Amsterdam - The Anne Frank House

The focus of our trip was going to see the building where Anne Frank and her family hid for 2 1/2 years from the Nazi's. I've read The Diary of Anne Frank every year since I was about 9. Blair had read it too, but it had been so long that he reread it on our plane ride to Amsterdam.

Tourists lined up to see the Anne Frank HouseThe first thing that jumped out to me is how nondescript the building is. Were it not for the line of tourists circling the block for tickets, you'd never think to give it a second glance. (Click on photos for larger images)

Being there was like walking on holy ground for me. Just staring at the (drab) wallpaper and thinking, "She stood here," or going into the washroom and realizing, "This is where she brushed her teeth and combed her hair and stared into the mirror" was overwhelming.  A few highlights:

• The stairs behind the bookcase leading to The Secret Annexe are extremely narrow and unbelievably steep.
• I was most touched by a growth chart on the wall in Anne's parents bedroom where they marked in pencil the height of Anne and her sister Margot during their time spent in hiding. It's such a normal thing to do and stands out in  marked contrast to the very non-normal circumstances the family found themselves in.
• Anne's bedroom she shared with the dentist is much more narrow than I would have thought. Almost impossible to visualize 2 beds and a desk fitting in there...
• The main kitchen/living room (also the Van Daans bedroom) was MUCH SMALLER than I expected. I'd always pictured it as a room where those hiding could somewhat spread out, with the kitchen being almost a separate area. Uh-uh. Very tight and condensed with the sink almost in the middle of everything.
• There was a board game of Peter's on display in his room that Anne made mention he'd received for a birthday present. It looked almost new.
  Blair getting video of the Anne Frank House from across the canal

The rooms were all empty. After hauling the family away, the Nazi's emptied the Annex, giving all the furniture  to German families. Anne's father, Otto Frank, preferred the space be left empty, as the Nazi's left it. However, there is a wonderful downstairs display that shows the placement of all the furniture.
The Anne Frank House at Prinsengracht 267

There were videos of Miep, Otto Frank, and Lies (Anne's best friend who met up with Anne in the concentration camps). The original diary (!!!) is on display and overall I was highly impressed with the museum. Simple, stark, doesn't try to be too much because just what it represents is already so big. I'm thrilled to have been able to tour this part of history.

Dermatomyositis Is My Life

The vacation blogs entries are momentarily on hold. At the moment, I'm up to my eyeballs in research on dermatomyositis, an inflammatory skin and muscle disease most commonly found in Shelties & Collies. I just yesterday received the 1700-word assignment and need to send interview questions to the top veterinary medical expert in the country by Friday. I'm frantically printing out research and trying to educate myself on the topic so as to be able to ask informed questions and not waste her time.

This by far will be the most technical article I've ever written. But I'm excited. I am term-paper queen. Give me a topic and let me research and write up the findings and I'm a happy girl. For me, the fun is in organizing mounds of research into sub-categories and then fitting the pieces together like a puzzle. Yes, I'm great fun at parties too...

Dermatomyositis research today, rewriting a new client's website tomorrow, hopefully completing both by Friday. I'm selling books this weekend at Madison's annual Artists on the Sidewalk. For those of you in the area, stop by on Saturday for a fun day of roaming around cute, historic Madison, NC. Sunday I may allow jet lag to kick in and catch up on sleep.

Have a good week...

Dena Does Amsterdam

If that blog title doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will. Yes, the Harris' have returned from a quick trip to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges.  I wrote entries for this blog and set them to post on different days while we were gone, so as not to announce to the world that we were leaving for vacation. Tricky, no...?

SO MUCH to tell. I will attempt to avoid the "and then we went here, and then there, and then back here" travel account and instead give my entries over the next few days that special "Dena spin." (aka, I will focus less on the magnificent and awe-inspiring sites we saw and home in on what really matters--me. ;)

If you hate travel logs of any sort, you might want to ditch this blog for the next week, as that's what the focus will be. But really, I'll try to keep them fun.

Okay, just a quick overview because I came home to 302 e-mails, about 10 of which needed my immediate attention last week, and I'm still operating on minimal sleep. I feel a nap in the very near future.

But now, welcome to the world of

DENA & BLAIR'S BIG AMSTERDAM ADVENTURE

Planes: I don't know why I travel. I don't enjoy the process. Sardines squeezed in a tin can describes the flight over. There was 1/8" of leg room before the person in front of me decided to cruise the entire 8 hours with their seat in the full reclined position. I ate a bag of peanut trail mix and my feet swelled to the size of square bricks--it was actually creepy to see. Blair plugged in his headphones and didn't talk the whole flight. Coming back was better. A little more leg room and we played Othello, watched 2 movies, and were served ice-cream as a treat. It really doesn't take much to make me happy...

Food: Belgium waffles RULE! So freakin' good. Also had a warm goat cheese salad in Bruges to die for. Most important thing I noticed about food is portion control. I felt good after every meal with the exception of the one night we ate at Hard Rock Cafe- Amsterdam. Then I left the table sick from overeating. Otherwise, the portions and drink sizes are just right. Wish this country would follow that example...

Pets: I returned to find a discussion on my Dog Writers list-serv about starting a movement in this country to allow animals into restaurants. Sign me up! I loved Brussels and Amsterdam, where dogs and cats were in almost every shop and restaurant. The animals are extremely well-behaved and sit patiently beside owners or just lie on the floor under tables. We ate at a little Bistro and a black and white kitty rubbed against our legs and then jumped on a neighboring table to sniff at what was in their glasses before wandering the bar top. Eventually the owners tossed some tuna on the floor of the tavern. A U.S. Health Inspector might have a heart attack, but I find having animals around makes for a most congenial meal.

Preview of what's to come:

• Anne Frank House tour
• Missing our train stop in Amsterdam
• Touring the Red Light District with my southern gentleman of a husband
• Paying to Pee
• The story of the vomiting wafer
• Running out of money (SO not fun...)
• AND MORE!!!

Bogged Down In E-Mail

I get way too much e-mail.

Some of it comes unsolicited. I can say with the great certainty I have never asked for or shown an interest in Viagra, Viagra substitutes, or any of the other "male enhancement" e-mails that come my way. Likewise, I don't want energy pills, weight-loss pills, and I don't care to hook up with former high school classmates.

But I also receive a lot of e-mail I ask for. I'm signed for probably, oh I don't know, let's say 8 newsletters. Some are weekly, most are monthly. These range from public speaking to writing centered, humor to business oriented. I signed up for most of them thinking that browsing through them on a monthly basis would keep me immersed in a fresh flow of ideas for columns and articles, as well as keep me "in the know" on subject areas I profess a desire to stay abreast in.

That might work, if I read the e-mails. Instead, 9 times out of 10, I'll delete the e-mail newsletter w/out ever reading it, but with the thought of "I'm too busy this month. I'll read it next month for sure."  Which means I receive all these e-mails only to delete them and gain no knowledge. Seems a bit silly.

But I can't bring myself to not subscribe. Maybe one day I will need them but will have forgotten they're there as a resource because I unsubscribed. Or maybe I really will find the time next month to skim through them.

Chaos rules around the world, but hope springs eternal here at Harris manor...