Day 29--Amsterdam (canal tour, Jewish history of Amsterdam, Anne Frank house)

Day three was a doozy. We seemed to do this in every city—we would have a couple of days to settle, and then hit the ground running with a full day of activities. 

We started off with a boat ride through the canals of Amsterdam. It was a little rainy, but not bad at all. Many people apparently decided to stay home, which made our time much more enjoyable. The views of the city were wonderful.

We then met our Viatour guide, Kaleigh, outside the Portuguese synagogue. This was a tour I had booked so we could have guaranteed tickets to Anne Frank’s house. Kaleigh took us on a three hour walking tour of the city, explaining what the Nazi occupation meant for the people of Amsterdam. She was absolutely phenomenal, and definitely the highlight of our time in Amsterdam. Afterward, we went through the Frank’s hiding place. There are no photos allowed. It was sobering to say the least, but humanized Anne and her family so effectively. It was an honor to be in that tiny space we have all read about. 

On the boat!

Our captain claims to eat herring every single day of his life.

Rainy and perfect.

                                  The dancing houses!

This is the Portuguese synagogue, where we met our American expat tour guide Kaleigh. Kaleigh has two masters degrees in history and gave us a three hour walking tour of Amsterdam, chatting the whole time about how the people of Amsterdam responded in love and solidarity when the Nazis began to decimate the city’s Jewish population.

This is a statue of a non-Jewish dock worker who led a rebellion against the Nazis. It was erected in the Jewish district of the city.

This is a memorial the city erected within the last 5 years. They have placed a brick for every resident of Amsterdam murdered by the Nazis. Many of the bricks memorialize children who were only months old.

These are called stumbling stones. They are an ongoing project throughout Europe. They are located where people were taken by the Nazis to be murdered. The information is hand stamped in brass.  

              Beautiful blue herons in the city’s oldest park. 

           Amazing memorial with unidentified cremains of victims underneath. 

Jewish people successfully hid in the city’s zoo throughout the occupation. 

      Delicious apple pie and hot cocoa were a part of the tour!    Perfect.

This building was the crèche where new Jewish babies were cared for. Their mothers were kept across the street at a converted theater, allowed to visit only to feed their babies. 

A group of rebels worked next door to the crèche at a teacher’s training institution. They found ways to communicate with the Jewish mothers and obtained permission to smuggle their babies out to be adopted by non-Jewish families. Hundreds of babies were saved this way. 

Kaleigh walked us through the city, sharing tips and funny stories the whole time. Every visitor needs a Kaleigh! 

We made it Anne Frank’s house. No photos were allowed inside the building. 

Swans were everywhere in the Netherlands. Here are some in the neighborhood where we stayed.