Dear all, my latest adventure took me to the great city of Amsterdam. I will admit that I had predetermined notions about what I would find in Amsterdam and to some degree I was correct in my assumptions. This was my first ever real visit to the city; I spent several hours wandering in the drizzle last year but not enough time to really see anything or get a feel for the place. Three of the interns and I planned a quick trip to this nearby city that never sleeps trying to pack as much into 36 hours as we possibly could and I must say we did pretty well. I am capable of planning trips and taking the initiative but this weekend I was merely a passenger along for the ride. The girls bought tickets to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum in advance so we did not have to stand in any astronomical lines, researched some great local tours, and made the hostel reservation. All I had to do was pack my bag and remember my passport both of which I accomplished.

Amsterdam is a spendy town so we decided to only spend one night in the city. We woke up early Saturday morning, as in the time we normally get up to go to school, but it was worth it. We boarded the train and people watched, read, dabbled in crochet, and participated in some lively train banter. The row behind us started a friendly debate on the purpose and importance of religion in our modern day world. If you ever thought that conversations on a train were private think again. My roommate Bridget and I quickly started eavesdropping but we were not the only ones and soon people from all of the surrounding rows were adding their “two cents”, giggling, scowling, or trying to ignore the surrounding friendly squabble.

We arrived in Amsterdam to gray low lying clouds that had trouble deciding between drizzle and full-on rain. Our hostel, located directly off of the infamous Red Light District, is surrounded by gay bars, a leather clothing shop, and a fantasy costume store; we were in the thick of it to say the least. Our first stop after dropping off our bags and checking in was lunch. We decided on pancakes which may sound strange but they are a staple food source in the Lands of Nether. My eye was drawn to the bacon pancake, Carrie got a sweet pancake, and Bridget and Kathryn got the apple pancake variety. When they came to the table they were thin and slightly sourdoughy, Carrie said they reminded her of Norwegian lefse but whatever they are made of and how ever they are made we loved them in all the varieties.

After our wonderful pancake lunch we planned on heading on a walking tour of the city but the rain, rain, rain started to come down, down, down so we window shopped, visited the Condomerie, and headed in the direction of the Anne Frank House. Carrie and I visited the Anne Frank Museum while Bridget and Kathryn power shopped and tried to stay out of the rain. The museum is incredibly moving and personal. It is housed in the actual warehouse and annex where the Frank family along with the Van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer all hid. The museum focuses on the life and writing of Anne Frank rather than the much broader theme of the Holocaust. It may seem strange but the one on one connection I felt with Anne and her seven partners in hiding was truly personal. The suffering of so many during the Holocaust can be overwhelming; it is easier to shut out information or let the faces in the concentration camp photos blur but the images and words of Anne Frank stayed with me long after I left the building.

As I pondered the history of humanity and we walked down from the Secret Annex a second exhibit caught my eye, Free2Choose . It turns out that Free2Choose is a collaborative project headed by the Anne Frank House to explore perceptions of personal freedoms and rights according to the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. The concept is fascinating; the room is open with seating and small voting boxes with one green and one red button. Video clips play that present real life scenarios from around the world concerning a controversial topic. The voter has to decide whether the actions taken honor personal freedoms and human rights. For example, after watching separate video clips of an official US Armed Forces funeral and protesters burning an American flag a question follows, should it be legal to burn a nation’s flag? People vote yes or no and the results from the current group of people as well as the complied data of all people who have ever voted flashes on the screen. I would love to host a Free2Choose forum or debate or even party because the questions were that stimulating and could generate some terrific conversation.

The weather cleared up and after Anne Frank we all reunited and headed for dinner and then a Red Light District Exposed tour. We learned about the history of Amsterdam and its prominence as a seaport, the interconnectedness of sailors, prostitution, and the church, we saw some lovely ladies of every shape, size, color, and description, we visited the infamous Casa Rosso, and all in all had a darn good time. Prostitution has little to none of the negative connotations associated with it in the Netherlands but I could not help staring at the women and wondering how they got into their line of work and what they thought of it, I bet they can tell some great stories though.

Sunday dawned gray with occasional bursts of sun but mainly rain. Carrie talked me into going on the Amsterdam City walking tour and I will admit that I was grumbly at the prospect of spending two plus hours traipsing around in the rain following some half witted tour guide. In the end I decided to go and I absolutely loved it down pouring rain and all. New Europe Tours are free, the tour guides work on tips alone so they have to be pretty darn charismatic and history buffs to boot. We walked and walked in the rain and by the end I was encouraging Carrie who was thinking of bailing after our lunch break in an effort to get out of the rain. We learned about the greatest urban "pee-ve" of Amsterdammers, we learned about the history of the Dutch East India Trading Company, we had the best lunch I have ever had in a cafeteria anywhere, ever. The architecture in Amsterdam is just so very picturesque that if the weather were a little nicer I could imagine walking around for days just admiring the scenery. After the walking tour Carrie and I headed over to the Van Gogh Museumand much to everyone’s dismay I was not overly enthused. I am interested in artists from this time period and I appreciate how the museum is organized chronologically as it makes his evolution as a painter incredibly clear. Starry Night is on loan to MMoMA so we did not see that one but we did see some great paintings. I am glad we went but I wish I had done a little Van Gogh research on my own before we arrived so I would have had a better idea of what to expect and look for.

Amsterdam is a blast and I cannot wait to go back. Maybe I will check the weather and wait for a sunny day so I can do a little more unstructured strolling and soak up all of those ancient canals and narrow cobblestone streets. Now that I have a little more Amsterdam experience hopefully I will be less likely to get run over by a bike, probably not but it is worth hoping for.

Amy

PS Don't forget to check out my photos.