A Day in Amsterdam

Tuesday April 26th

Today we headed off to Amsterdam for a short day trip.  We caught the Thalys train from Paris at 7:30 in the morning with absolutely no problems this time.  We get better each time we take the train.  We had reserved seats for the 3 hour 15 minute ride to Amsterdam and pulled into the central station about 10:45, well rested and stress free.

Our primary goal in Amsterdam was to visit the Anne Frank house since Katie and I had both just finished reading her diary.  The line outside the house was long, and certainly a testament to the number of lives touched by Anne’s story.  The people waiting were of all ages, from retired people here on holiday, to school groups on a field trip.  In front of us were a 40 something married coupled from France, and behind us were two college students from the US.  The line moved quickly and we were inside in about 40 minutes. 

It was an extremely powerful experience to be in the Frank’s secret annex, particularly with the book fresh in my mind. Only by focusing on the experience of one small group of people, can the suffering endured by so many during this time in history be comprehended.  Numbers and statistics can’t tell a story nearly so well as seeing the cramped quarters in which eight people had to live for two years. 

Being in the secret annex really touched both Katie and I and we were both almost in tears by the end of the tour.  I almost lost it altogether when looking at growth marks that Mrs. Frank recorded for both Margot and Anne during their time in the annex.  How many of us so that?  Mark our kids’ heights with pencils as they grow before us?  Anne grew several inches during her two years in the annex as she went from 12 to 14.  In her diary she remarks that none of her clothes fit, her undershirts barely covered her belly and her toes were curled up inside her shoes.  Yet it was difficult to get new clothes for her.  And knowing that she died soon after her last growth mark was hard to digest.

I also found it very touching to see all the video interviews playing in different rooms. There were interviews with Otto Frank, who was the only one of the 8 to survive, with the helpers who provided them with food and supplies, and with friends of Anne’s and Margot’s who lived through the horrors.  One of the video interviews was with one of Anne’s friends from school who actually ended up in the same concentration as Anne and Margot, and was one of the last people to see Anne alive.  Many of these women are now in their 80s, and it was hard to think that they survived while so many did not. Who would these boys and girls who lost their lives become? What has the world missed out on because of their absence?  I will NEVER forget my trip to the Anne Frank house and I don’t think Katie will either.  The image of the growth chart on their wall will be with me forever.

After the Anne Frank tour we stopped for lunch at a pancake house.    The pancakes were thin like crepes but not folded, and the size of a dinner plate.  There were about 100 different choices of pancakes. Katie had a great pancake with ice cream and chocolate sprinkles, while I opted for one with bacon and apple.

After lunch we thought about going to the van Gogh museum, but there was a line, and we decided that we had had enough culture/history for the day and went off to do something fun.  So we toured the original Heineken plant.  The complex was actually now and entire Heineken experience from a “4D Brew You” tour in which you find out what it feels like to be brewed and bottled, to the horse stables, to a tasting room, a bar, and more Heineken history that anyone could very possibly care about (sorry Jim).  My ticket came with THREE glasses of beer, of which I drank ½ glass.  Katie’s ticket did not come with beer. There is no legal drinking age in the Netherlands though (or in France) so if I wanted to give her some of mine no problem, and there was a dad there with two teens (about 4 or 16) who drank with him.

After the Heineken experience we took a boat ride through the canals, which was pleasant and relaxing, and then finished our day by walking through the flower market. It was all I could do to keep reminding  myself that the deer eat all our tulips and buying bulbs would be a waste of time.  There were SO tempting though!  I kept telling myself, too heavy to carry around!

Overall, the day in Amsterdam was fun, although due to the influence of the Anne Frank house I am still sad a day later.  Overall though, Katie and I both preferred Brussels to Amsterdam.  Brussels is a city with an identity that it promotes. “Come to Brussels, eat mussels, eat chocolate, eat waffles. Enjoy our medieval architecture.”  So we went, ate chocolate, ate mussels, waffles and walked through the beautiful square and had a great time doing it.  Amsterdam on the other hand didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. Does it want to be known for tulips, canals and art, or for its tragic past, or does it want to be known for legal marijuana, no drinking age, and inappropriate t-shirts in every store?  Does it want to be known for its beautiful plazas and churches? And if so, why do they allow McDonalds and Addias to build store adjacent to them?  The poor zoning laws, widely available alcohol and drugs, and tacky tacky gift shops really detract from the city’s real treats, making it less pleasurable than other places we have been. While we did enjoy the activities, and the experience of the Anne Frank house will be with us forever, I would not be in a hurry to return or to recommend the city to others.