The first overnight bus. Our thought process when we booked it was that we would save money on one night of accomodations by sleeping on the bus. We had taken several buses prior to this with a variety of companies and all were pretty pleasant experiences. This bus, however, was not ideal. First of all, the bus was completely booked (most of our other ones were half full or at least had a few empty seats). Secondly, the men sitting behind us were pretty large so we couldn't put our seats back. Third, we were woken up around midnight to go through customs. Fourth, we were woken up again around 1am to get on a ferry which took an hour and then get back onto the bus. It was not ideal. We slept minimally and it was a long ride, so it was a relief to arrive in Amsterdam!
We waited in line for about 2 hours to visit the Anne Frank house but it was one of the top things I wanted to see in Amsterdam. We have found that to stay on budget, it helps to pick one or two must-see attractions in each city so we don't end up spontaneously spending. It
was so worth the wait. The house, including the annex, is much larger than I imagined. Something that really struck me was a quote by Anne's father, Otto:
“It took me a very long time to read it, and I must say I was very much surprised about the deep thoughts Anne had, her seriousness — especially her self-criticism. It was quite a different Anne I had known as my daughter. She never really showed this kind of inner feeling. She talked about many things, we criticized many things, but what really her feelings were, I only could see from the diary. And my conclusion is, as I had been in very, very good terms with Anne, that most parents don’t know, really, their children.”
It struck me for many reasons. I have deep thoughts that I have never expressed aloud. I think about how many other people (especially introverts) do that and how surprised I might be to discover some of those inner thoughts of people I would say I am very close to. I think about how shocking it must have been for Otto to read the diary and think that he has never truly known his daughter, without even realizing it. How much more was going on in her mind than she ever revealed on the surface, especially at such a young age. It was a sobering experience to be in the house, to hear the stories, to see the photos, and to remember that all of that was so real.
Tolerance: the theme of Amsterdam. We did another free tour (Freedam Tours), where our tour guide pointed out all of the tolerance in this city. Prostitution is legal. Though the Dutch weren't necessarily in favor of prostitution, they voted to legalize, aka tolerate, it after human rights activists busted several hidden brothels where women (and some underage girls) were forced into these acts. Dutch officials decided that the way to regulate it and keep it safer was to legalize it. It was going to happen anyways, so if they legalized it they could then tax it and make a profit from it. So now it is assumed that all of the women do it because they want to. We walked the red light district and I still am not sure what I want to say about it. The fact is, the women are literally on display. When a man walks by, or a group of guys, a woman will knock on the glass to entice them. According to our tour guide they tried to put men on display as well, but they found that it most women didn't partake.
Also with toleration, marijuana is accepted. It's not technically legal, but the police look the other way as long as the smoking takes place in a "coffee shop". If you go to Amsterdam and want a coffee, you go to a cafe; if you want to smoke, you go to a coffee shop. Drugs were a big problem in Amsterdam so the way that those in charge decided to handle it was to tolerate "soft drugs" like marijuana. The reasoning was similar to the prostitution ordeal: they could regulate it, make money from it, and keep it safer.
Amsterdam is a beautiful city with over 100 canals (totaling more than Venice by about 2-3). Each was more beautiful than the previous. Amsterdam was wonderful!
We waited in line for about 2 hours to visit the Anne Frank house but it was one of the top things I wanted to see in Amsterdam. We have found that to stay on budget, it helps to pick one or two must-see attractions in each city so we don't end up spontaneously spending. It
was so worth the wait. The house, including the annex, is much larger than I imagined. Something that really struck me was a quote by Anne's father, Otto:
“It took me a very long time to read it, and I must say I was very much surprised about the deep thoughts Anne had, her seriousness — especially her self-criticism. It was quite a different Anne I had known as my daughter. She never really showed this kind of inner feeling. She talked about many things, we criticized many things, but what really her feelings were, I only could see from the diary. And my conclusion is, as I had been in very, very good terms with Anne, that most parents don’t know, really, their children.”
It struck me for many reasons. I have deep thoughts that I have never expressed aloud. I think about how many other people (especially introverts) do that and how surprised I might be to discover some of those inner thoughts of people I would say I am very close to. I think about how shocking it must have been for Otto to read the diary and think that he has never truly known his daughter, without even realizing it. How much more was going on in her mind than she ever revealed on the surface, especially at such a young age. It was a sobering experience to be in the house, to hear the stories, to see the photos, and to remember that all of that was so real.
Tolerance: the theme of Amsterdam. We did another free tour (Freedam Tours), where our tour guide pointed out all of the tolerance in this city. Prostitution is legal. Though the Dutch weren't necessarily in favor of prostitution, they voted to legalize, aka tolerate, it after human rights activists busted several hidden brothels where women (and some underage girls) were forced into these acts. Dutch officials decided that the way to regulate it and keep it safer was to legalize it. It was going to happen anyways, so if they legalized it they could then tax it and make a profit from it. So now it is assumed that all of the women do it because they want to. We walked the red light district and I still am not sure what I want to say about it. The fact is, the women are literally on display. When a man walks by, or a group of guys, a woman will knock on the glass to entice them. According to our tour guide they tried to put men on display as well, but they found that it most women didn't partake.
Also with toleration, marijuana is accepted. It's not technically legal, but the police look the other way as long as the smoking takes place in a "coffee shop". If you go to Amsterdam and want a coffee, you go to a cafe; if you want to smoke, you go to a coffee shop. Drugs were a big problem in Amsterdam so the way that those in charge decided to handle it was to tolerate "soft drugs" like marijuana. The reasoning was similar to the prostitution ordeal: they could regulate it, make money from it, and keep it safer.
Amsterdam is a beautiful city with over 100 canals (totaling more than Venice by about 2-3). Each was more beautiful than the previous. Amsterdam was wonderful!
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