April 4-10
Amsterdam, how I love thee! It’s such an incredible city. The
tulips, the canals, the bikes, the friendliness of the people, it was such a
wonderful place to be. I wish we could have spent more time there (not only for
the city, but for the Bagels & Beans we stumbled across there, hehe). We
went on a boat tour, weaving in and out of the canals, snapping photographs of
the sights. We wandered around Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, a place
dedicated to the idea of tolerance. During the 17th century,
Catholics practiced in a secret church hidden on the top floor of the building,
away from prying eyes. They could not practice their faith publically, in a
Netherlands so dominated by Protestants. The museum was established in
remembrance, & to encourage all those who pass through to uphold the ideals
of tolerance.
Passing through the Anne Frank Museum, it’s difficult to believe
such an ideal could ever persist. In the face of barbarity, how can we believe
in humanity? In the face of such a question, however, Anne seems remarkable
un-wilted. Her resilience & wisdom seem a great encouragement, in a world
filled with darkness.
We explored the Van Gogh museum, admiring the brush strokes of one
of the great masters of art. So much of what he did seemed so unique and
remarkable for his time, it was nice to hear his brother stuck with him through
it all. We wandered the markets of Amsterdam, buying up post cards and admiring
the jewelry. We headed out to the Kekeunhof gardens, to smell the tulips and
wander through endless fields of flowers. The place seemed absolutely magical,
more like a fairytale garden than anything! We were a little early for the
tulips, and only saw a few, but still it was so incredible.
We also headed to Micropia and the Botanic gardens, which were
pretty cool. We were feeling a bit rushed by that point however, what with
having to catch a train and all. All the more reason to advocate for three-day
weekends, I suppose. Highly recommend the iamsterdam card to anyone planning a
visit!
Au revoir for now!
Ashleigh
PS. Again with the school, I enjoy our little excursions and
learning more about medicine in Europe. Seeing the Roman Doctor’s tools this
week was really incredible. I mean, imagine something that old been so similar
to what we have today!
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