Amsterdam Day 3 - Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, Dutch Resistance Museum

Today was the day when at least some of our plans were "set".  To visit the Anne Frank House, you have to book tickets in advance.  Tickets can be booked online 2 months in advance and they do sell out so be sure to plan ahead.

I booked the 9 am time slot right at 2 months out.  We were let in with the first group of the day right at 9 am.  It was nice being in the first group because at no time did we feel crowded or rushed while in the house.   The tour is self guided with signs to read in each room.  The front of the house was actually a business owned by Anne's father Otto, the back of the house was an annex.  In 1942 the Frank family went into hiding in the upper floors of the annex, they were soon joined by 4 others.  The museum does a nice job of not only telling the story of the Frank family, but of those who helped them.  Without help, the family would not have been able to survive in hiding.

The original bookcase that hid the entrance to the annex is still there.  After passing the bookcase you enter the rooms where the family spent 2 years in hiding.  The rooms are empty per the request of Otto Frank, the void symbolizes all the people who were deported and never returned.  In Anne's room the walls are still lined with pictures she glued to the wall.

After leaving the annex you walk through a museum that explains what happened to the eight people hiding in the annex after they were found in 1944.  Otto Frank was the only survivor.

I'd say the Anne Frank house is an important stop on any Amsterdam itinerary.  It is a place that is so important to experience, it is really hard to explain what it feels like to be there.  Honestly, at the very beginning I walked in and there were 4 large pictures of Anne Frank and I started to tear up.  I pulled it together quickly but the whole visit was pretty emotional.

I'm glad we took the kids there.  It is hard to know what effect it had on them but I certainly hope it had some.  My biggest take away from today is that it isn't enough to just remember Anne Frank and the death of millions of Jews during the Holocaust, remembering is not enough.  It also isn't enough to say "never again."  Our actions need to reflect those words of "never again"...  words are easy, actions are far more difficult.

We were done at the Anne Frank House around 10:15.  After some debate we decided to visit the Amsterdam Museum, this wasn't too far away and was covered on our museum card so it seemed like a good way to pass the time.  We were pleasantly surprised with how much we liked the museum.  The interactive audio tour was included and that definitely made the museum more interesting.  Ali was able to complete some interactive tasks for children in a special exhibit about 100 years of aviation at Schiphol Airport.

The kids working together to build an airport

After the museum we headed out to get lunch.  We had planned to have pancakes for lunch at Happy Pig Pancakes, we arrived and realized there was only enough seating for about 12 people and it was full.  I had no idea that the restaurant was so small!  We debated what to do next, I pulled up google maps and tried to find a different pancake restaurant.  Funny side note here, while I was standing searching google maps apparently I was standing in front of a drug shop.  I guess the magic mushroom on the sign should have been  a tip off but I really wasn't paying attention.  Dan and Connor thought the whole thing was pretty funny.

We walked to a different pancake restaurant.  We went to The Pancake Bakery.  It is very popular and we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.  Dutch pancakes are flat like a crepe and they come with either savory or sweet toppings.  I'm glad we tried it but I won't be rushing back.  I think I prefer American style pancakes.

Connor's Pancake

Ali's Pancake

We headed back to the apartment after lunch, our plan was to rest for a bit and then head out to the Dutch resistance museum.  We took Tram 14 back to our side of town.  When we got off the tram we realized that we were basically right at the museum.  We decided to visit the museum before our break.  The museum was included with our Museum Card and like the Amsterdam Museum there was a free audio tour.  The museum is small but well done.  We were tired so I'm not sure we appreciated everything the museum had to offer but I would recommend it.  There is a special junior exhibit in the back that is very well done.  It follows the lives of 4 children during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, you learn about their lives and what happened to them during the war.  Ali and I spent some time back there and could have spent more if she hadn't been "museumed out" for the day.

Children's Section at the Resistance Museum

We headed back to the apartment and everyone chilled out for a few hours.  We decided to have dinner at the apartment so Dan and I went to the store to pick up a few things.

We ended up having a quiet night at the apartment.  I think everyone was good with having some down time!

Tomorrow: Rijksmuseum & Maritime Museum