Our second full day in Amsterdam was a full one.
The previous month, we'd booked tickets for the Anne Frank House (€ 14 / € 21 with the introductory program) for mid-morning.
We walked over from our hotel and got there a little early, so we hung around a bit, taking photos...
Finally, it was our time to enter. We started with the introductory program, which was in its own room that held some cool pieces...
^A replica of Anne's diary.
Then it was time for the tour of the building where Anne, her family, and the others lived in hiding for over 2 years.
People aren't allowed to take pictures during the actual tour, but there are pictures online if you're interested.
I was humbled to get to walk through the rooms of the Secret Annexe. I had tried to picture the rooms while reading the book, but I hadn't imagined things very accurately. It had never really clicked that Mr. and Mrs. Van Pels (Van Daan) didn't even have their own bedroom, but rather slept in the household's sitting room. Also, Peter's room had a staircase/ladder to the attic IN it!
The disappointing thing was that the entire place was packed with people. Just like at Versailles, I had thought/hoped that timed tickets would keep the crowds low and keep everyone moving through the rooms, but no... it was very crowded and lots of bottlenecking went on. I'm happy I went, but those crowds were really not cool.
After leaving the Anne Frank House, we walked to a nearby pancake restaurant for lunch:
Then H. and I set off on our own again....
I walked back to the hotel, where I grabbed my rented bike.
Then I rode to the Rijksmuseum. I had booked a ticket online earlier in the day.
I got a little lost on the way over, and arrived a bit out of breath. I managed to lock my bike in only five or six tries this time! It was now past my ticket's entry time, but they still let me in.
I spent about 2 hours walking around the museum. I definitely didn't see everything, and was starting to feel a bit tired.
This doll house was cool...
And this library was epic...
After leaving the museum, I rode back to our hotel's street, and -- even though I still had an hour left on my 24-hour bike rental, I was done riding -- for this trip, anyway. All that pedaling had made my calves start to hurt!
I returned the bike (and retrieved my driver's license) without any issue. The shop owner gives out ice cream or popsicles to all her customers when they return their bike, so that was a bonus!
I went back to the room and rested for a bit, then set out once more....
Not far from our hotel sits the National Holocaust Names Monument. It's a fairly new installation and I had heard Rick Steves mention it. Figuring it would be an appropriate way to end the day, I went...
This is written on a plaque:
This monument contains the names of the more than 102,000 Jews, Sinti and Roma from The Netherlands who were murdered during the Holocaust. They never received a grave.
It was a beautiful, but somber, place.
A few of the especially emotional sights...
All the women named Esther Polak...
All the people named Samuel Dresden...
The entire Lopes Cardozo family, particularly Marjolijn. (My brain: "Why does hers say 'maanden' instead of 'jaar'? ....Oh no...")
I was glad I brought tissues; I needed them.
People had placed rocks along the bottom of the wall. Some were rocks they'd decorated and brought along; others were pulled from a nearby rock bed, presumably to be used for this purpose.
I wanted to find Anne Frank's brick, and eventually did... ("Annelies Frank... 15 jaar")
I really enjoyed Amsterdam. There were parts of it that weren't so clean (but I'm from Portland in 2022, so we can't talk), but overall I found it very beautiful, interesting, and fun.
Tomorrow, we head to Copenhagen!
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