Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Amsterdam
We arrived in Amsterdam at 8:00 am local time, so even though we had only fitful airplane sleep for the previous 24 or so hours we were determined to hit the ground running and not sleep until sundown to stave off jetlag. The crisp, cool air helped to keep us alert as well, even though it was mostly cloudy. We dumped our bags off at our hostel (yes, we are sleeping in a large room full of bunkbeds...the dollar just ain't what it used to be) and headed to the Van Gogh museum. Although the walk there was rather longer than it looked on the map, our tired feet finally made it there to view and thoroughly enjoy the museum that houses over 200 of the Dutchman's paintings.
One of the many beautiful canals and bridges throughout the city
As you can see, one of the unique features of Amsterdam is the plethora of canals criss-crossing throughout the city. It's actually below sea level, and some of the older canal houses rest at a crazy tilt due to sinkage. So our evening activity was a canal cruise on a smaller boat that could easily glide under low bridges and pass through narrow passageways. It was a very peaceful hour even though we shared the boat with a group of overweight, middle-aged pot-smokers from Memphis.
As you can see, one of the unique features of Amsterdam is the plethora of canals criss-crossing throughout the city. It's actually below sea level, and some of the older canal houses rest at a crazy tilt due to sinkage. So our evening activity was a canal cruise on a smaller boat that could easily glide under low bridges and pass through narrow passageways. It was a very peaceful hour even though we shared the boat with a group of overweight, middle-aged pot-smokers from Memphis.
One our second day we visited the Secret Annexe that Anne Frank and family lived for 25 months while hiding from Nazi occupiers. I had just finished reading her diary, so standing in these rooms was very powerful. Erika and I found the magazine clippings of Anne's movie stars pasted to the walls and Otto's markings of his daughters growth over the 2 years especially moving.
The bookcase behind which leads to the Secret Annexe
We climbed the neighboring belltower for this nice view of Amsterdam from above. The window on the bottom right is the small attic window where Anne and Peter would gaze the outside world from.
Erika enjoying "frites" with mayo - not that bad
More shots of Amsterdam:
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Next up - Bruges...
-Brent
