This Is Summer?

Today was a hard day for me. I have to be honest and admit that not every day on the family trips is golden. I was tired. It was cold, wet, and dismally cloudy for the third day in a row, making Amsterdam much less pleasant than it should be. It happens.

We were slow to get going this morning, but when we finally got out the door we took the tram again (not cheap, either with no discount for children) to the southeast section of Amsterdam - an area that used to be the Jewish quarter. There we saw the Jewish History Museum which was located in a cluster of four former synagogues and told the story of Jews in Amsterdam. They also had an area for children where ours got to learn about keeping kosher and the Torah. Next we walked the short distance to the Dutch Resistance Museum, where we learned how the Dutch people resisted the occupation of their country during WWII.

Both museums were very well done - clearly by those who felt very strongly about the subject, but I could not help but notice that they were in a part of Amsterdam that still felt neglected. I wonder if this is something that the general population still feels is important, or if it is something they would rather forget. In any case, it tied in nicely with yesterday's Anne Frank museum. 78% of Holland's Jews (Amsterdam had been among the most welcoming places for Jews before WWII, yet still harbored discrimination) were killed in the camps. Of the small portion that chose to go into hiding, most survived, though the Franks did not.

After a very chilly picnic, we went to the National Center for Science and Technology, aka NEMO where the children got to have a wonderful time experimenting with and touching everything in the museum. Next door was a replica of a 17th century cargo ship of the kind used by the Dutch East India Trading Company during the height of Dutch influence around the world. I thought that was pretty interesting (photos above).

After resting back at our apartment for a while, we walked to a nearby "tapas" bar/restaurant. Not knowing what or how to order from the Dutch-only menu, the waitress suggested just bringing out a typical selection of dishes to pass. We enjoyed the meal immensely, until the bill came and it was double what we were led to expect. That should teach us not to order that way again.

Overall, I would say that Amsterdam left as good an impression as could be expected during a miserable stretch of summer weather. The city has much to offer and I would like to return on bicycle here some day to live more like a local and avoid the trams. Tomorrow morning we take the tram to the train station and depart for our brief stop in Cologne, Germany to see the cathedral and pick up our car. Then it is back across borders, into Belgium. One major destination down, eleven to go...