Chronologically, this was the first of my little European jaunts since I’ve last written. I had never been to Amsterdam before, but have heard about it from virtually anyone who has toured through Europe or studied abroad, as it is certainly an epicenter for partying. I traveled there sola for the first part of my trip, and then met up with one of Rodrigo’s childhood friends and brother for part of it. Our hostel was nestled in the middle of the hustle of the city, on the edge of the red light district and a few blocks away from Dam Square. While I will not even name this hostel in recommendation because it was a shit hole, it was great to be so centrally located in the middle of the city.
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| inside the flower market |
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| Amsterdam at night (duh) |
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| A cute little Dutch breakfast |
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| sweet |
My first night there I spent wandering around, checking out the flower market, Dam Square and went on a little canal cruise at sunset (how romantic) and was just blown away by this city of canals which was unlike anything I’d seen before (including Venice). I made friends with an Australian on the boat and we spent the night wandering around and visited the museum of prostitution. I had always heard about the red light district but was still a bit jolted by seeing it in person, and saddened by imagining the reality of those who make a living working in the sex industry. Of course I cannot claim to know this experience, I can only imagine what I would feel like that situation, it’s still hard for me to put an entirely positive or healthy spin on the industry.
Anyways, the first morning I was there I headed over to the Anne Frank House, something I had bought a ticket for weeks in advance (please do that if you plan to visit) and a site I have been looking forward to visiting for years. The museum is bare of any furniture, at the request of Otto Frank (Anne’s father) making for an appropriately somber visit and imagining of the reality of those who hide in those walls, deprived of sunlight, normalcy and access to the world. I have always been inspired by Anne Frank’s diary, in both the bravery she had to write so eloquently on topics beyond what she should have had to confront at that age, but also by the injustice of her lack of choice. The museum was a poignant homage to Anne, a heartfelt design infused with the sorrow of her father and the memories of life there during hiding.
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From what I observed there that morning, the Anne Frank house has become a symbol of humanity, a physical place where tourists flock to commemorate the writer of what became a transformative piece of writing, unlike anything that had ever been published before, but was maybe lacking a sense of connection to tragedy and genocide that has persisted beyond WWII, even though the motto ‘never again’ is repeated in reference to the Holocaust. There was something odd about watching people taking selfies, smiling in front of Anne’s house, as if their visit signified a victory over evil and human suffering. While I was overjoyed to see so many people take interest in the history of the Holocaust and to expand their knowledge of the atrocities that occurred, the peace builder and educator in me saw a missed opportunity for the museum to continue the education by adding some sort of memorium or exhibit about genocide in general and educate about genocides that have occurred since the Holocaust, despite the Western world’s repeated claim of ‘never again.’ I don’t mean to be critical of the museum, because I thought it was powerful and intentional in all aspects, but I couldn’t help but feel that some sort of global anchoring was missing.
Anywho, I was also able to elbow my way through the Van Gogh museum and catch a peek at the iconic I amsterdam sign outside of the Rijksmuseum. The Van Gogh museum was incredibly crowded, but I enjoyed putting the breadth of his work into the perspective of the length of his career, which was relatively short and cut short by his suicide. A depressing life story indeed, but an impressive and inspiring portfolio that filled up two buildings of galleries.
On my last day there, I hopped on one of those tourist buses and spent the day being equally annoyed with everyone who was also on the bus and highly entertained by everyone who was on the bus. The tour took us out to Zandaam to see some historic windmills. They were cool and also, I couldn't quite leave the Netherlands without seeing a windmill of course!
Amsterdam was great to just wander around, walking by the canals and wandering in and out of shops and galleries. I’m glad I had the chance to go when it was still warm out and had so much free time to weave around the city.
