Amsterdam 3
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Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Anne Frank House
The weather today was terrible, very cold and windy with loads and loads of snow. Michelle loved it because it's pretty. Typical girl - it doesn't matter how inconvenient something is so long as it looks nice.
Our first stop was Anne Frank House, which was particularly meaningful for me given that I'm doing a Holocaust tour in Poland soon, and since I read the diary a few years ago. Many of the rooms were preserved to look exactly as they did when the Franks hid there, and had passages from the diary written on the walls that related to each room we were in. There were also video interviews with others who survived in the house as well as her father Otto, which really added life to the experience. Fortunately none of us became too emotional.
Van Gogh Museum
Again I went to this 1 just with Mich, it was actually her idea initially. I'm quite a fan of impressionism and recognised many of the paintings. She surprisingly didn't enjoy it that much. On the way there, I was listening to Vincent by Don McLean about Van Gogh's life and his famous "Starry, Starry Night" painting, and was a bit disappointed that this particular painting wasn't there. The works were divided up by periods in his life, where we could immediately tell the differences through time, and with stories that highlighted how sad his story was.
Red Light District tour
At night, all 4 of us went to the Red Light District for yet another Sandemans walking tour, which we thought would be a bit safer than walking on our own. We were told to take photos of anything we liked, except the ladies in the windows. There's a church right in the middle of the District, apparently because sailors used to get upto stuff in the area and then feel so guilty afterwards that they's pray for forgiveness, or otherwise "buy" indulgences (the right to sin) in advance from the church. More money for the Dutch.
The names on some of the sex shops were odd to say the least, particularly the gay ones, and the Condomerie had condoms with everything you can imagine on the end, including the faces of Simpsons characters!
After the tour
Included in the tour price was a shot of Jagermeister at a bar, which conveniently happens to be the bar that all the tour guides work at. We hung out here for a while, getting other discounts for having been on the tour, and Justin met us here again. This will probably be our last experience in Amsterdam and, short of sex, drugs and rock n' roll, I think I've done quite a bit in the city.
