Weekend In Amsterdam

Our weekend in Amsterdam started with a mission: get to Gerke's place. To get us acquainted with the area he gave us landmarks to either look up on the map or ask someone how to get to it. When we made it to Leidesplein he was very proud of us and greeted us with hugs. We went from there to the beautiful Vondel Park. This park takes you away from the business of the city and immerses you in a beautiful landscape of ponds, fountains, trees, and large open spaces. There was also a lovely gazebo and when the sun was shining on it just right, I had to take a picture.

We sat in the park for hours and drank a few beers, well, I only had one since I don't like Beer very much. From there we went to Gerke's apartment where his roommate Heimrich had made us a dutch dinner. I guess the best way to describe it would be a salad on top of mashed potatoes. It was fantastic!! He gave us a very large portion but Bre and I couldn't finish ours so we put it in the fridge for later.

The first night we were there we had reservations for an Evening Canal Cruise with the Blue Boat Company. It was well worth the money! We started cruising around 10:15 just as it was getting dark. We were able to order drinks if we wanted but Bre and I just sat and relaxed. About 20 minutes later the sun left the sky for good and became very dark. This is the best part, you see, because the cruise was by candlelight and the canal waters were filled with beautiful dancing lights. It was the combination of the street lights along with the lights strung across the canal archways made the water gorgeous. Pictures just didn't do it justice. Bre kept saying, "This is so pretty." The only downside was that there were a few young men who were drunk and kept trying to ruin this beauty for everyone. Anytime we went under a canal archway (which was every 5-10 minutes) they would start screaming or singing because of the echo. Oh well, what are you going to do?

Gerke had told me to call him when the boat tour was over so he could give us directions back to the apartment. Gerke had told us to get on the no. 7 tram, which we did without a problem. It was a very weird experience, though, because the seats are faced differently than on a bus. So it was like the tram was going backwards. I watched out the window to make sure we were going to right place and I felt as if I was rewinding my life. We decided we didn't like to sit facing backwards.

The next day began with breakfast made by Heimrich. He made us both croissants and jam because "isn't that what girls like?" He also made some green tea with lemon to go along with it. Bre commented that it was better than a bed and breakfast! How wonderful it was!

Then we went on our way to The Van Gogh Museum, which Bre and I loved! Van Gogh is my favorite artist so I was very excited for this particular Museum. Although they did not have Starry Night, it was still a great museum that housed over 200 of his paintings. Each room was a different year in his life and the paintings done at the time. On the walls they listed information for those who didn't know Van Gogh's background. By the time we had made it to the third floor we were both in awestruck. It truly was an amazing experience to get so close to his work. We were lucky that we went at the time we did because as we left we noticed a line that went all the way down the stairs and onto the street. We wouldn't have liked to wait in that line.

However, when we started walking away from the museum we noticed the bright and warm sun of the morning was gone and it looked as if it were going to rain. When we hear thunder we knew for sure! We decided to get something to eat, but what? Oh yeah! We haven't had traditional dutch pancakes yet! Pancakes in Holland are very popular and can be any meal you want it to be. We found an adorable little Pancake House and sat down just before it started to rain. Bre and I decided to split a pancake fearing it might be too big or too sweet for each of us to have our own. It was a great idea because when our pancake came out we both looked at each other and thought, "How are we going to eat this." However, we demolished this poor pancake! The ice cream on top was better than any ice cream I have ever had. Doesn't it look delicious?

After we were done eating it was still pouring so we thought we would wait it out. It seemed as if it was never going to end. I checked the tickets I reserved for the Anne Frank Huis and I noticed I read the time wrong, we litterally had a half hour to make it there or our reservation would be cancelled and we would have to wait in a line longer than the Van Gogh Museum. Bre quickly pulled out the map but I was too concerned that would waste time. We walked/ran to the nearest tram and asked someone for help. They told us the no. 1 tram would take us close to Prinsengracht, the street the house is on. Unfortunatly, we missed the stop and were three blocks out of our way. At this point I was walking really fast, Bre on the other hand was having difficulties because she was slipping out of her flip flops. I had not noticed this until I heard Bre yell from a distance, "Miranda, slow down! I can't keep up with you." It was raining though, so I didn't want to slow down too much. We arrived at the Anne Frank Huis with 2 minutes to spare. We were soaked from head to toe and immediately went to the bathroom to clean ourselves up a bit.

