written on 26.05.13
So we were in Amsterdam's Schipol Airport and all we could do was feel sad about saying goodbye to Stefania but at the same time, so excited about sightseeing at Amsterdam :)
To get to our hotel, my companion and I purchased our tickets to the Amsterdam Centraal station (around E3.80). The hotel was just a few minutes away by foot and when we were walking towards the place, we got a taste of the biking city with me almost getting hit by one as I stepped on the red concrete. That was my first lesson, never step on a red concrete without looking -- it is the bike lane! I thought the hotel was easy to find (I thought I had the map memorized in my mind) but we ended up asking someone where the street was (we passed by it apparently). That was were my second lesson happened - the street is not pronounced "s-pu-wi-strat" but "s-puy-strat." No wonder the guy didn't understand me the first time and I had to spell the street name before we can understand each other! :)
We could have chosen another hotel but i wanted a place near the station where I could just easily hop on a train (since I am just staying until Sunday evening). I didn't want to waste time and it saves more to be able to walk to the station than taking a ride from somewhere else just to go there.
Eventually, we arrived at the hotel and right after checking-in and leaving our stuff at the locker room (our room was not ready yet) we decided to go explore the city of Amsterdam. As I was more "familiar" with what to see in the city, my companion just tagged along. First was picture taking along the canals on our way to the Anne Frank House. But first, we happened to see a Cheese Stand which really looked inviting and I'm glad that we decided to stop by and see the place -- I got to sample different kind of cheese! and I get to scout how much a Gouda cheese cost to compare later when I have to buy one already to take home. Here's what's inside the Cheese Stand:
The Anne Frank statue was so small that if not for the other tourists converging on that area, I would not have noticed it. The next stop was the house itself and we fell in line to see the inside. The house museum is so heartbreaking. Imagine a little girl living in secrecy with her family for years only to be caught in the end and then sent and separated in concentration camps during the Second World War - just because they were Jews. More sad to find out that she died just a few days before the war ended. It was said that she died of a sickness, the same one that took her sister. It might also because she had probably lost hope, thinking that she had no family left. It is more heartbreaking to find out later in the tour that her father lived and he was the one who commissioned to have the house made into a museum to show how it was during that time. Sad story and it makes you realize how lucky we are to live in a time of peace and people are more accepting of one's beliefs.
The next stop we went to was the church on the next block of the Frank's House. We did not stay long as there was nothing much to see there as they were renovating the place.
Outside, we decided to rest for a bit on the chairs along the street and just watch the world go by -- and to look around for somewhere to eat. It was cold and I had to put on my sweater's bonnet, my scarf and close up my jacket. Yet it was fun sitting there on the cold wooden chair, watching tourists and Dutch people go about their business, look at the buildings and the different transportation passing by. I was trying to guess what make the cars passing by were. Unfortunately, I did not do good at that.
It was also funny that while we were just lounging around, I happened to see a card stand and when I looked at it closely, it was of a gay theme. I realized then what it really meant when the area said that it is a Homomonument. If only I knew what my friend's address is at Auckland, I might have sent him one! Here's a photo of some of the cards there. Pick the one you like, Mau! :P
...more to write in the next part...
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