Amsterdam

Amsterdam was great, in Amsterdam we stayed with Melanie's friend (and now mine as well), Martijn. Martijn came over to visit Melanie a couple of years ago after writing back and forth so it was nice to be able to come and see him in his home country. We did a lot of fun things in Amsterdam and were able to see many things the city has to offer.

Despite some showers we caught some good weather in the Netherlands which has had a great deal of rain this summer. We went for walks along the various canals, saw a huge windmill, and saw a cool group of statues taken from Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watch". We also went on a boat tour which gave us a nice view of the city from the canals. On the boat tour we saw the smallest house in Amsterdam, which was about four feet wide, had three floors, and was squeezed in between to other houses. It was hard to believe that someone would bother building it, but I suppose you have to buy what you can afford.

We took a quick walk through the famous Red Light district, which was really kind of weird. There wasn't anything to see out in the open, just some girls standing in windows wearing bikini's really, and neon signs advertising what was inside the buildings. It was just kind of weird to know that if you had the money and the desire you could do so many things. I read a good quote in a book about Amsterdam, it said that even though Amsterdam is one of the most visited cities in Europe it is seen by so few. I think it is true as many people come and see the Red Light district and go to cafes but don't see all the city has to offer.

One the best place's we went was the Anne Frank museum. It was really moving to walk around in the house seeing where the two families lived for two years, hiding from the Nazi's. There were clips of interviews from the secretary and Mr.Frank talking about the time spent there and many information points talking about their living conditions and the time leading up to their going into hiding. There aren't many items left in the hiding spot, but there is Anne's magazine clippings on the wall, the bookshelf, the register for Auschwitz with their names in it, and her diaries. It was a great experience and really put a face on what happened. There was a quote by an Auschwitz survivour who said, that Anne's story puts a face on the suffering experienced, but can not convey the suffering of all those that died, but if we were able to comprehend that suffering we may not be able to live. I think quote is all to true.

We had a great time in Amsterdam, we were able to relax and not have to worry about finding our way around as Martijn and his girlfriend Danielle were with us and showed us how to get around. It was a nice change from getting of the train going to the tourist information stand, getting a map and figuring out where and how to get around.