Amsterdam, the Anne Frank House

from my journal
October, 1993

Amsterdam is a city in financial trouble. The canals are dirty brown. Limited housing has forced many people to live in house boats tied along the banks of the canals. Some are fairly nice; most are decaying eyesores. Some are legal; some are not. The legal ones get electricity and sewer services. The illegal ones don't. We learned this on a boat trip along the canals.

My biggest surprise in Amsterdam was getting to visit the Anne Frank house, the house where she and her family and a few other people lived during World War II. I had totally forgotten about the house being in Amsterdam until we arrived there. It was a short walk from our hotel. I have always wanted to visit the house, but I'm still a little bit stunned that I actually got to do it,

It was humbling to be in the rooms where those frightened people hid from the Nazis for all those months. Anne's bedroom still had photos of American movie stars posted on the wall by her bed. Such a brave and tragic young girl.

We stopped for a beer at an outside table on the way back to the hotel and watched the locals go by. Very colorful people. Characters. Many people ride bicycles and most of the bikes are old, beat up, and paint chipped. People here love their dogs and seem to take them everywhere, including into restaurants. A Boston Terrier joined us for lunch yesterday. We saw a darling puppy and several friendly cats. A black Lab trotted along with his mommy carrying a package of meat in his mouth. He looked very pleased with himself. Another dog, trotting beside his master on a bicycle, carried a woman's shoe in his mouth. He, too, looked proud.

We enjoyed Amsterdam, but one day was enough. We had an excellent dinner last night served by a very attentive waiter. Nearly everyone here speaks English as well as Dutch. Most signs, instructions, and announcements are given in several languages. 

It's a cosmopolitan city with a hint of sophistication, and yet somehow, at times, one tends to think of Dan and Roseann Conner.
I'm drinking a warm Coke on a first class train coach. No ice. Americans see ice in their drinks as a necessity; Europeans don't. This is an unhappy surprise. Even Dan and Roseann had ice.