But my dad believes part of his heritage is from Amsterdam!
Although I’m not 100% sure what my ancestry is made up of, my dad told me that his ancestors were from Amsterdam! I remember when he told me that, I was young and I asked him to point out which plate in our kitchen was from Holland. I was so fascinated, back then. It was really a dream come true to get to see it myself. The whole time, I kept thinking "these are my people!"
Although it was a rather short trip, this weekend I got to go see what it was all about. Fun fact: when I was in 8th grade, I read Anne Frank’s Diary for a project and then I constructed the annex out of toothpicks. (I got an A, in case you were wondering). Ever since middle school, I’ve promised myself that I would see Anne Frank’s Annex with my own eyes. I walked over 60 minutes, shuffled in line for 90 minutes in the mist and cold, but I finally got to enter into the annex! It was just as cramped as I read it was. There aren’t any pictures allowed in the annex, otherwise I would post them. However, I did get pictures from the outside of the Annex as well as me signing the book to honor Anne. (Please ignore my handwriting. I still write like a middle schooler, even though I am a full grown 21-year-old woman.)
After the Franks were forced from the annex, all of their furniture and belongings were removed. Otto Frank, Anne’s father and the only one who survived the war, never refurbished the rooms. The rooms are hauntingly barren, except that the clippings from celebrity magazines are still glued to the walls of Anne Frank’s room. The museum has pages from Anne’s original diary. It was crazy to see the words I had read in 8th grade, in her handwriting (even if it was in another language).
After that haunting experience, we cheered ourselves up by going on a pizza cruise! A boat took us on a canal ride on the main canal and our pilot pointed out some sights to us. Amsterdam was very beautiful, all lit up at night. I was surprised to see that many of the apartments had the blinds wide open. I learned that this is because they believe that people who draw their blinds have something to hide, so by keeping their curtains drawn back, they're proving that they have nothing to be ashamed of (fun fact courtesy of Holden). After about 45 minutes, the pizzas were delivered to our tables. I’m so glad they had Hawaiian pizza in Holland! I've missed it.
While we passed under a very famous bridge, our tour guide told us that lovers who kiss while going under the bridge will stay together forever. The picture above is my face when I realized I was going to have to kiss my boyfriend in public. *nervous laughter*
We also got to visit the Banksy and Warhol museum. Bansky is a street artist who often makes political statements in his pieces. He is really quite talented, in my opinion! One of my older brothers has a poster of one of Banksy's most famous artwork. I didn't realize it was done by a famous artist until I went to the museum! I’ve always enjoyed street art, so it was a very enjoyable museum. I even bought my brother a post card, a mini version of his poster!
Afterwards, we got some donuts from a street stand! It was fried dough, rolled in sugar, with an apple tart type filling. It was so delicious. I texted my roommate (who is from Amsterdam) and she informed me that those types of pastries are usually eaten during New Years! Just for the occasion, I donned my donut sunglasses (even though it was pouring rain)!
We wandered into a bar nearby and ordered Juliper, which is a traditional Dutch alcoholic drink. It’s a smoother vodka flavored with elderberries. We very much liked it!
Although the weather was quite rainy and cold (I'm from Iowa, so if I say something is cold then its cold), we took advantage of a break in the storm to wander around Amsterdam, just appreciating the views. The thing that charmed me about Amsterdam was the fact that the trees were still turning the colors of fall: orange, yellow, light green, gold, and everywhere in between. The canals created a beautiful reflection of the quaint Dutch architecture with the fall trees. The pictures don't really do it justice!
Oops! caught in the act of taking a selfie! But why wouldn't you when the view is this beautiful?
Growing up, my father always ate windmill cookies. I mean always. Every Sunday when we went grocery shopping, he grabbed a package of Archway windmill cookies off the snack shelf at Hy-vee. And no one dared eat his windmill cookies. Every so often, you could earn a windmill cookie: the highest of honors from my father. You knew you had done an excellent job on your test, chores, piano recital, etc, when Mike Kruse offered you one of his coveted windmill cookies. In Amsterdam, I was shocked to find out that they made those cookies in shapes other than windmills! Apparently windmill cookies are just spiced shortcrust biscuit called Speculaas in Dutch. (Don't ask me how to pronounce that, I can only spell it). Needless to say, I bought him a package of windmill-shaped Speculaas. He earned them! Maybe he'll give me a bite, since I brought them from halfway around the world.
Special thanks to Caroline, my roommates mother, for allowing me to stay in her home while we stayed in Amsterdam! She was so generous to let us stay there rent-free! She has such a beautiful home and I felt like I actually lived in Amsterdam for the weekend! Thanks again, we loved your home and your city.