Amsterdam (Day Three)

Saturday morning, Evan, Helen, and I managed to get up and out of the hostel before 9am. We were headed to the Anne Frank house and museum and had heard that if you don't get there early, you can be in for quite a wait. Unfortunately, the weather was very rainy and the sky was especially dreary. Even though we didn't have a specific schedule/appointment to keep, it was an unfortunate time for us to get lost, but alas we did. 

It was roughly an hour and 15 minutes after leaving the hostel that we arrived at our destination only to find that the line to enter was around the corner. No matter: we entertained ourselves by continuing the game we had started as we aimlessly wandered around the city streets: Top Fives. We came up with a series of categories (movies, books, songs/artists, places you've been, risks you've taken, etc) and had to share our top 5 items in that category. It was a good way to pass the time and to get to know each other even better. 

The building to the right of the red awning
housed the Frank family's secret annex
(the one with the 3 x 3 windows)

After only about 35 minutes of waiting, we were allowed to enter. Actually walking through the Anne Frank house (which is the building that hid the Frank family’s secret annex) was very sad, very moving, and also very thought provoking. The bottom floor of the building, which had been part of Otto Frank’s office, was more museum-based containing pictures, information, and quotes from Anne’s diary. Then you moved upwards, past the actual bookcase that hid the door to the family’s hiding place, up the stairs, and into their annex. That was one of the most surreal parts of the experience; I couldn’t help but to think that the Frank family had actually made such a trip up the stairs many times.

Each part of the annex was unfurnished, as Otto (Anne's father) had requested they remain. After the family had been discovered, the Nazi’s ordered everything be cleared out and Otto didn’t want to replace the belongings because he said the emptiness reflected the space that had been left when his loved ones were killed. As you walked through each room there were display cases with letters and signs explaining the significance of what you saw. Even though the rooms were empty, the walls of what had been Anne's room were still covered with the images of movie stars she had plastered to add decoration. 

Here is Evan, admiring one of the many tables of cheeses

As we left, there was a display case containing copies of Anne’s diary in some of the 60 languages that it has been translated to. It was quite moving since you realized just how many people heard her voice and her powerful story.

Our next stop was the Saturday farmer’s market, called the Noordermarkt, which was a fun and different experience in the city (although it was certainly rainy and cold). Evan took his time examining and comparing cheeses and breads, while Helen and I settled for Focaccia pizza quite quickly. 

Safely away from the rain under the awnings 

The stall (that was basically a portable bakery) that my lunch came from

Yum!

We had planned to try to do a little bit of shopping, but were running out of time. In the end, we wandered back to the hostel, got Helen’s suitcase, and dropped her at the tram stop, bidding her farewell and thanking her sincerely for joining us and making our adventures even more fun. Luckily we knew that we would be seeing each other in class in just two days time.

  

Three types of cheeses, avocado,
and great bread

Back to the hostel for Evan’s extremely late lunch and an afternoon snack for me. I was very glad he had taken the time to compare cheeses and breads because his selections were absolutely delicious!

After I took a nap, we headed off to find dinner. We settled on an Italian restaurant, which was more of a Mexican Italian Dutch restaurant (Spanish music was playing the whole night). The whole thing was sort of hilarious: we went back to the street that Bojo (Indonesian restaurant from the first night) had been on because there were tons of other restaurants. Maître Dees stood outside the doors and tried to bribe you into their restaurant, offering great food and good deals. We stood examining the menu of an Italian place and the Maître Dee offered free fresh bread and butter. The menu also claimed to have tons of 5-euro options. After his persistent chatter we entered and took our seats.

However, when the waiter brought the menu, all of the dishes were 7-12 euros (not 5 as listed outside the door). I sort of shrugged and said that I couldn't remember too clearly, but Evan called the waiter over and asked about the discrepancy. The waiter replied, ”Op! You’re right,” and brought over an additional menu with “5 euro deals.” Evan examined it, called him back over and said, “I thought that ______ was also 5 euros.” The waiter said, “Op! Hold on,” and came back with ANOTHER menu with additional 5 euro and combination deals. I told Evan that perhaps he should keep asking and we’d end up with a free dinner!  :-)

Evan's dinner

We sat enjoying the meal and talking (you should be sensing a theme of the trip at this point) for nearly 2 hours. I won’t go into the details of our convo, but I am so grateful to have such good friends in my life (both here and at home). I am never short on funny stories, meaningful insights, new connections, or deeper appreciations after conversations with my friends. And when I think of all of the hours that I spend with them, it's sort of amazing that we never EVER are short on things to talk about. 

After dinner we decided to wander the city a bit more in search of some tasty dessert. We found one place that was too fancy, another that was far too noisy, and a third and fourth which were in the process of closing for the night. Finally, we crossed the street for a final attempt and stumbled upon the perfect spot: hot tea, a bowl of mini chocolate chips, a brownie sundae, and some final conversation=the best possible end to the day.


Highlights Day Three:
Evan: Conversations over bread & cheese, dinner, and dessert; getting to see the Anne Frank house; the Farmer's market (Noordermarkt)

Sara: Willingness to wander (in other words, making the best of getting lost and loving the chance to wander without specific plans for dinner or dessert); getting to know both Evan and Helen better from our Top 5 game; setting goals and reflecting