Today was jam packed with culture and learning. I visited 3 museums today, all located in central Amsterdam, and all of them were very different but very insightful. It was awesome to learn about the culture and history of the Netherlands in this way after doing so many company visits.

We started out at the Our Lord In the Attic Museum. This was a house in which the attic was converted to a secret Catholic church in the time when Catholicism was outlawed in The Netherlands. It was beautiful and it was also interesting to see the architecture and engineering of the old row houses in the country. It was so much different than any house I have seen in America. The church was built in 1663 and was made up of 3 of the row houses combined. They took middle beams out to make room for the church, which compromised the floor and there later had to be beams put in place to support the house from caving in. It was crazy to see something built this long ago still standing today. The steps of the house were so steep, and the artwork and decorations inside were very intriguing. It was interesting to think about what life would have been like in Europe all those years ago, with the technology they had. It was also cool to learn about how The Netherlands reputation of being a tolerant country has been true for so long. Even when they were not technically in a period of religious freedom, the government still allowed people to practice as long as they were keeping a low profile. This shows how the attitude in The Netherlands is very liberal in terms of religion and personal beliefs.

Next, we had free time in the itinerary so we decided to hop on a bus and head to the Rijks Museum. Because it is a national holiday here, Ascension day, the museum was absolutely packed. They had original Van Gogh paintings, modern art, and a beautiful garden. The museum was also in a building that looks like a beautiful castle. We also got to see the biggest library in The Netherlands. I liked seeing many of the paintings done by Dutch artists (like Van Gogh), as well as old portraits of Dutch royalty. I thought about how it was very different that The Netherlands used to be run by a real monarchy, which is obviously different from the US. These paintings were really a great reflection of the history of the country.

Finally, we finished the day with a visit to the Anne Frank museum. This was absolutely an experience. We took a guided audio tour that provided us with information throughout our walk through the museum. But it was completely silent in our time in the annex. Although I have obviously learned a lot about the Holocaust in school over the years, there is absolutely no substitute for seeing those artifacts in real life. We were not allowed to take any photos, but the annex was so small, steep, creaky, and I can only imagine the discomfort and terror of every day living there. Seeing the items from their rooms, the pages from the diaries, the posters on the wall, and just the actual rooms where they really slept was such an emotional experience. I also thought about the experience of those 8 people, and how in the end they were only 8 in the 6 million people who were killed in the Holocaust. It was absolutely devastating to think about. We also learned how Otto Frank had initially moved his family to The Netherlands in 1933, to escape the rising hostility towards Jewish people in Germany. We learned how sadly, The Netherlands fell to Nazi Germany in just 5 days. This was interesting because I, in all honesty, did not know that they were hiding in Amsterdam. It is so crazy to think about how close they were from where we are staying and how it was not that long ago. It really personalized the history for me and it was really moving.

Overall, today was a personal experience to a new culture and history that I was not very familiar with before, the culture and history of The Netherlands. It was really beautiful and I am so happy I had the opportunity to have a day like this in between all of the company visits.