The European Phantomers are having a great time in The Netherlands so far. After arriving to Amsterdam by train on Thursday night, we went out for a delicious pancake dinner. The restaurant had over 100 choices of pancake toppings and fillings, both sweet and savory. Yummm.
We spent Thursday exploring the city and visiting two museums: the Anne Frank House and the Torture Museum.
The Anne Frank House was really neat to see. The museum was made around the actual building where Anne and her family hid for two years during the Nazi occupation. We saw the rooms they lived in, read excerpts from her famous diary, and saw video clips of people who had known her. The museum finished with a collection of short videos about modern human rights issues, and asked the visitors to press buttons to vote about their opinion on the issue. It was a neat way to engage people and encourage them to connect the past with the present.
The Torture Museum, on the other hand, was what you'd probably imagine: a gallery of replicas of medieval torture devices, accompanied by descriptions and etchings. The whole place felt kind of spooky, so the trekkers took the opportunity to scare each other by jumping out of dark corners and making mysterious noises.
On Saturday we spent the afternoon on a boat tour of some of the city's many canals. The recorded audio-tour taught us about the city's architectural history, from the middle ages to the present. The boat provided a great view of the tall, narrow houses, the many houseboats, and the bike-lined cobblestone streets. In the evening, we went out for a tasty pasta dinner.
Today, Sunday, we got up early and rode to the city of Haarlem, where we toured an old windmill, built almost 250 years ago. With the aid of wooden model windmills, our guide explained the mechanics of the milling process. (They had to lug ALL of the grain up five flights of steep stairs in order to mill it! ...Yet we complained about having to haul our stuff up four flights at the hostel! ) After a quick picnic lunch, we headed to the beach in Zandvoort Zee, for an afternoon in the sun on this warm Dutch day. It feels good to be back on our bikes, and we're looking forward to a few more cycling days here before heading back to England.
