Bad Arolsen, picture from Slyss, Flickr

Monday, August 3. I’m sitting on a terrace in Bad Arolsen, Germany, the birthplace of our queen’s grandmother Emma. I have a nice view of the palace she lived in. It’s beautiful from the outside. I can’t go in since I’m still on crutches and the place is full of stairs, steps and expensive furniture, but Gerco has the pleasure to take a museum tour inside with the kids right now…:) So I’m enjoying some of the best coffee and cakes the world has to offer and admiring Emma’s humble dwellings before she married the 40 year older Dutch King William The Third and moved to The Netherlands

This royal splendor reminds me of the time when queen Beatrix visited Warsaw. She and her husband had a very busy schedule. Every single minute was planned, from the moment she got off the plane till she waved all the Poles goodbye again. Of course, these visits don’t take place too often. And they do get enough free time to spend in the best places you’d ever wish for. But being part of the organization of that visit certainly confirmed my idea that royalties live in a cage, gold and glittery as it may be.

However, during that visit rumors spread that Beatrix and Claus managed to escape! On the second day, between coffee and dinner time, they ran off to Lasienki park, a beautiful garden behind the little palace they were residing. The Polish security followed the couple, walking in the rain, nice and cozy under an umbrella. Finally time to talk in private for a minute and ask each other how they were doing. Maybe check if the other thought that the concert was really boring as well or laugh about the Polish president’s moustache. Perhaps settle an argument that they had three days before. Just be their normal selves, whatever that may be.

Then, they were stopped by a group of Japanese tourists. The security guys were at high alert, would they be recognized or not? One lady walked up to them, asking in sign language and crooked English whether they could take a photo of the group. Of course, Beatrix and Claus helped out, giggling from under their umbrella. They gave some instructions, made a few shots and waved them goodbye. These tourists might have wondered about the lady’s strange hairdo, but surely had no clue that the queen and prince of The Netherlands took their picture!

Every moment is stuffed with history and hidden stories. I’m going to have an other sip of my cappuchino and fantasize a bit more about all the people that have taken strolls in this place, the sense of freedom they might have enjoyed and the unexpected encounters they may have had. Wonder who might be sitting next to me!