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Netherlands Journal
(Lea) I first read The Diary of Anne Frank when I
was ten. It was then that I learned about Nazis and their
atrocities. Over the years I read and re-read the diary, and Anne became a
friend. It still amazes me the insight she had at thirteen and her ability
to totally open herself up on paper. So for me, visiting the Anne Frank
house, where she and her family lived in hiding for two years, was the highlight
of visiting Amsterdam. We walked through the rooms she lived in, where she
could not leave or even look out a window. Throughout the rooms, there
were quotes from her diaries, items (such as magazine cut outs she pasted in her
room) from when they were in hiding, and video tapes of interviews with those
who knew Anne. The rooms were also filled with pictures of Anne, her
family and the others in hiding - pictures before the war where they are so
happy. I found it difficult to visit the last room where the fate of Anne
and the 7 in hiding is described. All but Mr. Frank died either by being
gassed, being shot or through disease. It is heart twisting to read the letters on
display that Mr. Frank wrote immediately after his liberation. In
one he writes of hope that Anne and her sister Margot survived, but in the next
letter he writes that their deaths were confirmed. I remember the horrible
feeling when, after first reading her diary, I learned she died in
concentration camp just months before liberation. After reading Anne's
diary I felt I knew her and lost someone close to me.
(Keith)
Well since Lea wrote about the horrors of WWII, I'll write about sex, drugs, and
cheese.
Sex and drugs abound in Amsterdam; the "Amsterdamites" have very liberal views towards life, e.g. cafes sell soft drugs, and prostitution is legal. Though very risqué by our American standards, in Amsterdam its just one of the sights. The state run travel agency offers a night tour of the Red Light district by a former prostitute; she'll take you into the district, tour you around various "establishments", and then answer your questions about the business. A casual stroll through the Red Light district reveals women vying their products behind glass windows . . . often in very unattractive ways for example, we saw one rather rough looking woman eating a box of Chinese take-out while trying to solicit her next customer!
Holland is not all sex and drugs; we visited a small village, Edam, about thirty minutes drive from Amsterdam. As expected, the cheese was excellent . . . you can see me standing next some. Edam's streets are quiet and there are some very nice parks to picnic in.
Check out our Netherlands Photos.