Netherlands
Anne Frank House

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    • Day 4

      Erstmal einkehren bei dem Wetter 😄

      September 26, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

      Die ersten Eindrücke beliefen sich auf: nass & kalt. 🥶
      Nach den ersten Kilometern zu Fuß haben wir dann in einem kleinen Café Halt gemacht und eine kleine Stärkung zu uns genommen, bevor es zu Besuch ins Anne Frank Haus ging.
      Und natürlich die stetige Hoffnung auf besseres Wetter - ab und zu hat das dann auch schon ganz gut geklappt. 🤭
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    • Day 20

      Amsterdam & Food tour

      June 4 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Gastro took us out of action for a bit 🤮 We'd booked tickets for two art galleries, but after a 40 minute walk to get there, and seeing about 2 paintings, we had to back track to our hotel due to illness. That was disappointing, but could have been worse. We saw a self portrait by Van Gogh, which was good.
      Luckily we were back on board the next day - for a 3 hour food tour! It was really interesting and great food. My favourite was the apple pie, closely followed by the herring, cod, rendang roll, bitterballen (like arancini balls, but beef stew), cheeses, and wine and coffee. I passed on the beers, tried the Jenever (spirits), won't be having it again!
      We got quite a bit of history, including that the XXX signs everywhere did not mean what I thought they did - it's the Amsterdam flag!
      Amsterdam is wonderful, and expensive - all on reclaimed land.
      Off to Brussels on the smooth, comfortable Eurostar train - currently travelling at 223 kph.
      And I just saw a windmill!
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    • Day 11

      A Day In Amsterdam

      June 23 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

      “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."- Anne Frank

      We arrived in Amsterdam this morning, and after a 30-minute limo ride from the port with our awesome driver, Khalil, our first stop was the Anne Frank House and Museum. This is the home where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazi Gestapo for two years in Amsterdam before being captured and sent to concentration camps. As we toured the rooms, climbed the stairs, passed the hidden door bookcase, and read excerpts from the diaries, many emotions came over us. It is truly a reminder of how tragic it is when extremists and evil people come into power. Anne Frank tragically personified the 6 million Jews who were murdered in Europe. Tickets for this museum sell out in minutes, so you better get them as soon as they go on sale on the website three weeks before the date you plan to go. 

      From there, we took a leisurely and beautiful tour through the canals. Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, is renowned for its picturesque canals, historic architecture, and vibrant cultural scene. Known for its liberal attitudes, Amsterdam is also famous for its cycling culture and extensive network of bike paths. It’s the number one biking city in Europe, and when you’re here, you can see why. This place is crawling with people.

      Next, we enjoyed a lunch of traditional Dutch fare of hutspot, made from mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions, served with meat. It tasted like Salisbury steak. I enjoyed it! Jessica had bitten balls and frieten, which she enjoyed. Of course, we had to stop in for a Dutch stroopwafel, a traditional Dutch treat consisting of two thin, crisp waffle cookies sandwiched together with a layer of sweet, caramel-like syrup. So good!

      From there, we walked around leisurely, taking in the public life of Amsterdam and we visited the Royal Palace Amsterdam. Khalil picks us up at 4:15 pm to take us back to the shop where we’ll enjoy the spa and dinner this evening as we head to Belgium.

      Amsterdam reminds me of Manhattan. Very busy and very international. So, if you visit here, get used to a little less personal space. 🙂

      Tot ziens, Amsterdam! 🇳🇱
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    • Day 1

