What happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam...

On my way back from the US, I decided to make a stop in Amsterdam to meet up with a couple of friends from Minnesota who were taking a 2 week trip around Europe with a larger group.

In addition to the phenomenal rock-star style partying one can do there (which I am happy to describe in person sometime, over a beer or two), Amsterdam is a very beautiful city and now ranks as one of the favorite places I have visited. The restaurants, shops, and pubs set along the idyllic canals make for a very relaxing setting to spend your afternoons doing very little at all. As far as sights-to-see go, the Van Gogh museum was excellent - an incredible monument to VVG's influence on the art of his time, despite his tragically short life that ended when he commited suicide at 37.

Another monument to someone who died young and tragically is the Anne Frank house. This museum really takes the visitor as far as possible into the experiences of the Frank family and friends as they hid for over two years from the Nazis in Amsterdam. The events she writes about in her diary take on a stunning reality as visitors stand in each room and read her words describing the things that happened there, and the interactions and emotions of the people in hiding. It is the ultimate victory of the human spirit that so many people visit this house each year, and an even greater number of people read the words of this young girl that the Nazis considered so unworthy of life or happiness, and killed with no conception of how she would come to symbolize and solidify the world's condemnation of their agenda.