Get ready for a doozy everyone – it was Amsterdam day!
As always, the group started off with breakfast, once again provided by our amazing hostel – eggs, yogurt, pancakes, BLT’s, and delicious croissants were available for our choosing. After a hearty meal, the group headed to Utrecht Centraal station to make our way to Amsterdam! Once we got off at our stop, which was on the outskirts of the city, we took a quick bus ride to Museum Tot Zover, or the Death Museum.
We were impressed with the art installations at the museum. Sarah Grothus’ work was accompanied by Daniel Maalman’s composition. The opaque canvas was placed in front of windows, allowing the images to change with the sun.
In addition, the museum also focused on how death rituals differ between cultures, and how they have changed over time. A standout for students was a student project where they had mimicked an IKEA building manual in the form of a “build your own” coffin. While it was not actually from an IKEA, the exhibit asked: “At IKEA we buy our first crib, so why not our last?”
Following the exhibits, students took a walk around the cemetery outside. Many different forms of burial were present. The space offered great insight into the juxtaposition found in afterlife experiences.
Two people from our group decided to mix it up and headed to the Rijksmuseum, the national art museum of Netherlands and one of the largest art museums in the world. These two art fanatics explored pieces by Dutch masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn (highly recommend the Night Watch Gallery!), Franz Hals (Steve’s favorite) and Johannes Vermeer.
However, one of the most impactful and poignant pieces they encountered were part of a special exhibit on the Indonesian independence movement from Dutch colonization.
The Death Museum and Rijksmuseum were just the first stops of many amazing opportunities the Dickinsonians got to experience today. Because the students were then free to go off and explore Amsterdam, lunch plans were made and the groups rushed to their destinations. The food in Amsterdam not only excels in quality but also in diversity of cuisine – just along one block could be an Italian pizzeria, an Argentinian restaurant, or authentic Indonesian cuisine. We split up from here – some of us went to a traditional Dutch pancake shop, while others went to “Foodhallen,” a type of food court only seen in your dreams.
After lunch, we all met up at the Anne Frank House for a voice-guided tour. While there are no pictures/videos of any kind permitted once you have started the tour, students were able to grab some images of outside of the original house and inside the lobby section of the museum.
Here are some of the students who went to the Anne Frank House.
From left to right: Laney, Karina, Izzy, Carmen, Franklin, Elijah, and Conor
The tour of the Anne Frank House, though self-guided with voice prompts on personal devices, was completely and utterly a surreal experience for the students. While the majority of students in the group had read Anne Frank’s diary, there was still plenty of new information to be learned. Being in the house where Anne Frank wrote her famous diaries while she was in hiding from the Nazi regime was mind-boggling. Thoughts and emotions were at an all-time high for everyone on this tour. From the emotional quotes from Anne on the walls, original documents of final correspondences, and simple decorations put up by Anne and her sister Margot to make their house a home cultivated much reflection and learning for us all.
After the Anne Frank House, two people from our group (Krisha and Laney) headed to the Body World museum, home to a collection of plastinated (preserved in plastic) body parts and systems. The experience was incredibly fascinating and gave them an inside look (pun intended!) at human bodies.
In between these larger museums, students found time to stop and shop at the Tulip museum, as well as the cheese museum!
The day ended in different ways for all of us. Some people chose to do a beautiful and informative canal ride through the center of Amsterdam and ate some seriously delish burgers for dinner (Fun fact learned on the canal ride: Amsterdam actually has more canals and bridges than even Venice!).
Others lived the good life and enjoyed a fancy dinner at a renowned restaurant named Zaza’s. We all returned to Bunk Hotel after our dinners by taking the train back to Utrecht Centraal Station.
All in all, we had a wonderful experience exploring Amsterdam and can’t wait for more adventures tomorrow!
Thank you for following along!
Krisha Mehta, Izzy Ferrazza and Sofia Perrone
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