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Published: October 29th 2021
“
I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” Anne Frank
Considering what Anne Frank and her family, and hundreds of thousands of other Dutch Jews, went through during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, I’ve always thought it amazing that she still believed that people were good at heart. But more on that later. First, our flight and arrival in Amsterdam!
We had uploaded our proofs of COVID vaccines prior to our flight, so our check in with KLM was a breeze. We spent a few enjoyable hours in the Plaza Premium lounge at the airport before our flight, enjoying drinks and snacks. We had quite a pleasant 9 hour flight to Amsterdam. They gave us lunch (KLM didn‘t have a record of my vegetarian meal but the pasta option was vegetarian and quite tasty), and I had a white wine with the meal and a red wine with dessert. They also served breakfast (it was also vegetarian, luckily) before we landed. Since we landed around 11:15 pm our time (8:15 am Amsterdam time) we didn’t sleep at all on the flight. I tried to at one
point, but just couldn’t, so watched another movie instead.
We breezed through customs, bought our train ticket to Centraal Station, and SIM cards for our phones, and were off on the train heading to central Amsterdam. We walked 10 minutes or so to our B&B, marvelling at all the small, narrow, picturesque streets on the way, and doing our best to avoid all the cyclists! It was a lovely day, sunny and breezy. Our B&B is great, very large and comfortable, with an amazing view of the canal and the Oude Kerk (a very old church, I believe the oldest building in Amsterdam). The bells ring every 15 minutes! We on the third floor, up some extremely steep and narrow stairs. Our host, Katrien, insisted on carrying our suitcases up the stairs, over our protestations that we could carry them. After climbing the stairs, I was grateful as I would have found it a bit challenging. The stairs are so steep there is a thick rope to hang on to.
We were really quite tired at this point, so after settling in the room we had a nap, then headed off to the Anne Frank House for our
2:30 entry. On the way we spotted the place where we made appointments for our covid tests tomorrow. We were using Google maps on Susan’s phone to find our way, and somehow we ended up going the wrong way, because we ended up back at Centraal Station! Time was running out at that point, so we quickly got an Uber and made it to the Anne Frank House a bit late, but they let us in anyway. The Uber driver was amazing, manoeuvring through the narrow streets and avoiding all the cyclists.
I have just finished re-reading Anne Frank’s diary, so visiting the house where she and her family hid for over 2 years felt especially compelling to me. It is truly amazing to climb the stairs she climbed, and see the rooms the families lived in, and the actual bookcase which hid the entry to ”The Secret Annex”. You are likely familiar with her story. She and her family (parents and older sister) and another family (parents and teenage son) and another man hid in what they called the Secret Annex, for over two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Someone informed on the families and
Oude Kerk - view from our B&B
We hear the church bells every 15 minutes!they were all arrested and sent to the Nazi death camps. Ultimately, only Anne’s father, Otto Frank, survived. The museum is very well done, and mostly lets the rooms and the story speak for themselves. It was a sobering, but very worthwhile, experience. If you are interested in her story, even if you don’t have a chance to visit the museum, you might want to check out the Anne Frank House website - it’s really informative.
After our visit, we took a 75 minute canal boat ride, which was enjoyable. It had clouded over at this point, and rained for some of the boat ride. We had chosen a covered boat for just that reason, so we were fine. By the time it finished, the rain had stopped. We walked to a bar called Proeflokaal Arendsnest, which I had found online prior to our trip. They specialize in Dutch beer and have over 50 on tap! Really nice place. We each had two different beers and a cheese plate. We then walked back to our B&B, enjoying the lights on the canals as we walked. It was breezy, but not raining, so it was a nice walk. There are
lots of tourists, and people generally, out and about here in Amsterdam. People don’t generally wear masks (I think they lifted the mask mandate fairly recently). And we have to constantly be on the watch for cyclists - they come out of nowhere and are everywhere!
I am exhausted, so I will add some photos then sign off, so I can be ready for another full day tomorrow in Amsterdam!
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Jo Dunaway
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Way to go!
Way to go Susan & Lori! Looking forward to travelling vicariously through you again! I've enjoyed my other armchair trips! Amsterdam is a good first stop — a great city! I remember a tour of the Heiniken brewery which started around 10 am, featured pitchers of beer & plates of cheese & decanted about 50 drunk tourists back on the street around noon. Rest of the day is a blur.. Go see the Rembrandt Night Watch if you get a chance. Enjoy your adventure! xo … jo