June 2nd - Amsterdam

June 2nd
Amsterdam

Being in Europe makes me think of all of the people who were willing to
do whatever they could to save others, knowing they were putting their
own lives on the line, and I wonder if I would have the strength,
courage and conviction to do the same. We finally made it to Amsterdam
and visited the Resistance Museum. Even though it was the Resistance
Museum, it didn't have as much about the Resistance as I thought it
would. It mostly told of living conditions in Holland under German
occupation. I wish that we had had more time to read and check out
everything, but, of course, we were in a hurry again. The stories that
I did read were very inspiring. They told of some people who smuggled
children out of Amsterdam, right under the eyes of the Gestapo. There
was a tram that ran between the children's holding building and the
Nazis. Whenever a certain tram would come along, the resistance
workers would grab a couple of children and run alongside the tram until
they were away from the Gestapo. They were able to save several
hundred children that way. Of course, if they got caught, they were shot.

I wanted to check out an Antiek Store and some Flea Markets. Didn't
find anything I wanted at the Flea Markets, or anything I could afford
at the Antiek Store. I saw a lovely Doll's cradle, and asked about
purchasing it, but they couldn't find a price on it, so they couldn't
sell it. It was a store much like the one in Bartlett, behind
McDonald's. I saw some dolls, but even if I could have afforded them, I
don't know how I would have gotten them home. Also, I had no way of
knowing if the price was good or not. I did see some Steiff toys at a
decent price. They were old Steiff teddy bears. Before I could decide
if I wanted to buy them, someone heard me telling Lonnie about them and
snatched them up.

In Amsterdam, Lonnie and I took our first canal tour ride that we didn't
fall asleep on. Amazing! We have always slept through them before.
We also saw the world's largest bicycle garage. It holds 8,000
bicycles! And, it was full! There are bikes everywhere, so they
could use a few more bicycle parking garages. You have to be very
careful to stay off of the bike lane (it would make a great walking
path), or you will get taken out by a bicycle! You also have to watch
out for trams, buses and cars. But pedestrians have the right of way
(just as they do in Italy), so, if you are brave enough to step out into
the street, the cars, trams, buses, etc. are supposed to stop for you.
Another thing about the bicycles. They are regular bikes, without
gears. Many have been specially fitted with baby seats, children's
seats, etc. Not like ours, tho. Check out the picture.