Amsterdam
Our first full day in Amsterdam we all knew was going to be an amazing experience since it was full of uniquely Amsterdam activities, and it most definitely did not let us down. We visited the Anne Frank house in the morning, and then went on a canal boat ride and then a 2 hour guided bike ride throughout the city.
The Anne Frank house has always been something I was super interesting in seeing. They truly did a great job with the museum by making it very interactive, via audio that corresponded to each part of the exhibits and videos of survivors of the holocaust that knew the Frank family (including Otto Frank). Walking through the the secret annex and seeing where they lived two years of their lives in hiding was unfathomable. Their hiding place was so thought out and planned, with such careful following of rules to prevent them from being caught. I couldn't believe just how close their hiding place was to the business below them, it is truly impressive that they were able to be their for so long. It was so heartbreaking and frustrating though, that they were found so close to the ending of the war. It was a very eye opening experience to step through a very small part of their large journey during the Holocaust and World War 2. The museum was really successful in showing me a part of this perspective and what it might’ve felt like to be in their shoes during this horrible time. It also made me want to be more active in defending persecuted groups and those who are discriminated against. The Holocaust was an extreme and vicious example of what can happen when groups of people are deemed lesser than others, but it could still possibly happen again. Really grasping this fact makes you realize just how important it is to stand up to injustices, even as one individual. Otto Frank would never have survived if it hadn't been for those who kept him and his family in hiding.
After this, we took a boat ride along the canals of Amsterdam. Did you know that Amsterdam has more than Venice?? I had no idea. Canal after canal loops and attaches to another, so to someone unfamiliar with the area (me) suddenly all of the streets and canals and bridges all sort of blurred into one. It was crazy to me to see the sheer amount of people who have boats along the canals, with some of these being houseboats which can cost up to millions of Euros to live in. Sounds like a pretty nice life to me. The most shocking of it all was that our captain filled up a glass of water from the canal water to let us see what it really looked like and to show that the water is actually very clean. So clean in fact, it’s drinkable. To prove it, he passed around the glass and offered everyone a sip. Although skeptical, I obliged because I couldn’t pass up being able to say I had drank Amsterdam canal water. It was actually really good!!
Onto another popular form of Dutch transportation: biking! People riding bikes is one of the most distinguishable things about Amsterdam, but I didn't grasp quite how prevalent and important I was until we rode around to see for ourselves. Let me just say, biking in a group of 15 confused tourists through a city with experienced cyclers, drivers, and pedestrians proved to be stressful and honestly terrifying at times. The locals were definitely irritated with us. It was hard to understand their traffic patterns and the rules of the road, so we were kind of just winging it with some help from our tour guide. All around the main part of the city there are clusters and clusters of bicyclists, which seemed to far outnumber the cars. Waiting for traffic lights to turn green, the bicyclist seemed to line up to get across the road like they were setting up for a race. Our group took up a lot of space and wasn't the most efficient, and I quickly learned that the people in Amsterdam are not shy about telling you that you're very much in their way. I heard us once get called f***ing morons, and then again got tourist screamed at me a few times. But by the end of our 2 hour journey through the city, we had seen and learned so much that it was no longer as stressful to navigate but instead mostly calming and exciting to see so much of an iconic city. And no one got hit by a car! So I'd consider that a win! Being able to do all of this in one day was incredible, and I stood no chance against falling in love with Amsterdam.
I'll be back one day soon!
The Anne Frank house has always been something I was super interesting in seeing. They truly did a great job with the museum by making it very interactive, via audio that corresponded to each part of the exhibits and videos of survivors of the holocaust that knew the Frank family (including Otto Frank). Walking through the the secret annex and seeing where they lived two years of their lives in hiding was unfathomable. Their hiding place was so thought out and planned, with such careful following of rules to prevent them from being caught. I couldn't believe just how close their hiding place was to the business below them, it is truly impressive that they were able to be their for so long. It was so heartbreaking and frustrating though, that they were found so close to the ending of the war. It was a very eye opening experience to step through a very small part of their large journey during the Holocaust and World War 2. The museum was really successful in showing me a part of this perspective and what it might’ve felt like to be in their shoes during this horrible time. It also made me want to be more active in defending persecuted groups and those who are discriminated against. The Holocaust was an extreme and vicious example of what can happen when groups of people are deemed lesser than others, but it could still possibly happen again. Really grasping this fact makes you realize just how important it is to stand up to injustices, even as one individual. Otto Frank would never have survived if it hadn't been for those who kept him and his family in hiding.
After this, we took a boat ride along the canals of Amsterdam. Did you know that Amsterdam has more than Venice?? I had no idea. Canal after canal loops and attaches to another, so to someone unfamiliar with the area (me) suddenly all of the streets and canals and bridges all sort of blurred into one. It was crazy to me to see the sheer amount of people who have boats along the canals, with some of these being houseboats which can cost up to millions of Euros to live in. Sounds like a pretty nice life to me. The most shocking of it all was that our captain filled up a glass of water from the canal water to let us see what it really looked like and to show that the water is actually very clean. So clean in fact, it’s drinkable. To prove it, he passed around the glass and offered everyone a sip. Although skeptical, I obliged because I couldn’t pass up being able to say I had drank Amsterdam canal water. It was actually really good!!
Onto another popular form of Dutch transportation: biking! People riding bikes is one of the most distinguishable things about Amsterdam, but I didn't grasp quite how prevalent and important I was until we rode around to see for ourselves. Let me just say, biking in a group of 15 confused tourists through a city with experienced cyclers, drivers, and pedestrians proved to be stressful and honestly terrifying at times. The locals were definitely irritated with us. It was hard to understand their traffic patterns and the rules of the road, so we were kind of just winging it with some help from our tour guide. All around the main part of the city there are clusters and clusters of bicyclists, which seemed to far outnumber the cars. Waiting for traffic lights to turn green, the bicyclist seemed to line up to get across the road like they were setting up for a race. Our group took up a lot of space and wasn't the most efficient, and I quickly learned that the people in Amsterdam are not shy about telling you that you're very much in their way. I heard us once get called f***ing morons, and then again got tourist screamed at me a few times. But by the end of our 2 hour journey through the city, we had seen and learned so much that it was no longer as stressful to navigate but instead mostly calming and exciting to see so much of an iconic city. And no one got hit by a car! So I'd consider that a win! Being able to do all of this in one day was incredible, and I stood no chance against falling in love with Amsterdam.
I'll be back one day soon!
The layout of your profile is adorable! It is so organized and pretty! Also love the post about Amsterdam, I loved everything about this day and it is super fun to reread it through the eyes of someone else. Get a new perspective of something I may have missed during my experience. It has been so wonderful to get to know you during this trip, you are so kind and bubbly I brings joy and excitement to the whole group.
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This was honestly one of my favorite days of the trip! I agree with you that every activity was so unique to Amsterdam. I'm also glad that we all survived a bike tour around Amsterdam. I really enjoyed viewing history through the eyes of a Jewish family during WWII in Anne Frank Museum. Hopefully you got to explore some Art museums on our free day.
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