Our first flight ended in Frankfurt, Germany. We exited the plane and headed toward customs before checking in for our flight to Amsterdam. We came out of the gate and noticed that there was a large mass of people in a small space that appeared to be walking in random directions just bumping into one another. This is when i was informed that forming and using lines was not something that the Germany culture is particularly known for doing well. We were able to locate an official to assist us in finding the correct customs area and found that there was a line of about ten non-European passport holders all waiting patiently in line for the next teller. It was just hiding in the mass of pushing and wandering people. When we passed through customs, William received the first stamp in his passport! :)
It was raining in Amsterdam when we landed and we were concerned that it would prevent us from being able to explore the city. The people with Viking met us outside of baggage claim and the four of use had our own private bus drive us the 30 minutes into the city. The driver was very nice and he shared a lot about his home city.
We could not check into our rooms on the ship until later in the afternoon and the rain was pretty well holding back, so we happily decided to explore the city and its lovely 60 degree weather! William really wanted to see the Anne Frank House, so we hoped in a taxi and got in line to visit the museum. The warehouse and work space that Anne describes in her diary appear smaller than we had imagined and the secret rooms in which she lived were bare of the furniture and belongings of those that were hiding. According to the exhibit, Mr. Frank asked that the museum not recreate the rooms as they were before the family was captured and the goods confiscated by the Nazis. The museum was simple in its design and layout without fancy exhibits and shows. It was simply filled with her words and sparse images associated with her story. I believe that simplicity is what made the museum so powerful.
After leaving the museum, we still had plenty of time, so we walked through Amsterdam to see the buildings, shops, and squares. We noticed that there were many more bicycles and pedestrians than cars. It would seem that the bicycle has been a major mode of transportation in Amsterdam since before World War I. The streets are lined with piles of bikes in various conditions. Some are locked to bicycle parking lot spaces and others are just leaning along a wall or piled in mangled mess that Mom described as looking like a piece of art that a museum would buy at a great price. Evidently, bikes are so commonly stolen, that the act of stealing a bike does not warrant the police. Stealing a bike seems to not be noteworthy as there are so many of them on the streets.
At this time, I have about 40 minutes of internet access and I want to try to post a picture. Tomorrow we see the windmills!! :)
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