Amsterdam- Anne Frank Huis

After the Eating Amsterdam Jordaan Food Tour, I walked back over to the Anne Frank Huis, which had been too busy in the morning. I was told that the waits are often two-three hours long, but I got lucky, and only waited forty-five minutes. The sun was shining and they had free wifi for the queue.

Looking back on my pictures, I didn't take a single shot of the exterior of the house. Photograph is not allowed inside and really, even if it was, it would have felt disrespectful. Here is one more picture that I took of the queue.

The ticket price was nine euros and tickets can be purchased in advance. I highly recommend buying tickets in advance and skipping the queue. On their website, they mention a new ticketing system in which certain time slots will only be available to people who have pre-purchased tickets. The Anne Frank Huis is so popular, that you really should make a plan for visiting, rather than just showing up, like I did.

The tour is self-guided, a one direction walk through the house where eight people, ( the Frank family, the Van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer), hid for more than two years. The series of rooms where they lived, is accessible through an entrance hidden by a large bookcase. I'm not sure if there are other entrances that are handicap friendly, but the main tour includes narrow walkways and steep staircases. I was surprised that the rooms and the entire hidden area was actual quite large. I imagined them to be much smaller. I'm sure that the rooms felt confining to the people hiding, but I was amazed that they were able to conceal such a large portion of the house.

Viewing the Anne Frank Huis took about twenty minutes and it was a silent, solemn walk. I don't think a single person said a word and many were in tears. I can't imagine that anyone visiting the Anne Frank Huis would leave unaffected.

After walking through the house, there was a small, contemporary addition that houses a museum and learning center. It's in this area that Anne Frank's famous diary is on display. There was a quote about Anne Frank being the most famous resident of Amsterdam and I don't doubt it. I'm sure that most, if not all, American school children have read her diary. It was amazing to see the actual diary in person, which, like the house, was so different than I had imagined. It's quite large, with a red gingham print cover.

This last part of the museum goes into Anne Frank's legacy and shares many of her thoughts/quotes from the diary. Many of her thoughts are profound and wise beyond her years, leaving visitors to wonder about the adult she would have grown into, had she survived, and the grand scale of so many lives cut short. The thought of so much loss is overwhelming. The Anne Frank Huis is a must-do for anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Eating Amsterdam Jordaan Food Tour: Part Two

My favorite food is fish. If it swims, I'll probably eat it. The samples at Urker Viswinkle fish shop were a treat.

I was excited to try the traditional Dutch way of eating herring; raw with pickles and onions. The non-seafood fans in the group treated this like a Fear Factor Challenge.

The other traditional way that the Dutch eat herring, is the whole fish down the hatch. Check out the picture below, it had a poster of a little girl eating fish. I'm not sure that I could have handled that!

For the less adventurous, we also sampled fried fish. Excellent.

Next it was back to where we started the tour, Cafe Papeneiland.

Cafe Papeneiland is well known for their apple pie. At nearly four hundred years old, Cafe Papeneiland is one of the oldest "brown" cafes in Amsterdam. Here is an interior shot.

We were told that Bill Clinton had visited and was a huge fan of the apple pie. He couldn't just eat one slice. We were each given a generous slice, ala mode.

The desserts continued with Stroopwaffle Heaven.

Stroopwaffles are everywhere in Amsterdam. I had actually tried stroopwaffles before visiting the Netherlands. They are sold in prepackaged tins for gifts and Dan had brought some home to me from his previous trip to Amsterdam. Also, KLM served Stroopwaffles as a mid-flight snack on our journey over.

The stroopwaffles at Stroopwaffle Heaven were freshly made and this makes all of the difference. A stroopwaffle is like taking a waffle cone and making it into a circle, rather than a cone, then taking two circles and creating a sandwich with warm caramel in the middle. It's as yummy as it sounds.

We were given a tip for refreshing the pre-made stroopwaffles: The stroopwaffles are made to be the perfect size to rest on top of a cup of tea or coffee. You let the steam warm the caramel and make the stroopwaffle gooey again. Although it isn't quite as nice as having one freshly made, it does do the trick.

