Extraordinary Experiences

Regarding June 8, wherein we spend time in three very different high spaces and have some special encounters.

At this point, we were on our second (and, sadly, last) full day in Amsterdam, and we had a lot on our schedule--beginning with a breakfast of Dutch pancakes (poffertjes), which I had insisted we must make time for:

As they say in France, miam-miam!

Fortunately for us, and undoubtedly by design, this lovely pancake place was mere steps away from the Anne Frank House, which we entered at 9:15, picked up our free audio tour thingy, and entered into a world that was so moving I still tear up when I think about it.

I'm reminded of how our friend Betty Reid Soskin refers to "extraordinary ordinary people," who seem perhaps just like you and me, but who are faced with challenges that seem impossible and inhuman--but know they must somehow incorporate those impossibilities into their lives. Walking through the Frank business and annex, on the same floor planks trodden by Miep Gies and her fellow workers, and seeing that bookcase and climbing the steep steps to the attic hideout of Anne Frank and her courageous parents and family friends...even after time might have smudged the hard edges of that heinous history, it is breathtaking to contemplate what they all did day after day for two years. (If you haven't yet seen A Small Light, released recently by Disney+ and also available on Hulu, do so.)

The one really big question one must come away with is: Could I have done what any of these people did if I were in their shoes? We never know until we are met with a similar challenge. I don't think there is another exhibit anywhere that more effectively and humanely poses this question to all of us. I know that many of you have been there, but if you haven't been fortunate enough to experience this, here's a link to a virtual reality tour of the museum: https://www.annefrank.org/en/about-us/what-we-do/publications/anne-frank-house-virtual-reality/

I took no photos there. After emerging from this searing experience, Cindy and I had a long list of things we intended to cover that day, and it was a beautiful day. First we recovered by doing a bit of aimless wandering in the vicinity of the Anne Frank House, coming first to the Westerkerk, the biggest church in the Netherlands and built in the early 1600s. We had missed the weekly Wednesday lunchtime organ concert, but when we entered the church, we discovered that the organist was practicing--lucky for us and the few others who had stopped in.

This is , like all the churches and cathedrals we've been visiting (I haven't spent so much time in churches in years), stunningly beautiful.

That incredible organ

And check out the extremely accommodating risers for choral groups at the front of the church. Sort of made Cindy and me drool...

Just so you don't think this church is some minor player in Amsterdam's history, it's the place where Rembrandt is buried:

This is the floor stone (#143) under which he is believed to be buried:

Sadly, Rembrandt's son died a year before he did. He too is buried here.

Because this statement explained where Rembrandt spent his last years, we decided to go find that house.

One of the less imposing homes on the block...

Cindy and I headed to the Jordaan District, one of the sweetest in the city: lovely homes on tree-lined canals, all kinds of enticing shops and restaurants, but still a great neighborhood feel. And on our way there, we saw the first baby coots we've ever seen. Despite the large number of coots we see at Marina Bay in Richmond, we only see adults. So these stopped us in our tracks:

A decorative balcony:

And another:

I loved everything about Amsterdam!

After this pleasant walk, we strolled over to a cafe that I really wanted to visit. If you've had the good fortune to see a British mystery series called Van derValk, you might understand. The series is set in Amsterdam, and it's a very smart show about a personally flawed murder investigator. He and his colleagues hang out (and do their best brainstorming) in a cafe not far from their office. The cafe used, Cafe Scheltema,; is one that has been family owned since it opened 130 years ago. It has character aplenty-including the current owner, who actually became friendlier once he knew that we were fans of the show. It's a relatively short series and you can probably find it on PBS. ANYWAY, we loved the place, and the food was good too.

The owner, above. The interior, below:

It's the kind of place I'd want to hang out in if I were doing that sort of thing...

On to the next site, and the next serendipitous surprise. But that now will have to wait for another chapter. This one has gone on too long, and this particular day was so full of special experiences that I can't fit them all into one chapter. Besides, it's 1:30 and time for me to sleep in preparation for our next journey.

See you soon, at Begijnhof, a very special place.