Annika and I tootled off to the shops on the bikes while Tim ran the 10 km track. Soup again for lunch before our afternoon outing. But the rain was so heavy! We checked the radar and it looked pretty foreboding but as I had planned to take Tim and Annika to Anne Frank's House we thought the rain might keep the anticipated crowds away.
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| Spot Tim and Annika in the queue |
We wore our raincoats but got quite wet on our way to 263
Prinsengraucht. The odd foreign car here is a real hazard on the roads
as they are seemingly less aware of the cyclists than the Dutch are and
drive erratically and in the rain caused me great angst!
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| Dripping! |
The queue for the entrance was longer than
expected and then the real down pour started. We noted that Dutch
buildings have no eaves and there was NO shelter at all. Saturated!!
We eavesdropped on the American backpackers conversations behind us so
time passed quickly enough. They were staying the the red light
district so it was quite an eye opener!
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| Bike park by the canal |
Once into the museum, at no cost for us as we have our Museumkaart, we
put our coats in the plastic bags provided but we were so chilled from
the cold that we really struggled to thaw out. The exhibition is well
done and features several videos to explain the history and story of
Anne Frank and her family and 4 others who were secreted away in the
attic at the rear of her father's office from 1942 when they felt it was
getting dangerous for Jews in Amsterdam.
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| No photos allowed but the booklet was informative |
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| Ticket! |
Their hiding place was exposed by an unknown informant and Anne and the
other 7 people hiding were deported to the Nazi German concentration
camps. Anne's mother and sister died before she did. She reportedly
said that there was no one left and she also died about a month before
the liberation of the camps. Her father, Otto, however, did survive and
he was able to then publish the diaries which had been saved by one of
his co-workers who had cared for them while they were hiding.
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| Heights of Anne and her sister on the wall. |
Anne had a goal to be a writer and
achieve this she did. She was a good writer and no doubt would have had
at least some of her work published had she survived. Quite possibly,
she would have achieved a great deal.
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| Entrance to hiding place behind a book case! |
Her story, and her writings had a huge impact on many and her diary is
published in 70 languages. It is good that her history and that of many
Jews has been recorded and serves as a reminder of what we never want
to happen again.
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| Anne decorated her wall with pages from theatre programs that her father's boss brought to her |
The stories and statements from prominent visitors made interesting viewing. One American Jewish man said that he and his sister played the "Anne Frank game", as did other Jewish children in the neighbourhood in which they wondered who would hide them if there was a second holocaust.
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| Thankful for ponchos |
We reluctantly left the shelter of the museum this time wearing the ponchos Anneke had given us, and faced the driving rain again. Jeans are never comfortable when wet! We called in at McDonalds to try the McKroket! Warm but pretty uninspiring but we had to try one of the local adaptations to the menu!
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| Parfait!?!?! |
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| McKroket!?!?! |
Warm showers and dry clothes, heating on and roekworst for dinner - ah! And remember this is officially the end of summer and start of autumn here in Europe!!!
Always loved Anne Frank's story!
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