Paul and Cat take NL Day 1

Albert Cuyp
We practically fought over who got to use the awesome shower first. Then, we got ready to tackle our first full day in Amsterdam. First, we hit the Albert Cuyp Markt (“Kype” and it’s not a typo, there is no “e” in Markt, but you pronounce it like in English). It is a one-km long outdoor daily market southeast of the city. The first thing we bought was a small tray of fresh raspberries for snacking while we perused. The street was bustling and we were ready for some good deals. But we got sidetracked by more food – the famous Dutch sandwich with pickled herring, pickles, and onion. I took one bite and passed it off eagerly to Pauline –she could have it! It was pretty slimy and cold, had tiny bones in it which I could feel, and it tasted pretty fishy. The herring better complemented Pauline’s generally-more-adventurous palate. I took one more bite (lest I too hastily ruled out herring forever), and must admit the second bite was a little more enjoyable. But I’m still not a huge fan.

Next, we watched a man demonstrate a pretty neat kitchen gadget – a garlic chopper (to be – repeatedly and emphatically – distinguished from a garlic press, which crushes the garlic, squandering its juice and flavors). Pauline bought three. :)
My friend Olivia’s sister lives in Amsterdam teaching Ayurvedic yoga, so we met her for lunch at Maoz falafels (yes, there is one in Center City Philadelphia!). It was super scrumptious. We shopped for hours more, and headed towards the Anne Frank Huis (House). On the way we – of course – stopped to eat. This time, we sat outside on a canal at the famous Pancake House (more like crepes).

Anne Frank Huis
After eating much too much food, we continued to the Anne Frank Huis and didn’t have to wait in the HUGE line outside because we purchased our tickets online. Instead, we were immediately buzzed in by an attendant and began the self-led tour through the historic house from the famous book, The Diary of Anne Frank.

Amsterdam is laid out as a series of concentric canals (“grachts”). The Huis is located on the Prinsengracht, and the Franks went into hiding there in July 1942. When Jews were still allowed to have businesses, Anne’s father ran his company (manufacturing something like pectin used for jams) out of the front part of the house, using the ground floor as the warehouse. Above the back part of the warehouse (the Annex) is where eight people hid in a very small space for over two years.

After Jews were no longer allowed to own businesses, the business was transferred to ownership of family friends, who were helping the Franks in hiding by providing food, newspapers and concealing their presence. Reading the excerpts from Anne’s diary imprinted on the walls of the House/Museum was eerie, as all the windows remained blacked out, and you could get such a sense of just how quiet they had to be while upstairs and how isolated from the world they truly were – for over two years! They were reported anonymously, and all taken to concentration camp Weterbork in the east of the NL, then to Auschwitz. Anne Frank died just a month before the liberation in the Bergen-Belson concentration camp. Her diary remained in the attic throughout all this time, and was published by her father, Otto Frank, the only Auschwitz survivor of the family after he came back to Amsterdam in 1945.

My favorite part of the tour was an interview with Mr. Frank (he died in 1980), wherein he described his surprise and awe at the complexity of thought, maturity, and understanding of his young daughter, and that reading the diary was a humbling experience because he learned that parents cannot really know their children as well as they think – that there is always so much more.

Evening downtown
Then we met with Geoff to – you guessed it – EAT. He took us to the loveliest restaurant I have eaten at in the NL, an Indonesian prix fixe restaurant. I believe the prix fixe is called, “rijstafel,” pronounced “rice-stoffel.” The meal was seven or so courses, served all at once, and placed on hot plates. The waiter explained each dish as he placed it on the table, and he even placed the food in descending order of spiciness! We chowed, Pauline and Geoff caught up with each other, and the service was phenomenal (then again, it was a not a Dutch restaurant or waitstaff, haha).

We wandered around Amsterdam, stopped by the Red Light District and saw everything you hear about – girls in the windows working, shops selling sex toys, and the famous Casa Rossa (live sex theatre). We had a few beers in a random alley (Geoff’s favorite bar but I probably couldn’t find it again if I had to!), and took a tram back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.