Monnickendam

After fighting the city crowds and a brief heat wave yesterday, we are biking in the countryside north of Amsterdam. We found a cafe in the shade for coffee and apple pie (with the whipped cream, of course). Our lodging is a garden house on a canal near Amsterdam. (Our hostess Zita and her daughter, Erna are pictured) Found it through Airbnb - a first experience and very pleasant so far. We are using Airbnb in Bruges and Home Away in Normandy and Paris. We are remembering our fallen soldiers this weekend and during the week, too. Wednesday we will attend a remembrance ceremony in Ypres for the 90,000 soldiers who were lost in Flanders during WWI and will be tracing my father's path in the area during the war almost 100 years ago. Dad was born in 1896 and joined the Calvary in 1917, trained in Augusta, GA, and was sent overseas in 1918. His diaries and letters are intact along with a map and memorabilia from his service. Precious artifacts from a war that doesn't receive much notice.Read more