Anne Frank House

April 28

we got downtown for a free walking tour at 11 o’clock. As usual these walking tours are very informative and we like them. This guy explained some of the history of the Netherlands which we had heard some of this. Basically centuries ago, the Dutch people dealt with a lot of trade . They had the port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam to ship materials all around. The world is also one of the more advanced countries in the world due to initiatives they have started. For example the canal boats run on electricity and this will be requirement by the year 2025. Also by the year 2025, cars will not be allowed into the city. This tool went through the redline district and we learned that there is a push to move these workers outside of the city, but the girls are resisting this move. We also walked through Chinatown which looks like a fun and bustling part of the city. We saw the dancing houses and he was kind enough to take a picture of the different participants in front of the houses. This is an example of the architecture in the city. By building them at angles and either leaning forward or leaning back, it prevents houses crumbling. We also looked at many of the houseboats on the canals and we’re surprised to learn that these were coveted places to live, because they have more room. But they also come at a very steep price house that was worth $2 million and various prices along the way it was for me to see the decorated flower bikes crossing the canals. These bikes are created by the flower man. His wife exhibited Alzheimer’s she often could not find her bike so he decorated her bike with flowers. It became so popular that he started decorating more bikes and putting them all around the city. We went to the beginage in the city. Like the one in Bruges this was a calm oasis inside of a busy city. We went into the church and it was very plain but I found it beautiful and calming. There are still women that live in this commune. We decided to go for a snack, one of her favourites on this trip, truffle fries and beer, we had some time to kill him because my foot was still hurting bit we found some places to sit. That’s when the wind picked up tremendously in the city. It was very cold and it started to rain a little bit.

By then it was time to go on our Anne Frank tour. The tour starts in a room with a timeline and a guide that tells about Anne‘s life. I found she was an excellent guide and presented the information in a clear and sobering way. in the room was also Peter‘s bike. It was still in very good condition and apparently during the two years in the attic, he had hung them bike on the wall after we went through the Work and there was information presented about auto work and the people that worked with him, into the annex and saw the rooms where the franks and the other people liveD. Apparently Frank took all the furniture out of the annex after his death and decided to replace it to write a novel and her wish came true although in a very sad way. It was amazing to see all the different nationalities touring this museum. In a way, people think Anne Frank would’ve been pleased to know that a house was. named after her. I think that anybody who visits Amsterdam should visit this museum just to learn the history and hopefully not repeat the same mistakes of that time period. I came to Amsterdam back in the 80s and this museum has changed drastically. In 80s I remember walking up the steep stairs into the workplace and annex. They have built a whole museum to the right of the Frank house almost like maze to go through this museum.

10 minute walk down to restaurant Red where we met a previous colleague from my Dodds days, Sheilia. I had met with her then also. She and her daughter were visiting Amsterdam for the weekend and we had drinks and snack as we had been snacking all day, and we really weren’t sure what time we would get to the restaurant. It was a pleasure catching up with the two of them. It’s very obvious they have a very close relationship

And often take trips together. It was even more amazing because Katrina had just gotten married two months ago, hadn’t taken a honeymoon yet but was here with her mother. It’s always fun to catch up with old friends.