Europe 101

1. Never fly through London Heathrow if you can possibly avoid it.
2. Earplugs and eye masks aren't really an asset for sleeping on a 9 hour flight.
3. Going to Europe with a 14 year old really is fun. Honest.
4. Walking in the bike lane in the Netherlands does not endear you to the locals.
5. An Egyptian running a Mediterranean restaurant in Haarlem is a good idea.
6. You can cry on a muesum tour, especially if it is about the holocost.
   

My life is but a weaving between my God and me.
I do not choose the colours, He works so steadily.
Oft times He weaves in sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
Forget he sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reason why
The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

reprinted by Corrie ten Boomhuis, Haarlem, The Netherlands. Corrie was a survivor of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, imprisoned for aiding Jews in WWII. "The Hiding Place" (book and movie) was her memoirs of the experience.