More Days in Amsterdam

We started our day with breakfast at a Dutch Pancake House on the canal; decorated in fairy tale colors and carvings- like the Black Forest of Brothers Grimm.  The giant pancakes were the size of medium pizzas, with strawberries and whipped cream- very delicious. We had left our tour book in a locker at the Jewish History Center.  We wanted to stop in and see if our book had been found, and thankfully it was.  But this was the part of town where the trolleys were not running because of track repairs, and the other nearby lines never seemed to go where we thought they would go.  We kept going around and around- including a trolley traffic circle.  To turn right we went around 270 degrees and then exited the circle.  Finally after an hour we had to walk- but we were rewarded with the return of the colorful DK book.  

We went across the street to the Portuguese Synagogue which is a walled compound with a large cube building in the middle; built in 1675 following after Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.  These Jews were chased out of Spain and Portugal by the catholics and settled in Amsterdam- and established various businesses-but were not allowed to join the established trade guilds.  The library is the oldest surviving Jewish library with works in many different languages.  The inside is still without electricity or heat- look at the large candelabras- that still use candles for light.  Judy noticed the sand on the floor and dust on the wooden pews; does anyone know why they do not clean the synagogue?  Again we wonder how God is using history and persecution to preserve His words and promises to His people, and provide for a remnant to believe?

  

Next we walked along a canal to the ship museum, located in an old marine warehouse- built of stone and brick with a great vaulted basement.  They have a replica of one of the Dutch East Indies trading ships- always fun to visit a ship, but not to actually sail the seven seas (too cold and wet and big). 

We had lunch and went in search of another canal house- but stopped along the way at the Dutch resistance museum; describing the efforts of the Dutch to live under Nazi occupation, but then to resist as the Nazis began to round up and send the jews to work camps and concentration/death camps.  This is where the Anne Frank story and the Corrie Ten Boom stories fit together.  All Dutch soldiers and other men were eventually sent to Germany to work; and many died there. There were 300,000 jews and other families being hidden in the Netherlands. Perhaps the worst time was the last year-the allied efforts to free Europe didn't reach Amsterdam until about a year after D-day; the Dutch railroad workers had stopped helping the Nazis and so food and fuel for civilians (those hiding and those hidden) was in very short supply.  

The taxi driver taking us from our hotel to our ship told us all school children learn French, German, and English as well as Dutch, but they prefer English-perhaps because of their history. We are all traveling a river of history, with many branches and tributary streams; where we have been gives us an inertia that is difficult to direct or divert.  Somehow God is using everything to work (provide protect direct and redeem) His chosen followers-as Calvin might say.  Are you under His guidance and direction, or just being tossed about by the storms and floods of the river called life? The Dutch have given us many good characteristics of free trade and hard work and religious freedom, and it was good to explore for a few days these historical roots of many American ideals- the Pilgrims sailed from here, after all.      

We had 3 hours until check-in so we rode the trolley one more time to the Van Gogh museum, back near our hotel (still traveling in circles) and saw the diamond museum-another jewish connection- and circled through the 3 floors of the colorful paintings in an hour or so.  We had purchased the museumkart- and so all the places we visited for these 4 days was pre-paid for 50 euros- a great Dutch investment- and just like Disneyland

Then we stopped at the flower market to buy a few Delft Blue souvenirs, and rode the trolley back to central station and walked under a bridge to the harbor and to our ship the River Queen.  

We will be taking another canal boat tour and going to see the Rijks museum- which has been under renovation for 10 years and opened just last month.  We are unpacked in our cabin and ready for serious river roaming tomorrow afternoon.  With our first three delicious and elegant meals to tide us over.