Has anyone seen my ear?

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Happy Liberation Day everyone! May 5, is not only Cinco de Mayo, but Liberation Day in the Netherlands. Not really sure what that means, but I'm sure it's just a Google away.

It's been a chilly, drizzly day here. I don't think it reached 60 degrees F. I got a good night sleep last night, I was exhausted! I had a pretty good breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads, coffee, and juices (I still can't believe they are included with the night's stay!). I think I found out my camera problem so hopefully I will be able to upload photos on a daily basis. I had a newer memory card than these computers would read, so I found a fix and I should be good from now on. I dropped off my laundry this morning at a laundrette to get a good cleaning for once. Wearing the same 3 shirts and 2 pants is getting old, I miss my closet! There's not much of a choice of a morning, is it the dark brown pants, or the light brown pants? Hmmm... I took a walk down to the Vincent Van Gogh Museum today which houses a great deal of his masterpieces including one of my favorite paintings, The Starry Night. I did learn that the famous Starry Night is #2 of 2, there was an original 'The Starry Night' that never became so popular. Van Gogh himself never really liked the famous Starry Night (#2). Van Gogh was a very interesting person to learn about, everyone should Google him to learn about his life and his ups and downs. The museum mentioned his time in institutions multiple times, but it only talked about cutting his ear off one time (that I found). I spent quite a few hours observing Starry Night, The Sunflowers, his Self Portrait, Almond Tree Blossoming, and others that I have seen pictures of, but it gives you chills to stand in front of the real thing. After the museum, I walked down to the Heineken Brewery where a tour happens. I stopped at a supermarket (like I have many times on this trip) to get lunch and walked through a huge flea market while munching on lunch. About any supermarket in Europe will make you a fresh sandwitch in the deli or butcher area with whatever meat, cheeses, and breads you want. The total for my sandwitches rarely goes above 2 euro. Add some yogurt on to that and my late lunch is served! I walked around to see Rembrandt's house, picked up my very clean laundry, and headed back to my room for a bit. Except for the long walk, I felt I was catching up on some much needed rest. I did hear that the European football (soccer) semi-finals were on TV tonight, so I found a British pub where the blokes were a little loud, and went in to watch Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1. The crowd in the pub was crazy, singing strange songs, yelling at the TV's, it was quite the experience! Very fun!

I am packing to head for my new country in the morning. It is still strange, each country feels only like traveling to a different state in the U.S., except everyone there speaks a different language! Imagine going from Indiana to Ohio, and having a different language, maybe even a different currency! Then, when you go to Illinois, it may be completely different!

I am sure I am the only person in the word that comes to Amsterdam to slow down and rest, but it has felt good! I will need my energy for my next location as it is very large, and very vibrant. The only hints I will give is that it is beautiful in the spring, I get to try another new language, and I am very excited to see some of the major tourist points...

Au revoir!

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