May 6th Events

WRITTEN MAY 7th 5:35

It woud be our day in Amsterdam and our last day in the Netherlands, Berlin was next on our list. the drive into Amsterdam was about a hour and a half from our hotel which was kind of weird because you would think we'd just stay there, oh well. We met up with Roland, our tour guide who showed us where clogs were made and sold. The people there could make a shoe out of a block of wood in about minutes! It was pretty cool and the amount of shoes they had there was unreal, and all the different designs they had on the shoes.



After that we had some free time where we got something to eat and then we headed back into downtown Amsterdam. We went to a Jewish museum which was pretty cool, we learned some different things about the Jewish religion and things like that. It was cool but it was very rushed and didn't really get a chance to see everything, guess thats the downfall of touring with a group and guides.

Then we went off to see the Auschwitz memorial which was this big platform in a little park. There was a mirror on the surface of it and it was broken and cracked. Beneath the platform was ashes from the Auschwitz concentration camp victims. After the war was over people went to see the camp and to see if they could find anything, the place was destroyed, by the Germans, but they found ash and then they put it in a vase and buried it in the park.




We then walked around town to the very famous Anne Frank house. It was right on the mainstreet and when we got close to it we saw a huge line up and I was not to impressed, but then we just walked on by everyone and went in the side door, thats the upside of being with a guide and group HA

The house was amazing, it was such a powerful experience. The only thing was that we were not allowed cameras, so no pictures of their secret hiding place! We were walking in thir footsteps truly something. The rooms were bare because when the Germans had found them they had taken all the furniture from the rooms but there was still some of Anne's magazine cut-outs on the walls and pencil markings where they would have kept track of their height throughout their exile.

We got to see her actual diary and the two other notebooks she had filled. We learned a lot about the Frank family including how Anne had rewritten her journals when she came across the idea that this could one day be published. She wanted to be a famous journalist, she loved the spotlight. Also we learned that there still is no one to be blamed for ratting out the Frank family. They have some suspisions but not enough evidence to say who let the word out.


Disgust

After Anne Franks house we went back to the bus, it was time to get dinner and then head back to our hotel and pack up our luggage for tomorrow. Dinner was really good, it was chineese food but I had this amazing noodle and shrimp plate which I thought was delicious. Sleep and then seven hour bus ride, exciting.

Tomorrows POST will be short if anything, mainly just drove around and ate food!