Amsterdam, Netherlands
We knew we wanted to visit Amsterdam while we were in the Netherlands but we also knew we’d need to do our homework. I didn’t want the stress of driving in the city center, trying to manage narrow one-way streets and waves of fearless Dutch bicyclists.
Thankfully, Amsterdam offered a convenient park and ride system. We drove to a deck beneath a large soccer arena on the outer highway ring and rode a combination of Metro (subway) and tram lines into the city.
In addition to doing your homework, you need to adapt if you make mistakes (which will inevitably occur). It took us a bit but we finally realized that one transfer took us from below ground on the Metro to a tram line at street level.
Once we figured that out, it didn’t take long for us to arrive at the correct stop. Inner Amsterdam featured a maze of canals ringed by narrow brick buildings shoulder-to-shoulder. There were mounds of bicycles as far as you could see locked to every available space. Boats were tethered to the sides of the canals (including some which appeared to be serving as homes).
We were blasted with a downpour of cold rain which turned to sleet for a minute or two. We quickly ducked into a warm restaurant for an omelette, a Dutch apple pancake and coffee to wait out the weather.
Check out the pancake. Really, they’re more like thin crepes here. It was excellent dusted with powdered sugar and the thick syrup the Dutch prefer.
Amazingly, the clouds quickly parted and the sun made an appearance while we continued exploring the area. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. Somehow this modern European capital managed to feel comfortable and almost quaint.
Westerkerk (literally “western church”) is the name of the old church anchoring this section of Amsterdam. Anne Frank could hear the bells from this spire from her family’s hiding place just a few doors down. She described the chiming of the carillon as a source of comfort in her diary.
The Anne Frank House is now one of the most-visited sights in Amsterdam. We ordered our tickets online and arrived during our designated time slot to a short line. Once inside, we crawled behind the bookcase, climbed steep stairs and passed through darkened rooms. It was hard to believe eight people hid in this cramped space for more than two years.
No photos were allowed inside so I can’t share any with you. Simply put, it’s an incredibly sad experience. There’s no way to adequately appreciate how they lived in constant fear of making a sound.
There’s also no way to imagine the terror of that August morning in 1944 when the building was stormed and their hiding place was discovered.
I’m still processing the experience.
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