Our first stop on Sunday was one that I've thought about since I read a certain book in fifth grade.
Like many other young girls, I read Diary of Anne Frank when I was close to the author's age -- and I still remember being so amazed at how brave she must have been to endure such a frightening experience, and being stunned by the tragedy of her untimely death.
The house where the Frank family hid is nestled in the now-charming Jordaan neighborhood I mentioned earlier. It adds another layer of sadness that the family faced extreme adversity in such a beautiful city, their own house adjacent to a pretty canal.
The Anne Frank House is one of the busiest museums in the city -- so much so, that visitors must pre-buy tickets months in advance in order to avoid the afternoon lines (the only time the museum is open to non-pre-tickets), which can stretch for blocks and take hours. Tickets to this home were one of the first things we purchased when planning the trip.
We arrived at the house (a handsome canal home -- the front of it was Otto Frank's business, the back was the annex where the family hid) at 10:15 a.m., and started the tour with a short and informative video of the Frank family's experience. Then, the 50 or so other tourists in our group formed a mostly single-filed line and began the walk through the narrow home.
We were told that Otto Frank (Anne's father, the group's only survivor) insisted that the house remain mostly empty when plans were made to convert it to a museum. It was important to him that visitors were aware of the emptiness that remained after his family and the other Jewish hiders perished in the Holocaust. We were shown a large model of the home at the beginning of the tour that showed to-scale how the rooms were filled with furniture -- but for the tour, the rooms remained mostly empty, save for a few artifacts placed on the walls and a few placards. A paper guide served as our "tour guide" and provided more context as we followed the line of visitors through the rooms.
From seeing the actual bookcase that hid the entryway to the hidden annex and photos of the movie stars Anne pinned to her walls, to seeing pages of the diary in Anne's handwriting and the sink where the families prepared meals, the tour was very moving. Especially poignant was seeing the attic window that let in the only source of natural light, which Anne wrote of looking through with her fellow hider and friend, Peter. All other windows were darkened as they were during the family's hiding, and I was struck by how small, lonely and dark the space felt, even with the few hanging light bulbs lit
After the tour ended, we recharged in the light-filled and modern cafe that was part of the museum.
Like many other young girls, I read Diary of Anne Frank when I was close to the author's age -- and I still remember being so amazed at how brave she must have been to endure such a frightening experience, and being stunned by the tragedy of her untimely death.
The house where the Frank family hid is nestled in the now-charming Jordaan neighborhood I mentioned earlier. It adds another layer of sadness that the family faced extreme adversity in such a beautiful city, their own house adjacent to a pretty canal.
The Anne Frank House is one of the busiest museums in the city -- so much so, that visitors must pre-buy tickets months in advance in order to avoid the afternoon lines (the only time the museum is open to non-pre-tickets), which can stretch for blocks and take hours. Tickets to this home were one of the first things we purchased when planning the trip.
We arrived at the house (a handsome canal home -- the front of it was Otto Frank's business, the back was the annex where the family hid) at 10:15 a.m., and started the tour with a short and informative video of the Frank family's experience. Then, the 50 or so other tourists in our group formed a mostly single-filed line and began the walk through the narrow home.
We were told that Otto Frank (Anne's father, the group's only survivor) insisted that the house remain mostly empty when plans were made to convert it to a museum. It was important to him that visitors were aware of the emptiness that remained after his family and the other Jewish hiders perished in the Holocaust. We were shown a large model of the home at the beginning of the tour that showed to-scale how the rooms were filled with furniture -- but for the tour, the rooms remained mostly empty, save for a few artifacts placed on the walls and a few placards. A paper guide served as our "tour guide" and provided more context as we followed the line of visitors through the rooms.
From seeing the actual bookcase that hid the entryway to the hidden annex and photos of the movie stars Anne pinned to her walls, to seeing pages of the diary in Anne's handwriting and the sink where the families prepared meals, the tour was very moving. Especially poignant was seeing the attic window that let in the only source of natural light, which Anne wrote of looking through with her fellow hider and friend, Peter. All other windows were darkened as they were during the family's hiding, and I was struck by how small, lonely and dark the space felt, even with the few hanging light bulbs lit
After the tour ended, we recharged in the light-filled and modern cafe that was part of the museum.
Experiences
like the Anne Frank house are fulfilling in part because they help you
appreciate life as you have it -- and part of enjoying life is enjoying
art, which brings us to...
Next was the Rijksmuseum, one of the world's leading art museums and THE leading museum for Dutch great master art. We bee-lined to the Night Watch, Rembrandt's masterpiece. Words really don't do it justice, so I won't try here. But it was amazing, trust me.
The museum was huge but very well laid-out, and we generally weren't bothered by the monumental amount of other tourists visiting it. Even the most popular pieces (including Rembrandt's self-portrait and Vermeer's The Milkmaid) were displayed in a way where you didn't have to jockey for a good view. In all - including a short break for lunch where we needed to dodge the pigeons who frequented the outdoor picnic tables - we spent more than three hours in the museum.
Lighter note:While re-entering the Rijksmuseum after lunch, a young woman in front of us obviously had forgotten her ticket and tells ticket-taker, "So sorry, just left to use the restroom." Ticket-taker lets her pass and says, "That's fine. How did you enjoy our white porcelain collection?"
As we were leaving the museum, a small band was performing near the main entrance. It was a feast for our ears after the feast for our eyes!
Next was the Rijksmuseum, one of the world's leading art museums and THE leading museum for Dutch great master art. We bee-lined to the Night Watch, Rembrandt's masterpiece. Words really don't do it justice, so I won't try here. But it was amazing, trust me.
The museum was huge but very well laid-out, and we generally weren't bothered by the monumental amount of other tourists visiting it. Even the most popular pieces (including Rembrandt's self-portrait and Vermeer's The Milkmaid) were displayed in a way where you didn't have to jockey for a good view. In all - including a short break for lunch where we needed to dodge the pigeons who frequented the outdoor picnic tables - we spent more than three hours in the museum.
Lighter note:While re-entering the Rijksmuseum after lunch, a young woman in front of us obviously had forgotten her ticket and tells ticket-taker, "So sorry, just left to use the restroom." Ticket-taker lets her pass and says, "That's fine. How did you enjoy our white porcelain collection?"
As we were leaving the museum, a small band was performing near the main entrance. It was a feast for our ears after the feast for our eyes!
Dinner
that night was extra special because we splurged on a de facto
anniversary dinner at trendy restaurant Envy -- we dressed up and enjoyed AMAZING plates
including an out-of-this-world pork belly.
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| Outside of the Anne Frank house -- no photos were allowed inside, but it was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. |
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| Live music outside the Rijks! |
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This piece is called "Two mothers" (the dog below has a puppy) It made me miss Declan!   |
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