Still an early bird these days
Went to the Anne Frank House yesterday morning, and amazingly, there was hardly anybody there. Unlike Paris, Amsterdam seems to be actually having a post-holiday downtime. Anyway, it was nice to be able to go through there in peace. I've been visiting a number of wow-it-happened-here places on this trip, but this one was pretty mind-blowing. We all read Anne Frank's diary as kids, and it's one thing to have had that be in a book you were reading, and to see the building and the rooms where they actually hid. It made me sad too, cuz it was all for nothing. They all died anyway, save for Otto Frank. But at the same time, her story might not have reached all the people it did had it not had a tragic ending. Who knows.
I'm enjoying this city. Amsterdammers seem quite neighborly and friendly by nature. Everything's in Dutch and everyone speaks Dutch, but they're also all ready to start speaking English at the drop of a hat, and seem happy to do so. I went into a pub called The Old Bell that I might have overlooked except that it was raining, and it was really cozy and warm and surprisingly, there was an orange tabby cat sitting and looking out the window. I had a beer and fish and chips, and after awhile Mr. Kitty decided I was his new friend because he came and curled up next to me and went to sleep. :)
Time to get some breakfast.
I'm enjoying this city. Amsterdammers seem quite neighborly and friendly by nature. Everything's in Dutch and everyone speaks Dutch, but they're also all ready to start speaking English at the drop of a hat, and seem happy to do so. I went into a pub called The Old Bell that I might have overlooked except that it was raining, and it was really cozy and warm and surprisingly, there was an orange tabby cat sitting and looking out the window. I had a beer and fish and chips, and after awhile Mr. Kitty decided I was his new friend because he came and curled up next to me and went to sleep. :)
Time to get some breakfast.