A little delayed blog post this week, but no worries, you can stop anxiously waiting to know about what is currently leading for the best place I’ve visited: Amsterdam. Going into this trip, my expectations were high. I was wondering if the hype that everyone has around going to Amsterdam would actually live up to it and I was truly expecting so much of Amsterdam. Honestly, it exceeded my expectations. Walking through the streets of Amsterdam felt like walking through a Disney movie. With the canals, the colorful townhouses, the lights draped across the various streets, the bikes, and the sweet smells, I loved Amsterdam before I even started doing anything.
Friday:
On our agenda for the first day in Amsterdam was to explore the city until our tour of the Anne Frank House at 6:30. We explored the various canals, streets, and shops throughout Amsterdam for hours without ever feeling bored. We visited Dam Square and the Royal Palace and gazed at all the beautiful buildings. Perhaps the highlight was finding a Dunkin Donuts! (Hazlenut coffee anyone?) Aside from the traditional Netherland Dunkin Donuts coffee (kidding of course), we actually tried a sweet from Amsterdam: a stroopwaffel. So what is a stroopwaffel? Honestly, I don’t entirely know, but it is two thin, crispy waffles, with a sweet syrup in between coated in chocolate and a topping. I got mine with M&M’s. It really was as good as it sounds.
2As someone who has always been interested in Holocaust studies from the first time I read Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank in the 5th grade, visiting the Anne Frank House was a must. You first enter into the general lobby of the house, which was originally the bottom floor of the warehouse beneath the annex in which Anne, her family, and the Van Pels lived. The various offices and store rooms on the first two floors are converted into a museum where you learn about the German occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family feeling from Germany to the Netherlands, and can read various passages from some of Anne’s early work before they were in hiding. The most shocking part of the tour comes to when you reach the bookcase. In a narrow hallway off of one of the office rooms, the bookcase sits half opened and behind it is the beginning of the secret annex. Up various flights of steep steps my breathing slowed as I stood in the cramped rooms that Anne Frank and the seven others shared for years. There was no way to look out a window, the family could not use running water after 8PM as to not alert anyone else in the building of their existence, and the kitchen and living area also doubled as a bedroom. The secret annex spanned for three floors, each staircase getting steeper and more narrow.
What is so fascinating and appealing about this and about Anne Frank’s Diary is how much she embodies everything that a young teenage girl is. Her room and what was preserved of the walls had posters of actors and cut outs of her favorite passages from books or magazines. Her writing, while it took place in hiding from persecution, is so symmetrical with that of a my own teenage writing: anxt from boys and wanting to be a successful writer or journalist and being frustrated with school and getting annoyed at her sister every now and then.
After leaving the annex, the museum continues to explain the fate of those in the annex. Of all eight people, Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only one to survive. Those who helped hide the Franks and Van Pel’s saved Anne’s diary from what was left after the German’s raided the apartment. Otto then chose to publish her writings after he found out that Anne and her sister Margot died at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945. Visiting this house was a truly surreal experience, especially after having been to some of the camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau after my senior year. What many say about visiting these things is true: no matter how shocking and emotional visiting these sites are, it is unfathomable to imagine what actually went on during this time period.
After the Anne Frank house, we changed and got dinner and then proceeded to visit the red light district. There are absolutely no pictures allowed of the women in the windows, but walking down the street is such a fascinating experience. This was without a doubt the most crowded area we visited in Amsterdam because it is such a staple of the city.
Saturday
Saturday was a busy day for us in Amsterdam as our flights were so early on Sunday morning. We started the day at the Van Gogh Museum, which was four floors that followed the progression of Van Gogh’s artistic journey. It was amazing how many paintings Van Gogh created throughout his lifetime and I was shocked at how big the museum was all filled with his work. My favorite were the sunflowers and the iris’s, though I was only able to take a photograph of the sunflowers. Following the Van Gogh museum, we walked through the Rik museum which was full of the rich Amsterdam history and art from Rembrant.
Following the museums, we decided to go for lunch at a small cafe with traditional Dutch crepes and pancakes. The pancakes, called poffertjes, are thick but small pancakes that come with about 10 or 20 depending on how many you want. You can then top them with everything from sweet chocolate and nutella, syrup, fruits, or savory ingredients like cheese or bacon. I got mine with banana and whipped cream. They were DELICIOUS.
Following lunch was the Heineken Experience at the original Heineken Brewery. Though I am not a huge beer drinker, it was so interesting to learn the history of the beer, see how it is brewed, and get to go through the interactive games and experiences through Heineken and the Amsterdam beer experience. The tour also came with 3 beers, so you could say it was pretty worth it.
Before dinner that night, we continued to explore the Flower Market, the various shops and cafes, and the canals and streets of Amsterdam. There are so many things that I could say about Amsterdam. It was a truly one of the best cities that I have visited, full of lively people, beautiful and friendly streets, great food, and such an interesting culture. There are tons more pictures of my time in Amsterdam in the Gallery section, and I will be back soon with updates on my next journey to Paris, France. Maybe all the years of my french teachers seeming to hate me will finally pay off!
Full of pancakes and wanderfully yours,
Sophia
Ciao for now 