Amsterdam Alas!

My initial impressions of Amsterdam where somewhat skeptical. Immediately upon my arrival from the Central Train Station, I was offered some “pie”. Oh yes, and even though Gabe had told me not to stay in the Red Light District, it’s the place where my hostel ended up being anyway! After sorting though an early check in-in luggage storage fiasco, I couldn’t believe I was FINALLY making my way to the sole purpose of this impromptu trip…the Anne Frank House.

http://www.annefrank.org

“One day this terrible war will be over. The time will come when we will be people again and not just Jews! We can never be just Dutch, or just English, or whatever; we will always be Jews as well. But then, we’ll want to be”

Upon entering The Anne Frank Museum, Anne’s words were displayed on the wall. They had such a profound impression on me and I was unable to contain my tears. Having experienced so much WWII history in the Eastern European countries in the past days magnified the impact of Anne’s words. For so many people, Anne is a prevalent voice of the Holocaust. She encapsulates the dreams and fears of the human beings that were subjected to one of the most atrocious periods in human history. Towards the end of the museum, Anne’s strikingly powerful words were revealed once again. She had written about her desire to one day become a famous writer. Even though her desires did not become reality within her lifetime, her courageous and truly insightful words into the human experience will resonate for generations to come. I spent a few hours walking along Amsterdam’s canals in a reflective state. There was so much to consider and I was at peace to do so along the enchanting sites before me.

Later in the afternoon, I met up with Paul and Kelly (from Australia who were also on the tour) and we ended up hanging out for the afternoon. On our way to dinner, the craziest thing ever happened. I ran into someone I knew from UCLA! Yes, there he was standing by a bridge in the middle of Amsterdam. We were thoroughly shocked! All four of us ended up having dinner and then Kelly and Paul went to call it a day. Michael and I ended up hanging out the rest of the evening with Fernanda, my bunk buddy in the hostel from Brazil. Michael ended up back at the hostel in the morning. We attempted to visit the Van Gogh museum but opted out of it since it the line would have taken over two hours and I had a flight to catch. Instead, we walked around and found a picturesque park. Afterwards, Michael walked me towards the station and we said good-bye. Off to the airport it was...it was finally time to see Paul and Elisa!! I had met this lovely couple back in March during my trip to South America. Paul and Elisa on their honeymoon.