Return to Europe

Elizabeth Zelvin

I last visited Europe in 2003, when my husband and I were invited to a first wedding anniversary party in Copenhagen. It turned out to be a divorce party, but we had a wonderful time in Denmark and also in Amsterdam, where we spent a week on the way. A little over ten years later, we're on the brink of returning to Amsterdam, where we’ll celebrate my birthday (a big round one) with Dutch friends and then stay in their apartment while they take over ours in New York City. It’ll be tulip season, something I’ve always longed to see for myself, and the Rijksmuseum, which has been undergoing renovation for more than ten years, has finally reopened. We’ll also spend a week in Toulouse in southwestern France; we are lucky to have friends there too. There’s plenty to see in the area, including some prehistoric cave paintings that I want to see again, but we hope to spend much of our time sitting in sidewalk cafés and strolling to the markets and nearby medieval churches.

I took a lot of pictures with my very first digital camera. This time, I won’t even take a camera: I’ll get much better pictures on my iPad and supplement them with quick shots on my iPhone. I might even find an Internet café and display them on Facebook as I go, so my friends can enjoy the trip along with me. In the meantime, here are some of my best shots from 2003:

Roofs of Copenhagen

City of bicycles

Central Station, Copenhagen

White hulls, Nyhavn

Cathedral steps, Roskilde

Viking ship

View from Round Tower

Barred window

A glimpse of roses

Red lintel

Tile and timber

Strawberries

No more war!