Many years ago we drove into Amsterdam for a couple of days. No sooner had we arrived but Paul twisted his knee and was knocked out of commission. We spent our time on the canal boats and were not able to walk around and see the city.
We were determined to see some of the sights this time around.
We took a walk through the streets of the old city on our first night.
On our first day we had booked two museums namely The Anne Frank House and The Rijsk Museum.
The Anne Frank House was fascinating. We started with a lecture about the times in which the Frank family lived and what brought them to their decision to go into hiding from the Nazis.
They were able to hide in a building behind and attched to the business which had been owned and operated by Otto Frank. This building could not be seen from the street and was therefore unknown to the Nazis. We could catch a glimps of the back of this annex from the lecture hall:
What followed was a walk through the building in which the.Grank family and four others were hidden for two years. The had no opening windows, no sun light. They were 8 people in a small space aided by friends who brought food and other essentials. Their life was captured in the diaries of Anne, their youngest daughter.
It was a very moving experience and very sad as Anne and her family, except her father, died in concentration camps. When he returned, Otto puublished Anne's diaries and made the building a museum.
Then it was off to the Rijsk Museum which is home to many Rembrants and one Van Gogh painting.
Just as we arrived Paul started to feel a bit nauseous and so he took a seat while I explored the Rembrants.
I also saw the Van Gogh although we were scheduled to go to the Van Gogh museum.the following day.
There was also an awesome library dating back to the origins of the museum.
Although the weather a cool and it had recently snowed, we saw signs that spring is on its way!
P
!After the museum Paul was clearly under the weather and we returned to our room.
What followed was a night of illness. Details are too grueaome for this blog but we both were afflicted.
On day two we had planned to go to two museums. We were both too sick in the morning to go to the Van Gogh museum but paul was well enough by the afternoon to visit "The Lord In The Attic". It was a home that had been converted into a catholic church at a time when catholicism was outlawed.
In the end, we saw a little bit of Amsterdam, once again foiled in our efforts to explore this wonderful city. We are unlucky indeed.
We left Amsterdam on the 14th of March destined for Iceland and the last leg of our epic adventure.