      Grachtenfahrt

      July 27, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Wir sind ziemlich lange durch die Stadt gelaufen. Wir mussten uns ja auch erstmal orientieren. Amsterdam hat in der Innenstadt natürlich auch viele viele Läden zu bieten. Deswegen haben mama und ich dort noch ein wenig gebummelt. Natürlich hatte Papa da wenig Lust zu, weshalb wir uns dann irgendwann entschlossen haben jetzt ein Boot bzw einen Anleger für die Grachten Fahrt zu suchen. Als wir ankamen sahen wir an jeder Ecke solche stände mit „canal cruises“ und co. Aber als wir dann genauso einen brauchten war es doch nicht so einfach einen zu finden. Wir wollten auch gerne auf ein offenes Boot und nicht auf ein geschlossenes.
      Nach einer hetzigen Auseinandersetzung haben wir dann ein passendes Angebot direkt neben dem Anne Frank Haus gefunden. (Welches nebenbei viele viele Tage bevor wir jetzt da waren ausverkauft war)
      Von dort aus haben wir uns dann mit einigen anderen in ein kleines süßes Boot gesetzt. Leider war es nicht sehr gemütlich und man konnte auch nicht allzu viel sehen aber die Stimmung war auf jeden Fall gut.
      Unsere Guides waren ein älterer Mann, wahrscheinlich Holländer der ganz gutes Englisch sprach und eine Politikwissenschaftsstudentin die gebürtig aus Rumänien kommt aber schon an vielen Orten der Welt war und fließend Englisch sprach. Sie war außerdem verantwortlich für die Cocktail usw an Board.
      Zu Beginn war es ein wenig bewölkt aber es war angenehm warm und zwischendurch riss der Himmel auch auf, sodass wir mit Sonnenstrahlen im Gesicht durch dir nebenbei bemerkt 3 m tiefen Grachten schaukelten. Man sagt 1m Müll, 1m Fahrräder und 1m Wasser. Tatsächlich gibt es in Amsterdam ca 1,2 millionen Fahrräder, auf ca 800.000 Einwohner kommen da 1,2 Fahrräder pro Bewohner. Es ist wohl Alltag dass einem als Bewohner von Amsterdam das Fahrrad oder zumindest Teile davon geklaut werden.
      Was noch interessant zu wissen ist: Damals musste man Für ein breiteres Haus breitere Steuern bezahlen. Deswegen sind die Gebäude in Amsterdam sehr sehr schmal. Das schmalste Haus ist gerade mal 2,02 m breit.
      Da es dementsprechend eng in den Häusern ist und man nur schwierig Sachen durchs Treppenhaus transportieren konnte (vor Allem Möbel) verfügt fast jedes Haus über Haken neben den oberen Fenstern. So wurden über Flaschenzüge die Möbel und so weiter nach oben und dann durchs Fenster befördert.
      Ich habe meine Aufmerksamkeit nicht immer zu 100% den Erzählungen der Guides zugerichtet denn es war einfach auch mal sehr entspannend die Augen zu zumachen oder die Fahrt auf sich wirken zu lassen. 1 Stunde, 4 Mini Gläsern Wein und ein paar Heinecken später sind wir wieder am Anne Frank Haus angekommen.
      Als nächstes stand noch ein Abendessen auf der Agenda. Mama hatte sich gewünscht Sushi essen zu gehen. Ich habe im Internet ein Sushi Restaurant gefunden was wirklich cool aussah.
      Das Restaurant lag direkt am Rembrandtplein. (S.Footprint)
      Wir hatten echt Glück, denn obwohl das Restaurant echt groß war, war dort alles voll. Einen letzten Tisch unten am Fenstern konnten wir noch rechtzeitig ergattern, denn beim Essen haben wir gemerkt wie immer Menschen ihr Glück versuchten und sich eine riesige Schlange bildete.
      Das Restaurant war wie in Lüdenscheid ein all you can eat restaurant, inklusive Tablet Bestellung. Das Essen war echt super, gutes Sushi und interessante Kombinationen mit einer riesen Auswahl.
      Nur der Service war wie so oft ein wenig gewöhnungsbedürftig. Das lag sicherlich am Restaurant Konzept aber auch wieder am ausbaufähigen Service Verhalten der Holländer 🤔
      Zurück sind wir durch die wahrscheinlich bunteste und belebteste Straße der Stadt (s.Footprint) Ich habe mir dann noch einen 4€ Muffin🥴 schmecken lassen bevor wir Müde und vollgefressen ins Bett gefallen sind…
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    • Day 3

      Anne-Frank-Haus und GetYourGuide Tour

      September 4, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Eine wirklich tolle Führung, die wir mit João machen durften. Er hat die richtige Stimmung bei seinen Erzählungen erzeugt und durch seine Worte konnte man sich sehr gut in die damalige Zeit hineinversetzen. Es sind sogar ein paar Tränen geflossen.

      Nooit Meer Ausschwitz Gedenkstätte - Die zerbrochenen Scheiben spiegeln den Himmel zerrissen wieder und werden so zum Symbol der Folgen des Holocausts. Juden legen keine Blumen nieder, da Blumen verwelken, Steine nicht, sie bleiben für immer liegen.

      In Amsterdam wurde die Straßenbahnlinie 8 stillgelegt. Da dies die letzte Fahrt für die Juden zum Hauptbahnhof war.

      Die Häuser auf dem vierten Bild sollen die Größe der Firma von Otto Frank darstellen. Links der Bereich in dem sie sich versteckt haben und rechts die Firma, die weiter betrieben wurde.
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    • Day 4

      Amsterdam day

      April 28, 2018 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

      1928 Olympic Stadium, riding the Tram through Amsterdam, Anne Frank house, walking along the canals, going to the Rijks museum. Those little feet can only go so far. I feel so fortunate to have Caroline and Aunt Anneke to spend time with, reconnect, and help us navigate the Netherlands. So fun and lots of laughs :) TrevRead more

    • Day 33

      Anne Frank House

      July 21, 2016 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Queued 3 hrs to see the house then an hour looking through. The saddest and yet one of the most inspiring stories from WWII. No pics allowed inside.

