Amsterdam Museum Trip

1. Anne Frank Huis Museum
   I went to Anne Frank Huis museum in Amsterdam (and some other museum) yesterday ... I just can't resist to put an entry of my thought to this blog about it ... To cut the story short, Anne is a jew, and she and her family were hiding from the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1942 in her father's company office ... Another family soon joined them in hiding, and they were 8 people in total hiding ... The family had some helpers which is the employees in that office ... They supplied them with food and news from the outside world ...
   
   During that time in hiding, Anne wrote her diary describing day-to-day life in the three storage floor office ... Her father still controls the company and that's how they manage to live .... Anne wrote a detailed experience of what it is like to hide from the German ... The fear of being discovered, living in the dark for 2 years (not total darkness), speaks in whisper, scared to be shot, etc ....
   
   Eventually someone betrayed them (no one knows until now who) and the German caught them just 1 month before the liberation by the British ... It was so sad ... The whole family died in the concentration camp except Otto Frank Huis (the father) ... All of the helpers (employee) survived the war, and together they published Anne Frank Huis diary to the public ...
   
   Immediately, I drew parallel with what Jesus said in the bible, that people who believes in the Lord will be persecuted at the end of time ... Even though this happens now in other parts of the world, but it seems to me that Jesus was saying a large scale of that event ... Nobody with the mark of God can buy or sell food, trade, and they go in hiding .... The bible describes how terrible is those days, but the one who stands until the end will be saved ....
   
   I was just thinking, if I was in Anne's situation, what would I do? They were persecuted by the German because they were Jews ... The answer is I wouldn't know what to do and have to ask God ... I couldn't see it happening in a large scale in the next 5 years or so, but who knows what will happen ... It is possible that America and UK will fall and then the new world power allow such thing to happen, no one really knows .... It does not matter really, but what matter is are we ready for it as Christians, people chosen by God?
   
   
   The house with green door is the house of Anne Frank Huis
   
   
   
   
   
2. Rijksmuseum
   It is the biggest museum in Holland, but unfortunately it is undergoing some construction work now, so I just got to see some part of it ... As usual when you go to museums, you see a lot of paintings ... Rijksmuseum has lots of it and as usual I have no clue about paintings ... haha ... But I started to enjoy looking at it, the details, strokes, colour mix, expressions, backgrounds, story behind the paintings, cultural effects, etc ...
   
   The big item in Rijks is "The night watch" and the "Jewish Bride" by Rembrandt, the true genius Dutch painter .. There are of course other paintings and amazing silver paintings ... I totally enjoy the arts eventhough I am crap at it ... haha ..
   
   Dutch VOC ships
   
   
   The night watch by Rembrandt
   
   
   Cupid, god of love? haha
   
   
   
3. Amsterdam Historical Museum
   This museum tells the history of Amsterdam from 15-- until 2000 ... It is interesting to see how a city develops into big metropolitan ... It's like playing a "civilization" game .. those of you who plays game should at least heard of this game .. There were some paintings, archaelogical discovery, history, maps of what Amsterdam looked like, etc ... Batavia (now Jakarta) is also mentioned several times as the center of the East Indies Company (VOC) in east Asia ... That's the time of golden age for Holland and I thought, yeah rite golden age after you sucked our resources ... :)
   
   Dutch town hall
   
   Excavation items