Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 2005)

Amsterdam has got a little bit of everything to offer its visitors. A little bit of culture; Van Gogh's masterpieces, more canals than Venice. And a little bit of the latter; "coffee shops," oozing with recreational drugs, colorful sex and condom shops. Red Light District display windows where women of every shape and size lean against the glass in their lingerie, saucily enticing the next customer.
Amsterdam is also home to a literary martyr Anne Frank. The three story "Anne Frank Huis," located on the Prinsengracht canal, houses the original hidden rooms where Anne Frank and her family and four others hid from Nazi persecution. Visitors can explore the Achterhuis ("secret annex" in Dutch) where Frank and her family camped out for almost 2 years without surfacing. The Achterhuis was located above a packing warehouse storefront - that stayed in business throughout the Frank's hiding. It is a humbling experience to view the small space where the family lived, sometimes in silence as to avoid being discovered. When walking through, you notice that while most of the original furniture was removed when soldiers raided the house, the wallpaper and papers tacked on the wall have been preserved behind a layer of plexiglass. Anne Frank's own original diary entires are distributed throughout the Achterhuis, and more artifacts are on display in the museum space adjoining the house. The museum hosts an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank. For anyone that has read this moving diary, I highly recommend visiting Anne Frank's house, it allows those of us who read along with Anne Frank's diary entries to experience her world and struggles with new dimension.