Two Different Worlds, Part 1

Part 1. Morning
Sunday was Holland, or the Netherlands. We ported right into Amsterdam. I was signed up for a tour around the center of the city, a cruise along the canals in a glass topped boat, and then a stop at Anne Frank’s house. The Netherlands has 12 provinces, which are like our states. Amsterdam is North Holland.

Our tour guide was named Els, because she was such a handful that her mother said, “She’s something ELSE.” So right away, I knew she was going to be an awesome guide. And she was, very knowledgeable and humorous. She informed us the official language her is Dutch or “the disease of the throat”. “I think Danish is the ugliest language,” she joked, “if someone gets up and sounds like they are going to throw up, that’s Danish.” Els explained that here, they protect their trees so there are a ton all over. In fact, they are so organized; each dog has their own tree. TEE HEE. “We smoke a lot of coffee, that’s what we do in this country!” LOL.

We started heading downtown, and she pointed out the Portuguese synagogue that to this day doesn’t use electricity but instead lights the church with candles. Amsterdam had been welcoming to anybody, no matter what. Its inhabitants were largely immigrants that had fled from other places: slaves and those exiled from the Spanish inquisition. We passed the Jewish museum and saw a statue with a man clutching his fists. That was where the first strike against the Nazis occurred. It was organized by a communist, and shortly after the famous illegal newspaper started running its underground operation.

We moved along through the city and out to the country. She told us a traditional fable about an old man who was a good man. He was a miller, righteous, and religious. Every night he would read the bible. “And the Good Lord created the world,” he read. “Yes” he whispered, “but the Dutch created Holland!”

We made a stop at a windmill. Since 35-40 % of the country is below sea level, the mill is an important part of Holland’s agriculture and way of life. They have a popular saying; if someone is crazy they say he was “hit by a windmill”. In the olden days, they had a windmill language to alert the townspeople of things. The mill had two doors because of course, if the wind is blowing, you can’t enter through the front! It was actually somebody’s house, but you have to be a miller to live in a wind or watermill. There used to be 40,000 mills across the country, but now there are only 1,000.

Bikes are the number one form of transportation here; there are specific roads for them along the streets. In fact, they have the right of way over pedestrians. You have to be careful on the streets, always listen for the ringing of their bells or they will run you over. They are so expensive here too! Els said she bought her secondhand bike for $750 EUROS!!!!!! Most people insure them incase they are stolen; she says bikes are their kids.

Back in the city, we drove along their mess of construction. Els was pretty upset, she said the people are fighting against the city because they had voted against the project. They are trying to build an underground railroad, but the soil is not easy to work with and we witnessed boarded up houses from the 17th century that were being destroyed because of it! It was really sad to see, they are going to lose all that history.

We saw the floating flower market, and the old mint tower where they used to make the coins. This month is the Queen’s birthday so they had set up a carnival in Dam Square. April 30th is therefore the craziest day of the year, with over one million people in town eating, drinking, and dancing. Everyone wears orange, the color of the Royal family. We passed the cathedral where the current Queen was married and where Rembrandt was buried. Anne Frank had described the bells of this same church; it was her only connection to the outside world while she was in hiding.

Beside the church we boarded the canal boat for our cruise along the river of the city. We passed the boathouses and saw people having breakfast or reading magazines on their porch. It was pretty funny passing them and they are attached to the dock, I’m not sure I would enjoy that as a house. Els explained the stone slates that hung over the door of some of the houses. They were used to announce who lived there, since the houses were so similar. They contained a picture, story, or passage from the bible. She pointed to one with a picture of two chairs, the owner of the home had been a chair maker.

Heading out of downtown, we passed a three-story garage just for bikes! We floated out to the harbor, where there were ferries to take people across to the opposite side for free. We saw Nemo, a restaurant and techno museum. The design of the building is opposite of the Titanic, a large boat popping out of the water. We passed near its smaller boat attached to the dock, with Holland’s flag flying high. The canal had a lot of swans swimming alongside the boats. The swans are protected, you can’t kill or eat one because they are for beauty.

