I AMsterdam

We started out early on Saturday morning by having a cup of coffee at a small shop just up the road from our hotel.  Since we needed to queue for the Anne Frank House, we were expecting to just grab a huge take-away and head out.  We were a bit bemused when we were jovially instructed, in Dutch, to take a seat and enjoy our espresso.  It seemed that take-away was not even a consideration.  Nor was an extra large coffee.  We laughed, sat down, and enjoyed feeling "european"


After our espresso, we walked down the street to join the queue.  We only waited about an hour, and were quite sedate in anticipation of the impending tour.  It felt surreal to stand on that street and imagine back to a time (not that long ago) when a little girl went from skipping along the canal to hoping for a breath of fresh air.  

Once inside, we spent the rest of the morning walking through the house.  It is unbelievably small, considering Anne was there with her mother, father, sister, and another family of four.  They were found near the end of the war, in 1944, after two years in hiding.  Anne and her sister, Margot, were sent to Bergen-Belsen where they both died of typhoid.  Her father, Otto, was the only survivor.  They had a video of him talking about the discovery of her journal that we watched repeatedly.  Otto's conclusion, after reading his daughter's journal, was that parents do not really know their own children.  I cannot begin to fathom what it was like for him to hold Anne's inner-most thoughts in his hands after her passing.  The tolerance installation, meant to demonstrate the importance of non discrimination, is in the later-built museum.  It was under construction, but the experience was all we needed to comprehend how imperative it is to accept all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, orientation, beliefs, and lifestyle.

After we left, we made our way to the museum district.  At least that was what we were planning on doing...

In our effort to find lunch, we took a wrong turn and ended up at the flower market.  The bloemenmarkt that we stumbled upon just happens to be the only floating flower market in the world!  We were beginning to notice a trend that Amsterdam really does like to be on the forefront of unique features.  We walked through the market, amazed by the beautiful colors.  I would also like to mention that I was amazed by Jeri, who knew every type of flower by name.  

We finally made it to the Museum District after a reassessment with the map.  The line at the Rijksmuseum was around the block, so we ventured over to the Van Gogh Museum via a beautiful park.  The I AMsterdam sign (pictured above) is at the head of this wonderful tree-lined pond.  

There were people out in droves, and we waited patiently for our tickets.  Once inside, Jeri suggested we get the audio tour, which was a brilliant idea.  We learned so much!  We stood side by side in front of each work of art just awestruck.  We saw his Sunflowers, his Irises, his Potato Eaters, and his Blossoming Almond Tree (his Japanese Inspired piece that was painted for his nephew).  It is behind me in the picture below.  Jeri and I both found it to be touching, as we have some pretty wonderful nephews ourselves.  

After a few hours in the museum, we decided it was time to eat.  Rather, we thought it was time to scope out a place to have dinner after our workout.  Of course Jeri found a fabulous restaurant adorned with tons of stickers- Michelin Guide rated, Fodor's, Time Out... none of them had an Urbanspoon sticker though.  Regardless, we made a reservation that gave us just enough time to enjoy a quick workout.  
Certainly there was enough walking during our day, but we enjoyed a quick session of Pilates and weights.  This gave us permission to then indulge in a meal that was an absolute treat.  We ordered the Chef's Selection, one sans meat, and it was divine.  I must say that sitting together and talking was the perfect conclusion to our day.