"In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death." - Anne Frank

If you have been keeping up with the blog, you would know that this is what I was looking forward to the most. It was much different from what I had imagined. The building next door is where it starts. You walk into a room that if full of large pictures of Anne and then another room where a video is played to explain more about Anne, again, for those who didn't read her Diary and don't know her story. Then you walk up a set of stairs and you are in the actual house, but the office part. If you remember correctly, the house they hid in had an annex not visible from the front of the house and was used for Otto Franks business. After walking up another set of stairs you arrive at the bookcase. The famous bookcase the made the annex "really become a secret," according to Anne in her Diary.

It gave both Bre and I the chills. We were told by a video in the previous room that all the furniture had been removed from the annex and that even when the house became a Museum, Otto Frank wanted it to remain that way. He allowed the rooms to be furnished for pictures and to make an accurate model of the annex to display. So when we walked up the stairs to the first room we took our time to take it all in. Despite the rooms being bare it still was a different experience. It was very small, much small than I had thought, and the people inside were all bumping into each other. Imagine if it was still furnished and then imagine that room having 8 people in it. Crowded, I would think. Anne had decorated her room with magazine cutouts and pictures to make it more fun for her and those decorations were still there. Amazing. The bathroom still had the original sink and toliet. The ladder to the attic was cased in glass making it very clear that we could not go up there. The attic is where Anne spent a lot of her time getting a bit of fresh air and looking at the maple tree in the back yard.

"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. " - Anne Frank

Although, this museum was amazing and would have made Anne proud, I don't believe she would have liked the people there that day. Take for example, the women who brought all three of her very young children who screamed and cried the ENTIRE time and upset just about everyone in the room. She also let them run around freely. Or the other people who felt they needed to carry on conversations making every room very loud. Don't these people understand that this annex used to be very quiet and during the day they could make very little noise. I feel like Anne would have been telling everyone to be quiet and that someone might hear you. It upset both Bre and I because we felt that there was nothing worth talking about while inside. Bre just mentioned that you don't walk around a cemetery and speak loudly, you are very quiet. Which is how everyone should have been to pay their respects.

When we left there we walked along the canal in this very historic district. Bre stopped and said, "How weird is that we are walking on the streets that the Germans took over?" It was very weird as I had not noticed this or thought of it. We know not to talk about this too loudly, however, because the Dutch still hate the Germans for taking all their bikes. Gerke's girlfriend Yasmin informed us of this.

Later we met up with Gerke and Yasmin and walked the Red Light District. We only did because it's a touristy place but we were not expecting to see what we saw. Most windows under the red light had the curtain closed which meant, uh, the prostitute was busy. Then we ended the night at a local bar where Yasmin, Gerke, Heimrich, Bre and I stayed under awning and relaxed.

And now we are back home in Sweet, Sweet Quiet Delft.

My impressions of Amsterdam are as follows: If you enjoy living in an area where every night is a constant party and all day long you bump into people because it's overcrowded. If you enjoy smelling pot just about wherever you walk and almost getting hit by one of Amsterdams many transportations: bike, car, tram, and bus on a regular basis. Then this is the place for you. For me, Amsterdam is simply not my cup of tea. Yes, the historic district was beautiful and the canals are gorgeous, especially at night but I enjoy peace and quiet in small hometowns.

Bre's impressions of Amsterdam are as follows: This was my favorite city in the world. Over New York City, over Rome, over Anywhere. It may as well be my favorite place in the world. Here's why; Like New York anyone whose anyone or anything thats anything will be there but unlike other big cities, Amsterdam has a very deep history and other cities don't have that. Everyone there is very proud of this. There is no skyscrapers, no trash littering the streets, and most anything that was around in the past is still around today. I just love how everyone rides bikes and public transportation is superb. I felt entirely safe no matter where I was, no matter red light district, wherever. It's safe. People there can't buy guns, tourists are always around. I was fine. It wasn't like in Rome where I had to worry about pickpocketers. Well, of course I worried about people pickpocketing here but the fear wasn't as strong. On top of anything over that, it's an apsolutely beautiful city. Holland is a beautiful place and Amsterdam is no exception.

That sums up our weekend in Amsterdam. We just can't wait for the next adventure.
If you are interesting in seeing more pictures from our Amsterdam Adventure you can click this link:


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