It’s day 5 (our last day in Amsterdam!) and we had quite the morning to start us off. As we walked along the canals of Amsterdam, we saw the Anne Frank House come into view. Within the museum, I got a glimpse of the hushed, fearful life that Anne Frank and her family lived in the Secret Annex. I marveled at how cramped their living quarters were, especially considering that there were a few families living within the hidden area of the canal house. Visiting the Anne Frank House reminded me that although the Holocaust might be over, there are still many other atrocities being committed around the globe today. It’s easy to learn about the horrific events of World War 2 and pretend that the worst is behind us, but hatred and war and genocide continue to plague us. We cannot and should not turn a blind eye to all of the terrible things happening overseas, even if they do not directly impact us.

Afterwards, a small group of us returned to Cacao & Spice to grab some more sweet treats before we left for Rotterdam, and we asked the owner Salome if she had any recommendations for Surinamese food, which is a staple cuisine in the Netherlands. She directed us to TokoMan, where I ordered spiced bread and a salted codfish “wokbox”, which might be the best food I’ve had so far in Amsterdam! Then, we made our way to De 9 Straatjes, a popular shopping district, and enjoyed sitting on the edge of the canal and soaking in the sun.

I had suggested that we go to KattenKabinet (The Cat Cabinet), a niche museum dedicated to cat-themed artworks. The museum is located on the “Golden Bend”, the most prestigious area of the Herengracht canal. The beautiful canalside building was erected in 1667 for the mayor of Amsterdam, and the founder of the museum discovered and restored the 17th century paintings on the ceilings of the home not too long after purchasing the building. As we explored the museum, we saw many, many cats in the forms of paintings, sculptures, and also live cats lounging around! The main highlights were seeing the Pablo Picasso etching, as well as petting a couple of the cats.

In the evening, we spruced ourselves up and navigated to Pacific Amsterdam for our dinner with the Pitt alumni we would be meeting. I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with each of the five alumni and learn about their career paths and how they ended up in Amsterdam, and I got some insights into how I should go about planning my future career. I left the dinner feeling inspired and more sure of the path I’m navigating and what’s in store for me down the line.

Notes on Sustainability

While walking around Amsterdam, I’ve noticed that there are little to no places to recycle bottles and cans on the street. It may be because of the incentive to deposit bottles and cans to get money back in return, but it does make it incredibly inconvenient if you need to dispose of a bottle or can quickly.

Tot ziens! See you tomorrow!