On a conference call, so long ago, a coworker mentioned that airlines will allow for a lyover of less than 24 hours without added cost. As we worked to use our miles to book tickets to Greece, this fact crept into my mind. Where would we connect through (Delta doesn’t fly direct to Athens). Paris? (Yes, please.) Amsterdam? Somewhere else?
Chloe had just read about Anne Frank for school and, when I told her I had been to the secret annex as a kid, decided she needed to see Anne’s hiding place for herself. So a “free” layover in Amsterdam it was. While the airline cost didn’t increase, we did have to pay for food and lodging — and to be in Central Amsterdam? That didn’t come cheap.
But the biggest problem? Tickets to the Anne Frank House. I had been given fair warning. Buy early. And I thought I was! But I hadn’t taken into account the European “Easter Break” week. And when I went to buy tickets weeks ahead of time? They were gone.
Luckily, I have some wonderful friends in the Netherlands. Not only did they come to meet us at the airport, Martin stood in line. In the cold April wind. To get us tickets. We are so blessed to have friends willing to go that extra mile for us. My girls will never forget the moving experience of going to the Anne Frank ouse, nor the generosity of our friends.
