Anne Frank Huis vandaag! (Anne Frank House today!)

Amsterdam today! Sorry friends and family, but this blog does not end in “and then we got totally high on that amazing Amsterdamian hash!” This may happen tomorrow in the Hague, or when we return after our month of travels. Honestly there just wasn’t enough time to see it all, AND get stoned! We rode the train from the Hague to Amsterdam (beautifully scenic) in about an hour and got off at central station. We walked to the Dam Plaza, past one of the first stock exchanges in the world, and found ourselves surrounded by beautiful “palace”-like brick buildings. We then ventured out of the busy square into the more “typical” dutch-amsterdamian canal scene. GORGEOUS. Little bridges, beautiful architecture, thousands and thousands of...yes, that’s right, bikes. After walking around and getting our bearings a bit, it was time for Anne Frank! We got to the house a little early, saw the daunting line, and decided a cappuccino and chocolate croissant could perhaps fix our problems. While drinking at a local coffee shop next door to Anne, we realized Rick (steve’s that is) was just as brilliant as we thought. After reading up on the museum in his book, we surpassed the line of a couple hundred tourists, rand a bell, and bam were in.

I didn’t really believe people when they said the Anne Frank Museum will change your life, but let me tell you....life changed. It’s pretty unbelievable. They have just done a beautiful, simple, yet dramatic depiction of the annex. I was pretty afraid of “going there” because I knew how hard of a place it would be, and how even harder it would be to get out. But the theme of this trip is to “be there”, so yes, I went there; cried, grieved, recovered, and left feeling completely fulfilled.

After that rather incredible experience, we decided a canal ride would calm us down a bit. We hoped off at a beautiful park and ate the classic cheese and bread picnic for lunch, then hoped back on again for an hour long canal tour of Amsterdam ending at the Dutch Resistance Museum. Though a bit confusing walking through, the information was fascinating and definitely worth while.

We got back on the tram to the train station, left for Elizabeth’s and within an hour and 15 we were shopping at a local market for dinner. Our night ended with my mom and I making our “go to” dinner for the house. Wine, chocolate, and great conversation finished off a great second day in Europe!

Melissa