Els told us the canals are 3 metes deep; one meter of pipes, one of water and one of…bikes. LOL. Apparently, if you are going to beat someone up, you also throw his bike in the water.

One of the guests sneezed and Els told him he needs to sneeze three times so they would have a good day tomorrow. Some of them asked what Dutch food they should try. She joked, saying well you can go to McDonalds and get a “McFried chicken of whatever” (LOL I love when people from other countries try to say “American” things, its so cute!!!) She recommended French fries with mayo, (which I find so interesting because I had never seen people do that until Brazil, because it’s very popular there as well) and Dutch pancakes.

We floated under a bridge, where it was tradition to kiss someone you wanted to stay friends with forever.
As we turned into the city canals, we passed large boards with images from the Holocaust and the war. 95 % of the Dutch Jewish population was massacred. Els said people from Holland are humble, but in the olden days there were two ways to show status without being over the top. Stairs were one of them. If the house was without a staircase, the owner didn’t have much money. If it had one set of stairs, they were of middle class. But if the house had two staircases, they were very, very rich. The other way to boast was to display prized possessions in the window. For example, a captain’s wife would arrange her gifts of the porcelain, silk and spices from around the world so that the neighbors could see. The windows of Amsterdam are always visible; most don’t even have curtains, which is pretty different. The narrow houses themselves are titled forward, because the architect used an illusion to make them look wider than they are.

Els pointed out the large crown that was on top of a cathedral. Because the Netherlands funded a king's war and he was victorious, he gave the country his crown in thanks. She also explained that Amsterdam’s flag has three black x’s on them. These represent the three disasters that hit the city: a fire, flood, and the plague. We also saw St. Nicolas church. Els told us that December 5th is a celebration bigger than Christmas; with presents, poems, sweets, and kids playing tricks. And we passed the Tower of Tears, where woman said goodbye to their husbands sailing away. In the olden days, they would cry because their loved ones were sailing off to war or venturing to new lands, and would probably never return home. But as Els put it: modern woman would cry because they aren’t sure if they are insured. ;)

Our next stop was Anne Frank’s house and the secret annex. The eight people that hid there couldn’t wear shoes and they had to tip toe around. Because the smoke would give them away, they couldn’t cook anything. They had to whisper and sit on each other’s laps. It’s unbelievable that they lived like this for two years! The house had videos in most of the rooms, with excerpts from Anne’s diary and interviews of the people close to this story. One lady had been Anne’s friend and was the last person to see her alive in the camps. She said that after her sister died, Anne thought she had no reason to live. If only Anne had known her father was still alive, she might have made it. She died two weeks before the liberation.

Otto, Anne’s father, was the only survivor of the eight. He returned home in search of his daughters, but was only able to gather a few of their old belongings to remember them. When they were captured, the police confiscated all of the furniture and rid the house of everything. Miraculously, Miep, who had worked for Otto and helped them go into hiding, was able to take Anne’s diary and kept it in case she returned. Otto read about how she had dreamed of being a famous writer, and was surprised how even though she was scared for herself and her family, she hoped people in the future would learn to love each other no matter their differences. He published her journal and opened the house as a museum in tribute.

The feeling in the house was sad but hopeful. And hearing Otto’s interview and reading his thoughts was inspiring. He stated, “In order to have a successful future, you must know the past.” Otto wanted his museum to show the tragedy that occurred, but also to teach how discrimination is still an issue today. It was amazing to me that someone who had been thru so much and lost everything, could still have hope in the human race. That he would still want to help, when he had been treated so badly. I pray that everyone who visits the house, or even when they hear the Frank family story, will reflect on their own actions towards other people. Are we nice enough? Do we care enough? Do we offer help as often as we can? Do we love enough?