Blue skies above, birds chirping in the pink or white flowering trees, refreshing air in a 68 degree temperature, AND 7 MILLION FLOWERING Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths in landscaped bliss. This is the amazing Keukenhof Gardens, south of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Our friends, Randy and Melisa and Sandra, joined us on this grand day visiting the Keukenhof Gardens and rural farms with flower strips divided by color, ending in a river cruise to see windmills. What a day! The Keukenhof was the highlight with beauty that one imagines heaven could be like. Masses of flowers in flowing design cascading up knolls and down to river canals, sometimes highlighted by fountains, sculptures, or quiet waterfalls. The 64 acres were a dance of color and design as the sights were mesmerizing and at times overwhelming. Adding to the beauty were the abundant flowering apple trees covered in pink blooms and the densely flowering azaleas. It did not seem as if it was real, but it was!

Unfortunately, our friend Mike was unable to go with us. He fell the night before! The injury was sufficient enough that he and Sandra departed today for home. We are all saddened by this turn of events. They are giving up over three weeks of our journey (thankfully they had spent over a week in Portugal prior) and we are giving them up as travel companions on this journey. We prayed for them and still do as Mike goes to his doctors upon arrival to their home.

We left home on April 10, and our flight was uneventful. On April 11, Randy and Melisa and Kathy and I spent a recoup day leisurely strolling the De Pijp neighborhood of Amsterdam. It was atmospheric, and the Albert Cuypmarkt, the largest street market in Europe, was a delight. We found a quaint restaurant for lunch and along the way found a stall making fresh stroopwafels. The large pastries were filled with caramel and were warm–tasty! Kathy found a swimming suit stall and got a wonderful one for only ten Euro’s ($10.70). Since our hotel gave us free spa entrances, and she had not brought her swimsuit, she was delighted to find this bargain. While we wiled away our afternoon in the De Pijp neighborhood, the Steele’s, who had arrived a day before us, went to the historic Zaanse Schans, a village filled with antique homes and shops in a rural setting with cattle and sheep on lush landscapes highlighted with colorful windmills that Randy and Melisa and we had visited this village on a previous trip to Amsterdam. Being rather worn out by our overnight flight, we retired early. I slept for twelve refreshing hours.

The next day, April 11, all of us walked the old town of Amsterdam and spent an interesting time visiting the museum of the “Church in the Attic.” Because the Netherlands had converted to Dutch Reformed from Roman Catholicism, the Catholics lost their places of worship and could not openly conduct worship (Lutherans, Jews and others faced the same restrictions). Many house churches were opened. Each looked like traditional homes but the interior rooms were converted into worship spaces. The one still remaining is the “Church in the Attic.” Funded by a rich Roman Catholic linen merchant from Germany, the house church was a combination of three adjacent homes. The bottom floors looked like traditional Dutch homes but the attics were renovated to house the church, replete with a balcony, pipe organ, and ornate altar. The tour gave us much information about Dutch homes and the merchant trade as we ascended to the attic. We completely enjoyed our time.

After a lunch break, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the Rijksmuseum, one of the world’s premiere art institutions. Housing Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other Low Country artists from the “Golden Age,” the museum was on my museum bucket list. All of us spent ample time in front of Rembrandt’s large canvas known as the “Night Watch.” We soaked it all in!

That evening, Kathy and I went out to eat with two of Kathy’s nieces, Joy and Bethany, who by happenstance were in the Netherlands at the same time as we. How we loved this time together!

Randy and Melisa and Mike and Sandra went out to eat and wanted “the best Dutch Apple pie” as dessert served at a different restaurant. While walking there, Mike fell, not seeing a small step down from the sidewalk into the bike lane. They got him back to the hotel, but the picture consult with a doctor late at night confirmed that he should return home. God speed, Mike and Sandra! We love you!

Melisa, Kathy, and Sandra at the Tulip Farm