      This is actual house she and her family hid in for 2 yrs. Chilling to see the bookshelf hiding the door to their annex. And the pictures she had pasted on the wall in her wee room. And the blackout curtains on all windows...

      Wrenching that after all that, Nazis still rounded them up thanks to someone betraying their hiding place. Only her father Otto survived the whole ordeal...

      Little did young Anne know her diary writings would be so widely read around the world. She was just 13 when they went into hiding and 15 when she died of typhus after 6 months at Auchwitz, just a few days after her dad was liberated from the camp by Russian troops.

      No more meglamaniacs in power, ok?
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    • Day 5

      Dianne’s Jordaan walk!

      April 10, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

      After fish and chips for an afternoon snack, we did a walking tour of Jordaan. It starts at Dam square which has been described as the Dutch “Times Square”. It gets quieter as you progress along the canals into a residential neighbourhood. On the way we pass by Anne Frank’s house, and Pink Point. Pink Point is a small memorial, a Homomonument to all oppressed people of the LGBTQ community. The pink triangle is symbol homosexuals were forced to wear by the Nazis.
      We pass many canal boats and tours as Dianne’s hints get more noticeable! The tour continues thru a more artsy neighbourhoods with art galleries, florists and with many sidewalk pubs and restaurants . It is such a beautiful evening they are well attended. The hints are alluding to a promised boat tour of the canals. Trouble is, the last tour leaves at 18:45 and it’s 19:00 now. Dianne doesn’t want this to be like my promise of a camel ride on our last trip. Not the Banff trip, but the one to the Middle East. Everyone on that trip had ridden a camel before and I myself wasn’t keen to do it again. On that trip it was always “tomorrow for sure”. until we got on the airplane to go home. This time is “Tomorrow for sure” for the canal ride.
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    • Day 95

      Amsterdam

      June 24, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Miles: 10.3 Steps: 24204
      Flights stairs: 5

      Well what a cool city Amsterdam is! I didn’t know much about it before coming here - mostly only that prostitution and drugs are legal, and that it gets really cold. I’ve learned so much today!! it’s gorgeous - it’s a city built around water and canals much like Venice, but in my opinion even more attractively. It’s actually 6 meters below sea level. They are masters here at “water management”. And a little known fact - there are almost as many bikes here as there are people! 600,000 bikes. Bikes are EVERYWHERE. It’s amazing to see them used as the main form of transportation in a big city.

      Did you know Van Gogh was Dutch? I didn’t. We went to the Van Gogh museum - and I have to say it was probably the most enjoyable art museum I’ve been to yet. Just the way it was set up and how it lead me thru his life. Very well done.

      We wandered without much purpose for awhile which is actually really fun. We came across the red light district where prostitution is legal and found it was much different than I expected. The way they have it set up, I barely knew where I was most of the time.

      We took a boat tour of the canals which was really nice to see a lot of the city from that perspective and then Jordan and I spontaneously went and got small semi-matching tattoos together to commemorate our travels!

      We ended the night taking a tour of the Anne Frank House. It was so moving to walk thru it all and listen to the audio tour. I honestly didn’t know it was located in Amsterdam till I got here. How WW2, and the Nazi occupation, touched every country in Europe is mind boggling.

      Overall, it was a fantastic day that I hope to remember a very long time. I still haven’t adjusted to their VERY late sunsets - it doesn’t get dark till after 10:30. It’s easy to lose track of time and think it is endlessly 6:30 in the evening.
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    • Day 6

      Drag Queen Olympics

      August 4, 2017 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Pride opened with the Drag Queen Olympics, which consisted of: stiletto heel 👠 racing, handbag 👜 throwing, hula hoop and riding a hobby horse 🐴. The two drag queen MCs kept the crowd entertained with their sharp-witted, and often sharp-tongued, sense of humour. Our favourite was the Italian drag queen, Lola. She had big hair and looked ready to do the Jane Fonda workout video.

      The winner was a Jamaican drag queen, who demonstrated that she was the better hobby horse rider.

      Afterwards, street parties popped up all over Amsterdam, with music and other entertainment. Though it was going to be hard to top the Drag Queen Olympics. We positioned ourselves in Dam Square, the main square of Amsterdam, in front of the Royal Palace and the Nieuwe Kerk.

      The music was entertaining but we couldn't help but think that music stopped in 1999. All of the songs were samples from pre-1999. But we were taken even further back in time when the next act appeared on stage: Boney M. It was a strange act to have between two DJs. Somehow the disco tunes of the Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl in the Ring 💍 and Daddy Cool didn't quite suit the occasion. But it did provide for an entertaining evening!
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Anne Frankhuis, Anne Frank Haus, Anne Frank House

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