Today was the Ascension, which is a national holiday in the Netherlands meaning most places of business are closed. Because of that, we had a day full of museum visits and tours of import places in Amsterdam. We started out at 10:00 am with a tour of the Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder Museum, which translates to the Our Lord in the Attic Museum.

The Our Lord in the Attic Museum is a preserved attic church from the 16th century when the overt practice of Catholicism was banned in the Netherlands by the Dutch republic. It was illegal to be seen practicing Christianity, but doing it in private was allowed. Because of that, many private churches, or “attic church’s” popped up all around Amsterdam. Rich Catholics would transform their attics into churches and invite their community in for services on Sunday.

The “Our Lord in the Attic” church was created by a wealthy family that bought three neighboring houses, knocked down the walls in the attic, and created a church that could hold up to 150 people on three levels complete with pews, an alter, and a confessional booth. It has remained completely intact despite the property changing hands many times.

We took a tour of the place, and I was struck by how steep the staircases were and how many fire hazards existed, what with the all wooden house and all the candles used to light it. It was fascinating to walk through a seemingly normal upper class house and then suddenly be in a church, and it was also very interesting to hear about the history of religion in the Netherlands.

After that, we were released until 5:30 when we had a scheduled tour of the Anne Frank house. Some friends and I grabbed lunch and headed to the Rijksmuseum. The place was huge and it was impossible to see everything in the few hours we had, but we were able to see some Rembrandt pieces such as The Night Watch, and a couple of Van Gogh pieces. We walked through most of the galleries on the first and second floors as well and saw some incredible exhibits.

At this point I was exhausted, but we made our way to meet up with the rest of the group at the Anne Frank house. No photos are allowed inside, and for that I’m glad because it forces you to live in the moment and take it all in. We were given audio tours and moved about the museum learning about the Frank’s life through their own words, pictures, and friends. Once we entered the annex behind the bookshelf, there was no more audio and we moved through the annex in complete silence.

The annex is mostly empty. After it was raided the nazis removed all the furniture, and Otto Frank requested no recreations be made. There are a few things that were left behind that were still there, such as Anne and Margot Frank‘s bedroom walls that were filled with drawing and newspaper clippings. There was also display cases with items that belonged to the eight people in the annex.

It was heartbreaking to realize how little is actually left of these people. One of the other women hiding in the Annex has only a textbook and a handwritten grocery list displayed. These two items are the only proof she ever existed. Walking through the annex it was hard not to feel like the eight people who hid there still existed in some way within those walls, frozen forever in time by the diary of a teenage girl.

After leaving the annex, the audio starts back up and talks about the raid on the annex and Anne’s death. There were translated interviews from Otto Frank that were very emotional. At the very end, we saw Anne’s actual diary on display, along with other pages of her writings such as short stories and her favorite lines from books she had transcribed.

It was an incredibly emotional experience. While inside I shed a few tears, but it wasn’t until I stepped back outside into the sunlight on the crowded street with the canal flowing by that I actually broke down in tears. We decided to skip a dinner out and instead headed back to the hotel.

I’m so glad we went even though it was so emotional. I’m glad Anne and the others in the annex get remembered in this way, but it’s heartbreaking that so many others are lost to time.

Tomorrow we check out of our hotel in Amsterdam and head for Rotterdam, thus marking the halfway point of this trip. See you then!