Wednesday, March 2, 2011

A Day in Amsterdam, Wednesday

First...let me say how wonderful it is to have free wi-fi that works!! And secondly, the people in this city are very friendly. We have asked directions over and over and have been treated graciously every time!! The service in the shops and restaurants is wonderful and most everyone is very fluent in English. It's been great so far!!

After my latte this morning we set out. I did inquire about the only two Dutch people I "know" other than the Masters and Anne Frank. I wondered if there was a site noted for Corrie Ten Boom. The desk clerk had never heard of her. She was a Christian in Amsterdam who hid Jews and was later sent to the concentration camps. She survived but her father and sister did not. The other person was Henri Nouwen, great Catholic theologian! I have read and reread his books. He died in the 1990s but Amsterdam was his home. I guess if I want to see much about him, I have to go to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. So...we set out to see Anne Frank House. The clerk gave us directions and we trekked about 1 1/2 miles. It was very cold and windy. On the way we stopped and bought a pastry and Amber caught me window shopping and eating  my chocolate iced waffle.

I wore a sweater set (shell and cardigan) and my wool shawl from No. Ireland. Not enough clothes!!  But we persevered!!

The Anne Frank house was a moving experience. The museum is done well and there is an interactive part at the end that describes contemporary situations. You are asked to vote yes or no to the questions concerning the situations. Then they show how people have voted. It is to show how society is still discriminating against people. Thought provoking! The annex where the Frank family lived is on the 4th or 5th story and the stairs are almost straight up! Not for the weak! The rooms would have been very dark as the windows were covered at all times. Hard to imagine two years in those small quarters. There is a video at the end with Anne Frank's father. He said that he and Anne were close but he had no idea of the depth of her thoughts. He concluded saying we do not know our children. The bookshop was just that. The Anne Frank story in many languages and varying quality--paperback to coffee table editions.

bulbs and more bulbs....

We walked back a different route and went through the flower market. There was tent after tent with tulips and other bulbs. The shops along the street were filled with souvenir type stuff. We spent over an hour in and out of those shops and looking at tulips. There were bunches of 50 cut tulips for sale with the many other plants.
 After the flower market, we went back to the hotel. We unloaded our parcels, rested a bit, did some email and then were back out. This time we headed to the street market. It was nearly two miles away. It was quite a bit warmer now. This market was about three blocks long with tents/canopies on both sides of the street. It reminded me of "Walking Street" in Doumen, China. There were stores on both sides so we had many things to look at. Amber bought a couple of things including a neck scarf.



 I found purple luggage. I debated with myself for the whole three blocks of shops and on the way back through, I stopped and bought it. Then we had to carry it the 2 miles back to the hotel. Amber was very kind and after the first half mile, said "let me carry that".















We ate supper at a Mexican place. (Amber WITH the scarf and me....beginning to fade!!) Meals are expensive...at least I think so...13-25 Euros or $19-37.

The only thing left on our "to do" list are two museums tomorrow. We wanted to take a canal boat ride but it looks like that is only possible on Fri-Sat-Sun.

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