Amsterdam is a gorgeous city filled with old buildings and picturesque canals. I’ve been spending a lot of of time walking around and taking pictures of canals and bridges.
Amsterdam is also one of the most bike friendly cities I have ever been in. But pedestrian beware crossing the bike lanes- they don’t stop! It seems just about everyone here has a bike, and the dedicated bike lanes get pretty full come rush hour. In addition to having dedicated bike lanes throughout the city, also have a three-story parking garage just for bikes.
Besides walking around, I’ve also checked out some of the more famous Amsterdam landmarks and museums.
Also, I visited the Anne Frank House yesterday. It’s a story just about everyone knows, but somehow it’s different to actually go there. The house Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis in has been pretty much preserved as it was then, a haunting reminded of what happened here not so long ago. There is a lot written there about learning from the past. I want to think that the long lines to get in are a good sign; that it means that people want to learn from the past and make sure these things never happen again. However, after seeing the Killing Fields in Cambodia and hearing my sister’s stories of visiting genocide memorials in Rwanda, “never again” takes on a different meaning.
