Chilly Amsterdam with a visit to Anne Franks House

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We board our Thalys train leaving Paris upwards to the city of Amsterdam, via a quick look out the window at Brussles, Belgium. Our first sight of rain greets us as we try to glimpse out the window at a world we know little about.

After the sunshine (and sunburn) from Paris we were not quite ready to be greeted with such cool temperatures in Amsterdam as we venture out from the train station. We scavenger through our suitcase to find warm clothes to put on and I find gloves for myself, that will have to do. We hop on the tram which drops us right at the door of our hotel. Trams seem to be the most efficient way to move around the city as well as the locals and their reliable bikes, we wonder how we can get a hold of one of those. We aren't able to check in yet so we drop our suitcases off and head off exploring.

The main reason for our venture up to Amsterdam is to visit Anne Franks house; we had little interest in the red light district or the easily accessible drugs. We assess our tourist map hop on and off the tram and walk along the many bridges and dodge many on bikes. We stop at a bakery where we have some bread and sit in the cool air watching the birds flutter along the lakes. We reach Anne Franks house and are greeted by a massive queue which goes out and around the side street. Would take more than that to deter me. We join the back, behind maybe 200 people. As we stand there the cold hits us and we are delighted to round a bend and find a souvenir shop selling all sorts of warm accessories. I send Nathan off and he returns with coffee, gloves, beanies and scarfs. This defiantly helps and we now look like an advertisement for Amsterdam.

After a reasonable hour wait we enter at the bottom of Anne Franks house. For those of you unfamiliar with the story of Anne Frank...you should really read the book. During World War II Anne Frank and her family hid in a secret house at the top of an office building where her father used to work. We walk through the building where we learn more information about Anne Frank and her family. Then we go behind the bookcase that hides the entrance to the hidden living quarters upstairs. Its utterly eerie and I'm glad all fear of confined spaces was forgotten in my thirst for knowledge. Anyone who has read the books would find all the nooks and crannies familiar but even those who are not so familiar can still gain a world of knowledge and experience the desperation first hand at what this family was forced to endure.

No trip would be complete without buying a copy of the book from the book store, if you can find a copy in your language. The diary of Anne Frank has been published into 60 different languages.

There is more to Amsterdam, unfortunately time did not allow us to explore it all or leave the city to the beautiful outskirts. We managed to visit the infamous Sex Museum and a stroll in a beautiful park where we even saw the beginning of the tulips blossoming.

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