“In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.”
Anne Frank, a child in hiding for fear of death because of her ethnicity and religion
Back to Amsterdam
Is 11 too many days?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Today we got up at the crack of dawn to catch the Eurostar train from London to Amsterdam.
I chose the 8:00 train because it was significantly cheaper than the rest. I thought, “we can rally at least once.”
Sam did great – Miah needed more sleep and was easily sent into a frenzy of tears by the slightest misstep.
Immigration at the train station was a lot smoother and easier than the airport. But you have a small window to get through and boarded onto your train. (So don’t be late – but also there is no value in being too early. They allow all earlier train-passengers to pass you in line.)
TRAINS LEAVE ON TIME. That’s one thing that has been consistent on this trip. Every train ride we’ve taken has left exactly at the time posted.
Our journey took us through 4 countries today – that’s kind of a big deal for us. We started in England, then France, then Belgium and finally back to the Netherlands.
We traveled through the countryside and farmland in France. I think my cousin Jason would have enjoyed seeing it.
I witnessed a farmer tedding a hayfield. When we were kids, Jason, Pa and I would often work the hayfields together in the afternoon (after planting tobacco in the morning). Jason would do the tedding/fluffing of an already mowed field, while Pa and I sat in the pick-up enjoying our coke and candy bar. When Jason was about a third through, Pa and I would start to rake the field. I sat on the edge of the tractor with Pa – around twice in one direction and then once the other direction to get a good row of hay. After we completed two rows, Pa would get off to start bailing the hay, while I finished raking. Jason finished first, then I would join him next while we waited for Pa to finish. If there was time, Jason would load the large flatbed truck with hay to haul back to the farm.
Off of memory road and back on the train ride:
We didn’t take first-class this time, but we still had a table between 4 chairs facing each other.
This is the way to travel as a family.
Sam was fantastic all morning long. While Miah slept on my lap the majority of the train ride.
Upon arriving back in Amsterdam, we stored our luggage at Central Station and set out to do the things we had missed during our stay.
- Floating Chinese Restaurant
- Anne Frank Museum
Floating Chinese Restaurant
We learned about the floating Chinese restaurant from the book the kids got for Christmas about Amsterdam. Samuel was really excited about eating there. But while we were in Amsterdam, he constantly chose to eat at home rather than go out – even to the floating Chinese restaurant.
Today we didn’t have a ‘home’, and he was ready to do and see all the things we hadn’t experience yet.
This restaurant is legit. It took us about 15 minutes to decipher the menu which was entirely in Chinese characters and Dutch.
The food was very authentic. (And none of us had stomach problems later…)
The kids ate surprising well. And Daniel and I tried some new things, though we couldn’t tell you exactly what they were.
Anne Frank Museum & House
Samuel was so good all morning that he exhausted all of his goodness and whined through the entire Anne Frank museum.
I was having none of it and was ready to yank him out of there. Thankfully, Daniel kept a level head and nurtured him and coaxed him through it.
I did try a couple of times to bring it to his level. “Could you imagine if you had to be quiet like this every day for years and never be able to leave this house for fear of dying?”
This didn’t help.
And it was probably a bit too much for Samuel’s sensitive soul.
The night before we read from the Bible for their bedtime story. It was about Abraham. Perfect segue for me to talk about our visit to the Anne Frank museum the next day.
I explained how the Jews were God’s chosen people. The children of Abraham because God kept his promise in the story we read about. Then I told them about evil men who tried to kill the Jews.
I finished with an explanation on why it was important to visit the museum – so that we would never forget about what happened, honor the people who had died and learn from the past in order to not repeat it. Sweet Samuel said, “Mom, I will never never forget. I promise.”
One thing he did forget is how to behave.
But in his defense, he is 5, and we did wait in a line for over an hour before even starting the museum.
If in Amsterdam, you must visit the Anne Frank museum, which is a walk through the house/hidden rooms where she and her family hid during the war before being found. You have to buy your tickets a couple of weeks in advance.
We cannot – must not – forget the Holocaust. We must be mindful even today with how we categorize people. We are quick to label those who are different than us, who look different, or live somewhere different or believe something different. It is a slippery slope. And it starts when we believe we are superior to others.
This bears repeating. The slippery slope into the mistreatment of people begins when we believe ourselves to be better than others.
Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:2
You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. – Colossians 3:12
God brings down the proud and saves the humble. – Job 22:29
