05-05 Where did Anne Frank live in Amsterdam?

Today, May 5th is Liberation Day in the Netherlands. It marks the end of occupation by the Germans in World War II. They'll have a celebration tonight with a concert that will be attended by the King and Queen on the Amsel River in Amsterdam.

In our apartment are some books, maps, and a set of "City Walks in Amsterdam" Cards. Each card has a map on one side and details of where to go and what to see on the other. One was called Anne Frank Walk. I figured it might take you to the Anne Frank House that we toured earlier in the week. But, no. This took you to where Anne Frank LIVED when she was 3 -13 years old here in Amsterdam; where she went to school, bought her "diary" book, and ate ice cream. The ice cream part sealed the deal for me, so I planned for us to take the walk during our stay here.

Yesterday and tomorrow we won't be doing much walking, so this fit in nicely for today. It's 2.2 miles to her neighborhood from here. A plus is that we get to walk on streets we haven't been on before.

Our first stop is the Children's Monument to children who perished during the Nazi occupation. It is located in the park where children play every day, pretty close to Anne's old home.

Exhausted by now with our 2 mile walk (just kidding) we decide that it's time for lunch. Karen had the ham and cheese and I opted for the lasagna again (because the owner said her's was the best).

A couple of blocks away is the corner bookstore where Anne found her diary for her 13th birthday. We went inside, browsed through the books and found a collection of Anne Frank items.

We continued down that sidewalk you see straight ahead and we came to a nice park surrounded on 3 sides by apartments. In the park is a statue of Anne Frank. The flowers are from yesterday's ceremony honoring those fallen in WWII.

To the right of the statue is Anne's home from when she was 3 years old until she went into hiding in the attic of her father's office, 2 1/2 miles away, at age 13. It's there at Merwedeplein 37, with the flag of the Netherlands flying.

Anne walked or biked less than a half mile to her school, the 6th Montessori School. The school now also includes her name in theirs.

And lastly, on her way home from school, Anne would occasionally go to the Oasis Ice Cream store.