Anne Frank Huis

Midday train to Amsterdam again (after brief stops at souvenir and board game shops in Haarlem - which we will be back to).

Walked to Anne Frank House - bit early so had large, thin Dutch pancakes at the nearby (imaginatively named) Pancakes. Seemed like it would be a tourist trap, being next door to Anne Frank, but was quite nice.

Pancakes were yum - especially (and surprisingly) the savoury mushroom, bacon, capsicum and cheese one. The ingredients are baked in rather than being a topping, which was rather good. Lemon and sugar one was also quite nice. Wade may have added icing sugar, cinnamon sugar and syrup to his half (and also eaten the lemon slices whole). There was an 80c charge for toilets (with coin operated barrier arm) but they refund you later if you're eating there. They also give you a little blue and white clog key chain each as a memento.

Then on to a longish wait in line for the Anne Frank museum (despite having online pre booked tickets). Got inside and went through with audioguides. Was definitely strange shuffling through the house and seeing the cramped quarters the family had to manage in. The having to stay there and be quiet - including the restricted bathroom use - was a stifling  reality, but then much better than the alternative of being in one of the concentration camps. Reminded Radi of the first time she read the book, and how she was so absorbed that she forgot that she could actually make sounds and use the bathroom when she'd finished reading.

Overall glad we did it, though the tourists all packed in took away some of the sobriety. Even more so when some of the tourists are just complete nincompoops who think it's appropriate to giggle lots and rush through without looking at what you came in and see - even better when one did take the time to check herself out in the mirror (the family's bathroom mirror in the annex) and fix her hair. Very distracting French tourists who clearly had no clue. No photos inside the house.

After that, more wandering. Tossed up seeing the Maritime Museum (with a life size replica ship) or doing a canal cruise but ran out of time (will do a cruise in Haarlem anyway hopefully). Did some shopping then caught the train back. Had a quick wander through Haarlem, looking forward to exploring tomorrow!Read more