Europe Part 3: Amsterdam! And Catch up!

Greetings to all!

Ok, Blogos- time to catch you up to the present! Here's the plan for this blog: We'll do a quick Amsterdam re-cap and then catch you up on my last month in good old J'lem. Sound like a plan? Ready...break!

Amsterdam was beautiful! Very picturesque- loved the canals everywhere! Although, everything looks the same...kind of like Venice...The best part about Amsterdam were the historical sites and museums.

We hit up:

1.) The Portuguese Synaoguge

This place dates back to 1672! It was quite a sight to see! It remains a mystery how it survived WWII.

Some history about Dutch Jews: When Nazi Germany invaded Holland in 1940 there were around 140,000 Jews living here, some 120,000 of whom lived in Amsterdam; of these about 4,300 were Sephardi Jews. The synagogue was left undamaged. Why is still a mystery - it was certainly an exception in occupied Holland. After the war there were only some 20,000 Jews left in Holland, about 800 of whom were Sephardi. At present there are between 20,000 and 25,000 Jews in Holland, around 15,000 to 20,000 of whom in Amsterdam. The Portuguese Jewish community has about 600 contributing members who live, like most of the Ashkenazi community, outside the city centre.

2.) Jewish Historical Museum

This museum was PHENOMENAL! It is housed in a complex of four restored synagogues in the heart of Amsterdam's old Jewish quarter. It contains objects and works of art associated with the religion, culture and history of the Jews in the Netherlands and its former colonies. Fun fact: The museum has over 11,000 works of art, ceremonial items and historical objects. Only five percent of these are on permanent display.

3.)Anne Frank House

It was unbelievable to walk up the stairs to the annex and be in the space where Anne Frank and her family hid not so many years ago. A deeply moving and poignant museum. Haunting. Inspiring. Seeing her actual diary was surreal.

4.) Hollandsche Schouwburg

During part of the Second World War, in 1942 and 1943, the Hollandsche Schouwburg (the Dutch Theatre) was used as a deportation centre for Jews. The theatre, built in 1892 as a centre for relaxation and entertainment in the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam, became a place of grief and anguish. Thousands of men, women and children were sent by train from here to Westerbork transit camp in Holland, and from there to death camps. Few of them lived to return. In the course of the Second World War 104,000 Dutch Jews were killed in Nazi extermination camps.

In 1962 the Hollandsche Schouwburg formally became a war memorial, in remembrance of the Jews who perished under the Nazi regime. The theatre auditorium has been replaced by an open courtyard with an obelisk where the theatre stage once stood. The entrance hall leads into a memorial chapel where an eternal flame is burning. Engraved on a special Wall of Remembrance here, are the family names of all the Jews from the Netherlands who perished during the Second World War.

This memorial was also very powerful and obviously, sad. Especially because Rachel's Father was born in Amsterdam (spent his early childhood there) and much of her family perished in the Holocaust. Her family's name was listed on the wall of remembrance.

5.) The Heineken Experience

Yes, folks, we went to the Heineken museum and learned how they brew their beer! It was a nice uplifting moment! Kind of like the Willy Wonka Heineken factory..."the experience" just kept going and going...We needed something fun to break up all of our serious visits. This museum was a gulp of refreshing air...or beer if you like that nasty stuff. We learned about the history of the Heineken family, the brewery process from start to finish, the advertising, sports sponsors, and even rode a Disney-style Heineken ride. In one cool room you lay down in a lounge chair with your own personal TV and click through Heineken commercials from each year since the first one. (Obviously I watched 1983--oh, the hair!) We even starred in our very own music video- awesome! Fun fact I learned: Beginning in 1951, Heineken introduced the smiling 'E's in the logo, the brand color green, and the logo that combines a star, a banner, and a hop vine! To this day this image defines the international persona of the Heineken brand! Despite my lack of appreciation for the taste of beer, I won't soon forget my "Heineken Experience!"

6.) Rijksmuseum

This MASSIVE art museum is under major construction right now, but we were still able to enjoy The Masterpieces collection which offers a unique view into the 17th century Golden Age period, when The Netherlands flourished as a wealthy and powerful region. The personal audio guide really brought the artwork and rich history to life. One of the most famous in the collection is Rembrandt's, The Night Watch.

7.) The Van Gogh Museum

This was another winner! The gals were museum'd out for the day, so they did a bit of shopping while I hit up the Van Gogh museum. It was incredible, I loved it, and could have used another hour there...It's the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. The museum was organized really well, and included all of the details of Van Gogh's depressing life. Poor guy...And my little personal guided audio tour took me back to my art history class in high school. LOVED EVERY SECOND.

That about does it for the museums in Amsterdam--can you believe we packed all of that into 2.5 days?? We did tons of walking all over the city, visiting all of the famous squares, The Flower Market, the outdoor fruit, vegetable and junk market (it's a MUST to visit the market anywhere you go- helps to get a feel for the culture and local foods), and even popping into a few smoke shops to see what it's all about. The Mary Jane menus are OUT OF CONTROL! So many varieties...It was like being in an episode of Weeds-one of the best shows ever. The most bizarre was seeing the hippy marijuana stores that at first glance look like a camping store, and then you realize that everything they sell is a fool proof container (disguised as a regular item) in order to travel with pot on airplanes and across boarders...The idea that pot and prostitution are legal in Amsterdam is a bit crazy to me. Hard to wrap my head around the concept...Our stroll through the red light district was...eye-opening...? We also caught a movie (Australia--eek, pass) at a stunning, famous, old movie theater. The only bummer of our time in Amsterdam was the weather- it was dark and dreary and ruined all of my pictures. Also, the palace was closed for construction. Next time!

Overall, Amsterdam was rockin'- I really had a great time there. Although, there was something very haunting about it. I really felt remnants of the Holocaust everywhere we went. Almost the entire population of Jews in Amsterdam were wiped out and it left a strong mark on the city. I guess in a way it's nice that they'll never be forgotten. But sad. Very sad.

Ok, that took longer than expected. It's bed time! I'll have to do a catch up blog on the last month sometime tomorrow or this week-end.

FYI, the CCAR is going on right now in Jerusalem! The Central Conference of American Rabbis. Despite the budget challenges that all synagogues are facing in the States, over 300 Reform Rabbis are running loose in J'lem as we speak, raising ruckus everywhere. More on this later...

This caused a little ripple today...Women of the Wall Article
Here is Women of the Wall site, Women of Wall site

I'll leave you with some pictures...
Check my picassa site for the latest picture albums, My Pics, or this link for all Europe pics, there are a lot of pics, it will take a minute to upload, Paris, Brugge, Amsterdam

















Hope all is well in your world! Lila Tov!

Signing off,
Leslie