I had no idea! I would never be accused of being tall anywhere in the world, but I feel like a ridiculous munchkin here. 6'5" seems to be "not that tall" for both genders. Craziness. Anyway, today I officially began my life as an Amsterdam bike rider. Deb's friend Amanda has been kind enough to lend me a bike for the week that she doesn't really ride, so after walking over to her place, we were off towards the center of town. Well, the outer rings of the center of town. Our main goal for the day was the Anne Frank house. And we only had to stand in line for about half an hour, so it was really not too bad. I had told myself that I was going to re-read the diary before coming here, but who was I kidding? It was finals time! But, I did manage to watch the most recent movie version, done by Masterpiece theater, I think. So, I had the main facts back in mind for this visit. I am not totally sure what I expected, or if I expected anything. The whole place is unfurnished, per Mr. frank's request, to be a reminder of the emptiness left in general after the war by the nazis. So, short of the pictures on the walls of Anne's room and the height chart markings on the wall for Anne and her sister Margot, it's really just walking through the space. So, one could wander through and think "So?", but then you suddenly have that moment of "They were in here for over two years, and died anyway." and it just makes you sick. Sick to think of their personal suffering, sick to think of what humans are capable of. I found myself waiting in line thinking " I wonder if this is how the street looked when Anne was here." and then realized it just wasn't that long ago. This atrocious thing in our world's history is less than 75 years ago. Anne Frank was a couple of years younger than my own grandma. With these things in mind, those empty rooms take on a whole new feeling. Those of you who have visited probably don't need to read any of this - you know what it was to visit. Having never been to this part of Europe, it was a really new experience for me. So much of the Spanish history I've seen multiple times is so old, it doesn't hold that same feeling. But overall, of course, I am glad that I went. After finishing up the house, another of Deb's friends, Lynnea, met us for lunch. Great woman - we had a lot of fun. And I love old cheese sandwiches. Sounds gross, but it is delicious! So, a sandwich, some frites and a couple of beers later, we were back on the bikes to go get the girls from school. Deb's daughters are attending the British School of Amsterdam for the year. So, with both of them back in tow, we headed home for the evening. Delicious stir fry for dinner, and I think we are all hitting the hay early tonight! That is if we don't get sucked into the Spain vs. Portugal Europcup semifinal tonight... :)