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Today we went to the Anne Frank House... the house where the 15 year-old Jewish girl and her family hid from the Nazis for two years until they were betrayed by one of their confidantes (who exactly betrayed them remains unknown.) They were arrested and sent to concentration (extermination) camps, and only the father, Otto, survived. Anne died just a few weeks before the liberation. Her diary writings were published by her father after her death and are world-known.
The house remains unfurnished by the request of Otto, but a scale model shows the inside of the house as it would have looked in 1942, when 8 people hid in the 1000 sq. ft. apartment above Otto's business offices. Anne's room still has magazine clippings and photos of movie stars pasted to the walls.
Just standing there thinking about it, I could imagine them living in fear every day, avoiding creaky boards in the floor in hopes of not being heard by the factory workers below. It really makes you appreciate the freedom and safety that we take so much for granted (and that our soldiers fight so bravely for.)
We had planned to visit Zaanse Schaans, an
open air museum, in the afternoon but realized that we wouldn't have time. So, we pulled out the trusty Rick Steves guidebook and did a self-guided walking tour of the Jordaan neighborhood. After having only seen the Dam Square part of the city with its shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and partying revelers, it was a complete surprise to find the streets fairly empty and a very mellow attitude.
We got tired and eventually ducked into a quiet restaurant to have some hot chocolate and a slice of delicious lemon cheesecake. We had a great time trying to translate the words the waitress was writing on the chalkboard, and I think the waitress had an even better time listening to us completely mangle the pronunciation and probably guess most of the meanings wrong anyway.
(Side note pertaining to Dutch menus: Antonio, the tour director for my Italy tour last year actually lives in Amsterdam, and he gave me a restaurant recommendation if I wanted to try real Dutch food. I looked it up online and found a menu that was translated to English. We decided not to go there when we discovered that they served "Malicious young she-goat in greenness".)
After her coffee, Angie decided that she wanted beer, so she and Mom tried out the Amstel Light. Three beers later, I was ready to leave, so we put the bunny up on the bar with an Amstel coaster in his lap and took a photo. The bunny is a small stuffed animal that is traveling with us... we are taking photos of him in strategic places and we will send him and the photos to my cousin, David.
Anyway, my sister decided that she wanted to take a picture of the bunny with a glass of beer... which of course meant that she would have to have a fourth one, so Mom and I went shopping and left her at the bar. Then we headed back to the apartment (getting slightly lost on the way, since the one person who has a sense of direction had had 4 beers).
As we walked home, we came upon an animal standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the front door of a house as if it were waiting for someone to come out and feed it. But it wasn't a dog, and it wasn't a cat. It
was... a heron. I've never seen a bird beg before, but he was very convincing. If I had any food, I would have given it to him.
That night, we decided to venture into the Red Light District (just so we could say we did). So, off we went, mother in tow, down a dark alley (right next to a church), the very strong smell of a certain herb wafting in the air... where the girls stood in pink-lighted windows wearing little more than a smile. As the British guy at our B&B said... it's a bit like a human zoo. Don't tap on the glass, and don't feed the animals. Except for the heron.
* Don't forget you can click on the photos for a larger view
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