any motorized traffic. Achterdijk fairly quiet too, and flat and open. The asphalt shimmering everywhere. Schalkwijk church spire in the distance. Hollendewagenweg even flatter, opener. The lone tree by the Tuurdijk. Nachtdijk to Goyerbrug and Beusichemseweg. Not a single motorized vehicle from there, all the way to beyond the railroad underpass. Wind, but otherwise a very quiet river. Not too many birds any more. Just five cars until Tull en 't Waal. Schalkwijk church from the opposite side. Approach to the Beatrixsluis fine, as long as you ignore the big boxes to your right, which is hard to do. Coming down from the Plofsluis a barge approaching the locks that was loaded to the point of its narrow walkways on the outside being under water. Merwedekanaal and bike path full of Sunday recreationalists, and who could blame them. Mos with the Saturday paper. A report on EU debates over how to finance the war. Belgium resisting simply using frozen Russian funds held there; Germany and the Netherlands, among others, resisting the Eurobond alternative. It's related to a recent debate in parliament over here, where the government doesn't yet want to release more money for Kyiv because some other EU members finally need to do their part first. All this as more confirmation comes in of Washington's willingness to support the Russian agenda and of the administration's indifference to Ukraine or European security. No wonder Moscow is not interested in serious peace talks--the war and the geopolitical context are going its way. It is too early to say that Europe is incapable of promoting its own security, currently on the line in Ukraine. If, however, the money can't be found soon, it will have failed a critical test, maybe fatally so. It is true that in Europe, stuff usually gets done slowly, and that in most cases, eventually, EU member states manage to act in the common interest. With 27 member states having a voice, and a vote, it is never easy. But today, there's even less time than, say, during the Euro crisis fifteen years ago. A crisis like that tends to focus the minds. It would be nice to see a little more focus soon.