Back to Amsterdam-1

We recently spent some more time exploring Amsterdam, The Netherlands with friends— BH and DH from Kentucky. We all had a great time!

It was a little chilly for the first part of the trip with lows in the upper 40s and highs around 60. Later in the trip it warmed to a pleasant 75 or so for a high. And... no rain even though it was predicted. We needed the rain jackets we packed to keep warm.

We stayed at the Doubletree by Central Station. It's a more western style hotel and the rooms are somewhat larger than typical European hotel rooms.

There is a Sky Lounge Bar on the top floor which apparently is a huge draw for young folk looking for an evening at a bar with a gorgeous view. The view was nice. We went up there late one afternoon to look out the windows.

Just as we did on our trip last year, we traveled everywhere by foot, tram or bus. It was nice to just be able to walk and walk for a change. Because this was our second visit, it was slightly easier to deal with crossing the multiple lanes for cars, bikes, buses, and trams. We saw this sign early in our visit.

In case you can't read Dutch, it explains that much of the transportation system was going to be shutting down during the day on 4 May because that night the King and Queen were going to be attending ceremonies at Dam Square in honor of Remembrance Day. This honors those lost in WWII. Most of the transportation goes through Dam Square and so, it was to be shut down. There were alternative routes for our travels that day even if less convenient.

As for activities, our first activity was a canal cruise to introduce our friends to Amsterdam.

We visited the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch Resistance Museum again. At both we saw things we'd missed on our last visit: at the Rijksmuseum, a large area with ceramics, silver and jewelry. It is a huge place and it really difficult to see everything in only one visit. The Dutch Resistance Museum has so much history. It was worthy of a second visit for us. Here are just a couple of amazing tidbits.

The number of people in hiding during WWII grew to more than 300,000 during 1944. Many people in the resistance were also in hiding. At the time, The Netherlands was densely populated so it seems impossible that so many people could have been living in hiding. Those in hiding also needed access to food, ration coupons, forged identity papers and money. Many small groups were formed that organized help for those in hiding. In 1943 the National Organization for Aid to Those in Hiding was formed. It was a vast network of regions and districts.

This was a very commonly used bicycle of the time. I wonder about the tiny front wheel.

Immediately after some labor strikes, everyone had to turn in their radios. The Dutch were not susceptible to the National Socialist propaganda. The Germans were afraid that English broadcasts might provide instructions in the event of an Allied invasion.  Under threat of severe punishment, about 80% of the radios are turned in. BUT, thousands disappeared under floors or in the backs of cabinets. People cobbled together all sorts of simple receivers so they could keep listening. Also, within a year, 150 new illegal newspapers appeared containing radio news.

Here's a photo of some homemade pencils.

After the museums, we did lunch and a little shopping. At some point we found some metalized fabric lined hot mitts for the kitchen. Most of the kitchen mitts you find these days are lined just with quilted fabric and the size of the mitts is huge. We brought a pair of proper mitts with us but they had long been in the "camping equipment" because they were so worn out. There were even small holes in them. We bought a pair locally, but Ibu Tin and I both agreed that they were not well insulated.  Most of the ones I've located recently seem to be for barbecuing, and made for very large hands. On this trip to Amsterdam we found mitts properly lined and for small hands. Yay! We also found the cutest little salt/pepper shaker set. We had purchased an inexpensive set but the plastic had cracked so we needed to replace them. Another great find.