Where to begin my #BackpackEurope trip? UK? France? The Netherlands? All great places to start! After much deliberation, I just closed my eyes and pointed. My finger landed on the Netherlands!

With that decided, I promptly bought my plane ticket. After a connection and layover in Dallas, I will be arriving at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam - bright and early at 8:15 am.

While in the Netherlands, I will be reading a book by Dutch author, Tonke Dragt. De brief voor de koning, translated as The Letter for the King, won the "Griffel der Griffels" award for the best Dutch children's book of the previous 50 years, yet it took 50 years for it to be translated into English. Ms. Dragt was born in Batavia on the Dutch East Indies (Jakarta), survived World War II in a Japanese prisoner camp, and moved to the Netherlands after the war. She wrote The Letter for the King in 1962. Tonke Dragt was knighted in 2001. Ms. Dragt's background, and the immense popularity her book has enjoyed, have me intrigued. Needless to say, I am excited to begin!