Our last stop was the Cafe De Blaffende Vis for local beer and bitterballen.

We drank the Funky Falcon from Two Chefs Brewing and learned that microbreweries are popping up all over the city.

I've blogged about bitterballen in previous Amsterdam trip reports. I ate it every single day of the trip. I didn't notice enough of a difference in the dish to where I could say "so and so has the best bitterballen in town", but I can say that it was across the board consistent and yummy. I'd never turn down a chance to eat those cheesy/meaty fried balls of joy.

A picture of our tour group. Our guide, Jelte, is on the far left. Nice people all around and a fun tour.

Here are some neighborhood pictures that I took while we walked around Jordaan.

The Eating Amsterdam Jordan Food Tour was a highlight of my Amsterdam vacation. It was a wonderful way to tour the city and get a taste of Dutch culture. Make sure to book early to avoid disappointment, this is a popular tour. And whatever you do, arrive with an empty stomach and pace yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint!

Eating Amsterdam's Jordaan Food Tour: Part One

One of the best ways to discover a country is through its cuisine. I managed to book a last minute spot on the very popular Jordaan Food Tour, one of the offerings by the tour company, Eating Amsterdam. Amsterdam's Jordaan neighborhood is a diverse, working-class community and slightly off-the-beaten-path. As a tourist, I wouldn't have likely found myself in Jordaan, if not for Eating Amsterdam.

Our four-hour walking tour began at 11am, outside of the Cafe Papeneiland, where we would return later in the tour. Eating Amsterdam keeps the tours small and personal. Besides myself, we had a couple from Washington State and a family of three from India. The group from India were real foodies, having taken the "Eating" tours in other cities. Our guide, Jelte, was a college student and Amsterdam local.

The first stop was the Cafe de Prins for poffertjes.

Poffertjes are similar to dollar pancakes, except denser and spongier. They are served with a maple syrup. I'm not a huge fan of pancakes, but I enjoyed these. Also, I started the tour very hungry. This hunger didn't last. Cafe de Prins was the first of eight stops, and my "sample" was this entire plate. Everyone got a full plate. My stomach was nearly defeated with the first sample.

Our second stop was Butcher Louman. Butcher Louman opened in 1890 and it's still run by the original family. Local butchers seem to be a thing of the past in Los Angeles, but this reminded me of Tip-Top Meats, a long-gone neighborhood butcher in Glendale, that we used to shop at when I was a child.

At Butcher Louman, we were each given an aluminum tray with two different types of sausage and a package of mustard. Delicious.

Cheese and Amsterdam are a natural pair, so we knew that cheese would be included on the tour. For our cheese course, we visited the most adorable shop called JWO Lekkernijen.

We were presented with a cheese platter to share that included three different cheese samples. All were excellent ( I mean it's cheese, right?), however, the group seemed to favor the softest, youngest cheese. We had all become wise to the portion vs stomach space, and none of us took more than a little sample.

The Jordaan Food Tour included more than food. Jelte pointed out architectural and historical sites along the walk. We also learned that the island nation of Suriname was a former Dutch colony, and many Surinamese people live in Amsterdam. Living in Los Angeles, I think that I'm lucky to live in such a diverse community, where we seem to have every type of cuisine in the world. This said, I think that this may have been my first time trying Surinamese food.

Swieti Sranang is where we stopped for several treats, all completely unfamiliar to me.

Unfortunately, I've lost my trip notes and the internet has not been helpful for identifying these dishes, so I'm going off of memory. Luckily, taste and smell are senses that make a lasting impression.

This first sample was a type of bread, reminding me a little of cornbread.

The sandwich was the winner, just thinking about it makes me crave it. I looked to see if I could find Surinamese sandwiches in Los Angeles, but no luck. I believe that it was a pork sandwich, but what made it memorable was the sauce, a mix of sweet with a spicy-hot kick. I've never tasted anything quite like it.

For dessert, we ate fried plantains, in a sweet and gooey peanut sauce.

At this point, we were only half way done and my stomach was bursting...Stay tuned for more sightseeing via tastebuds in part two of my Eating Amsterdam's Jordaan Food Tour report.