Amsterdam, The Netherlands -July 18, 2011

We catch an early train to Amsterdam - about 4 hours and we are in another country..The Netherlands. I was going crazy early on in buying our train passes...I couldn't find a pass that would cover the country of Holland. Guess the country's official name is The Netherlands, but it is the same as Holland with the cheese, the windmills, the wooden shoes and Rembrandt.

We have booked a great hotel on one of the nicest historic canals in Amsterdam, right around the corner form the Anne Frank house. The hotel is actually a former house of some wealthy Dutch traders (Dutch are what they call people from Holland/The Netherlands....another confusion).








It is still drizzling. For lunch, We walk to an old Dutch tavern with dark paneling and real candles in brass holders on the table. It is like stepping back in time.









After a nap in our hotel, we make our way to the Anne Frank House museum. I prebooked tickets for the museum and an English presentation before we left the US.
The girls of course know all about Anne Grank from school and have read her famous diary. The museum if iniformtuve but accessibleand then you get to go through the hidden door behind the bookcase and walk through the "annex" where 8 people lived in hiding from the Nazis for over 2 years. Two things stood out for me. First, in Anne's room, she had pasted pictures from magazines and postcards on her wall for decoration. It was interesting to look at them and try to imagine why she chose a particular picture. The second thing was a video interview of Otto Fank (Anne's father and the only one of the 8 in the house to survive the war). In the video he states that he and Anne were very close, but when he read her diary after the war, he realized he did not really know her at all. Specifically, he was struck with her depth of feeling and serious thoughtfulness. Otto Frank then says that he doesn't think any parent really knows their child.
No photos are allowed inside the museum. Here is a photo of Mia and Makayla with the Anne Frank House in the background. You can see the church with the bells that Anne describes in her diary. We can hear them from our hotel.



We then go eat Dutch pancakes for dinner......a bit like thick crepes with loads of goodies on top. Grace says this is her favorite meal in Europe so far....







So far, the girls are liking Amsterdam! It has been a long day. I rent "true grit" for the girls to see on their room TV and tell them they can sleep in the next day....breakfast at 10!

-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide

Location:Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Holland)