Amsterdam in a day

As crazy as it may sound it actually worked out very well. Friday evening we drove to Harwich and caught the overnight ferry. We parked inside the ferry and rode the elevator up to some compact but very clean rooms. Jeanne, the girls and Bryce shared a 4/5 person outside cabin with bathroom and Scott and Jordan shared a two person interior cabin. Although the night sleep is somewhat shorter than we all would have liked, it is nice to arrive able to hit the road early in mainland Europe.

Since the world doesn't sightsee as much during the winter, we were able to PARK one block from Anne Frank's house. We had made a point to watch the Anne Frank BBC show prior to coming. It did make the visit more meaningful. It was something to actually

BE where she and the others had been hiding for two years. Incredible, but sad. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I got some postcards.









The next stop was unusual for Amsterdam...Noah's Ark! We had received some emails showing how this guy built a half-size replica of Noah's ark. It was located 1.5 hours north of Amsterdam...which really is why we decided to drive instead of fly. But then we found out it actually was touring and was almost ready to leave Amsterdam. It worked out really nice. Driving up the kids were a bit disappointed because they thought it would actually be bigger. I must say I was also. But when we went inside I was really surprised how large the rooms were and how much walking we did to see all of the rooms and exhibits. Some of the displays weren't to the quality of a publicly funded museum, but was impressive nonetheless. Especially when we read about the history of the project.

Next we drove to the surprise highlight of the trip...the Hiding Place. Corrie Ten boom's house has been turned into a "museum". I really enjoyed the 45 minute talk in the living room where they held weekly bible studies. The talk highlighted the history behind the Ten boom family's dedication to Christ and active participation in trying to save over 800 Jews and other persecuted peoples during WW2.


What surprised me was how solid the hiding place room was. The entrance door was so small that it was really Christina sized not adult sized!












Madison even got to press the real button used to alert the guests who were actually there during the weekly bible study. They were able to run and hide for two days. The Nazi's never found them



When we finished the tour we still had enough time to drive up to the dyke built to protect the inner part of the Netherlands from the ocean storms. Very interesting. I can't imagine the difficulties in constructing such a long earth wall. WOW!





It also was very strange to walk OVER the long dyke-highway. Madison and I couldn't help but have wobbly-knees a little bit.



The day was near perfect by the boys standard when they got to eat at an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet. We asked Bryce what his highlight was of the entire trip and he said "that chinese restaurant!" Sigh.

We made it back to the boat tired and we all fell asleep fast. But still 6:30 came too quickly for us. Jeanne drove 2.5 hours home while everyone else slept. We made it back for church and horse riding for the girls. You know, sometimes it is really amazing what you can get done in a weekend with time to spare!