Operation: Invade Zee Germans Participants: #512-Waterratten Taskforce consisting of: Engineer Airhead, Delina and Gonzo Objective: Take over Lt. Sophie and Silent Addle’s apartment for games, photoshoots and shenanigans.

It was 11am in the morning on the 21st of August 2015. It was a very hot day. Gonzo was waiting at the station of Eindhoven, a city in the south of the Netherlands. Engineer Airhead and Delina were soon to arrive to begin a 7 hour journey towards the east. The journey would take them deep inside Germany to visit Lieutenant Sophie and Silent Addle and take over their home for the weekend.

The journey took the brave Dutch Toy Soldiers through wasp-infested parking lots for the few breaks along the way that were needed to keep them sane. [ Fun fact: Gonzo Dances when wasps are around him. ]

The Autobahn is both a delight and a hell when there is no speed limit. Gonzo and Airhead were having a lot of fun, and many stupid silly jokes were laughed about. It seems that in Germany, all they ever do is build roads on the streets and build bridges next to other bridges. After a good 4 or 5 hours on the Autobahn, the GPS system sent the soldiers through more touristic views of villages in valleys and beautiful architecture of churches and small towns.

After the long drive there was a small problem with getting to the apartment because again, the Germans love roadworks for some reason. After Airhead conferred with the locals, they found a Silent on the side of the road. He guided the invading forces foolishly to his apartment, as soon after the soldiers had unloaded their gear and devoured Lt. Sophie’s delicious pizza a big nerf war broke out. Vortex discs and nerf darts were flying around and at one point it became a chaotic free for all.

After a few hours, a ceasefire was declared and it was time for a good sleep, as traveling and nerf wars make one sleepy.

Saturday was BBQ and games day. The Nintendo 64 was connected and it didn’t take long for Delina to claim the Zelda game. There was still a somewhat tense atmosphere after the ceasefire from the night before. One thing was absolutely clear: “Always have a loaded NERF gun within arms reach when hanging out with Toy Soldiers.”

The BBQ was fired up for lunch, and the meat and veggies were enjoyed by all. After the feeding was done, Gonzo took out the game Exploding Kittens. After playing and many laughs it got chilly outside and the soldiers went on to play Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64. Attempts were made to record some gaming footage for the upcoming Gaming Marathon. After Silent and Delina went to bed; Sophie, Airhead and Gonzo stayed up and chatted a bit while playing games before calling it a late night.

Sunday was photoshoot and wasteland exploration day. Everyone geared up and donned their uniforms. After the many flashes and poses were done, it was time to explore the wasteland. Rumour had it that an alien craft landed there, but the local government was covering the evidence by expanding the railroad over it. During exploration we came across many interesting features. Airhead had to collect some of his lost sleep and took a nap in one of the digger machines.

In the end no sign was found of the alien crash landing, -except a few legs with plants growing out of them- But a great new game was invented by Delina called: “Whack-a-Soldier”. The game is highly recommended for Tactical Playtime!

After another lot of photos were shot, it was time to head back and have lunch. The original plan was to make some more gaming footage, but the soldiers were so exhausted that everyone just relaxed and looked back to a good weekend. They ordered pizza for dinner and enjoyed a relaxed evening together. Peace was finally established between the invading taskforce and the hosts of the weekend.

The next morning after packing, double checking and goodbyes; Airhead, Delina and Gonzo went on their 7 hour journey back. This time though a lot of rain and traffic. They made it home safely.

Operation: Success!