A forced post

If I don't post something now I'll forget everything. So here it goes.

I went with Jameson to Victoria Station this morning to see him off (trains run from there to Gatwick Airport). I can't believe he has come and gone already.

My thoughts on Amsterdam:

We all know what Amsterdam is famous for. It's city symbol is XXX. That side of Amsterdam is obvious and easily visible, but there are other sides.

For me, it is the Anne Frank House that makes the trip to Amsterdam worthwhile. It is tastefully done; somehow the apartment maintains the feeling of a home (although it has the functionality of a museum).

Two things in the museum stood out. There are markings on a wall with Anne and her sister's ages, showing how they grew over the years. Maybe because I have personal experience with these type of markings, they conveyed to me just how long the Frank family had to endure such a silent, restricted lifestyle.

At the end of the museum (right before they funnel you into the gift shop) there is a room showing a film of Otto Frank talking about his family, Anne, and living in hiding. They are the words of a man who sacrificed everything to protect his family, and who saw them taken from him.

My only criticism of the museum is that it doesn't mention anything about the people who housed the Frank family. I don't really know the details, but I would imagine that supplying an extra 8 people with provisions to survive during wartime wouldn't be easy, not to mention the personal danger they put themselves in.

I've just gotten a call from the family alerting me that it's time to eat breakfast. I do have photos so I will be on to post them later.