Joy in the Moment

The sad part about this post is that I am writing it from home.
Unfortunately, the problem with my back has returned and I cannot walk well enough to make the rest of the planned trip in Europe feasible. So we flew home yesterday, Wednesday from Amsterdam instead of making the scheduled flight to London Stansted airport. We were to visit for 3 days in London and then leave (again from Stansted) to fly to Majorcca for a week.
The funny thing is that overnight Stansted airport was one that has been indefinitely shut down because of the volcano in Iceland! The ash cloud is heading for the coast of Spain.
I have thought this morning how we could have been involved in some of these delays. Hmmmmm

Regardless of these events, we did have a wonderful time for our week in Amsterdam. We were able to get a wheelchair at the Van Gogh museum and Ed wheeled me around. We saw the Rijks museum the same way. We were not able to get back to Den Haag to see "The Girl with the Pearl Earring". There was too much walking involved.

We did experience wonderful Dutch pannekeuken, pancakes that are more like crepes and taste wonderful. They are full plate sized and thin. We asked the waitress what kind she like most and she said "apple and bacon", so that is what we had. It was yummy. Thanks to my sister Lois for this "must try" tip.

The Rijks Museum was a real eye treat for me. Ed was very patient. He wheeled me into a room and then let me maneuver myself around the many people to see the things I wanted to see while he saw what he wanted and then would find a place to sit until I was done. The museum was under a major reconstruction so only a small part of the museum was opened.
Seeing the very large and famous "Night Watch" was rewarding to say the least, but I found that there were many of the old less famous dutch masters who I also admired.

All in all I feel that the more places I visit, the more I realize that it is the people that I admire and love. Every country has it's natural beauty, but I become attached to a place because of the people I meet as much as anything else. In fact, the countryside or the cities or the history or the architecture or the food or the art all are made richer because of the people I meet who tell me about their country, the places they love to visit, the food they like to eat, etc. I believe that is why I fall in love with each place I visit and feel sad when I leave because I know that the joy of those moments in my life will never be repeated.