Jewish History and Apple Pie

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Our third morning in Amsterdam, we headed directly to the Anne Frank House to beat the line. We were there 15 minutes before it opened and a line had already started forming. It was one of the most popular tourist sites in city. We had both read a Diary of Anne Frank and knew that this was THE house where they hid from the Nazis but being in the house and feeling the weight of what that actually meant was an experience we didn't expect to have. It was incredible to peer out the same window she would to see the sun and clouds or walk up the same stairs to the attic she would to find privacy. We couldn't imagine what that experience would've felt like as a 12 year old girl. In her diary, she wrote that about how she yearned to dance and see the sun and hear the birds-every day things we take for granted. At the end of the museum, there was an area where people could sit and watch 5 different segments on issues we face today and viewers were asked to vote (anonymously) on a handheld device on what they would do in the situation posed. Topics ranged from religion in schools to rights to free speech. The answers were not always black and white but we found our vote in line with the majority of people voting at the time and cumulatively.

After our visit, it was nearly lunch time so we headed in direction of our next sight. We took the light rail to other side of town and hopped off early to walk around in a different part of the city. We stopped at the Flower Market to buy tulip bulbs (to Khyati's dismay we missed tulip season by 2 months) and enjoy the plethora of gorgeous flowers in different colors and styles. From there we began to look for a place for lunch knowing we wouldn't have luck at just any place. When passing by one cafe window we had to pause to stare at the food on the customers plates and knew we had found our lunch place. What we had stumbled upon was a Turkish cafe called Güllüoglu.-bright, clean chic on the inside with an extensive menu of items to choose from and no shortage of vegetarian options. This place claimed to be the original inventor of baklava in Turkey and has since spread to other countries working their way west from Greece. There were at least 20 types of baklava on the menu and behind the glass counter. We started with lunch as our moms taught us and had a delicious veggie burger, Turkish coffee, and Turkish pasta. It was so fresh and the taste was incredible. For dessert, we had pistachio baklava and promised to come back to try some of the other varieties (never happened). With happy stomachs, we made our way to tour the Jewish history museum, stopping first to see a 17th century Portuguese synagogue. The Jewish museum was actually built into a synagogue and was several floors of multimedia presentations, artifacts, and paintings. It took a couple of hours for us to walk through not being able to pause to read and see everything in the interest of time and sore feet. They had done a great job in taking us through the history of Jews from when they first came to Amsterdam to present day.

We walked back towards the other side of town after a day of mind exhausting sights stopping in Dam square to people watch and listen to musicians play. We walked through the shopping district and through narrow alleys to see more of the charming city. By now it was evening and time to head to the hotel for a break. What a peaceful street we were staying on-lined with bicycles, of course, and potted plants and swans swimming in the canal. We got dressed and headed to a nearby restaurant known city wide for the best Dutch apple pie. Apparently, on the weekends, there were lines out the door and customers would come out with pie and whip cream. What was even better is that it was a local establishment with very few tourists. And while we appreciated that almost everyone in Amsterdam spoke English, we preferred the more authentic Dutch speaking experience. Needless to say, they spoke English but it was still filled with locals who rode their bicycles to dinner. We had a delicious salad for dinner and, of course, apple pie, for dessert which was definitely the best apple pie we had ever had. As it was our last night in Amsterdam, we spent the rest of our time enjoying the sights at night (and walking off our apple pie).

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