Amsterdam, Netherlands

Family Reflections:

Seriously, saw a lot of men peeing (discreetly turned away at least).
Really loved walking around everywhere here. Easy public transportation, but with beautiful weather and fun streets, why not meander through.
Most of us want to live in one of the canal boats at some point.
Fun fact: After over 150 cars/year ending up in the canal (from trying to park mainly), insurance companies started collaborating to install short metal rails along the edges to keep cars on the ground. 😂
Another fun fact: Many people do fall into the canals and have to be "rescued" by the fire department. Almost every one of them is a male, who has been drinking, and attempts to pee in the canal. Of course!

Out and About in Amsterdam

Welcome to the land of clogs!

Waylon's personal heaven...cheese stores everywhere!

Saw several rowing crews, all lit up for a nighttime practice.

Amari and I criss-crossed all seven of the "Seven Bridges" (seven bridges all line up in view).

Flower Market (one of many)...left up to Amari and I to discover. I wish I could bring home all the tulips!

Light Festival Canal Ride

This one reminded up of a mantis shrimp (it's actually something more poetic, but we can't remember).

Meditation

Apparently, and not surprisingly, the city is always under construction, as they have to shore up the canal walls every 3-5 years, so they're in constant upgrades.

Anne Frank House

Amari read the diary in prep, and we watched an amazing animated version of the story the night before, but we also attended a little lecture about the history leading up to and including the story of the Frank family. Obviously, we didn't take a ton of photos, but learned so much and will forever remember. Amari claimed that every world leader, especially ones prone to war, need to experience this.

The church bell tower by the annex, where Anne writes about hearing, and loving, the sound of the bells..

Holland only had one Jewish family left in tact after WWII. It was one of the most persecuted places for Jews in the ending years of the war. Many Jews who fled Germany in the 1930s moved here, thinking it would stay neutral and not be invaded, as in WWI. Absolutely devastating! Anne died of Typhoid only days before the camp she was in was liberated.

Only Otto Frank (Anne's dad) survived of the eight Jews hiding in the annex. He realized his daughter's dream of becoming a famous writer by publishing some of her diaries (the diaries were saved by Miep, one of the helpers to the hiding family).

The front of The Anne Frank House (the storefront of Otto Frank's business, where the annex was hidden in the top, back).

Van Gogh Museum

Some of our favs...and they do a great scavenger hunt for kids and teens to complete, which really ups the engagement!

Actual grains of sand can be seen in this favorite (they have a microscope set-up). Really cool!

Van Gogh's last painting, The Roots, was left unfinished.

I knew Van Gogh's life was short, but what I forgot or didn't know was that he painted over 70 pieces in the last 70 days of his life. Definitely a story to support positive mental health institutions.

NEMO Science Museum

This place is awesome! Again, we can only do so many traditional museums in one place, but given this option (thanks Danielle), the kids were sold! It just keeps going and going...we could've spent a full day here!