Anne Frank Huis

This museum was a sobering reminder
of the price of freedom,
the suffering caused by injustice and hatred
and the value of all human beings.

“We must put our feelings aside; we must be brave and strong, bear discomfort without complaint, do whatever is in our power and trust in God. One day this terrible war will be over. The time will come when we’ll be people again not just Jews!
Who has inflicted this on us?
Who has set us apart from all the rest?
Who has put us through such suffering?
It’s God who has made us the way we are,
but it’s also God who will lift us up again.”
-Anne



Westerkerk
Anne mentions being able to see this bell tower
from the attic of the secret annex.
During the war, at some point,
the bells were silenced
making it difficult for the Frank family
to remember the time of day.

More on Zolder 50

Zolder 50 was born out of a movement of churches called the “Great Commission Association” (GCM), whose primary vision is to plant reproducing churches around the world and to reach young, non-believing people with the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ.

In May 2001, a team of 30 college students from Bowling Green, Ohio and Fort Collins, Colorado, joined together to explore Amsterdam as a possible location to plant a church.
In August 2001, it was determined that God was indeed behind the idea to build and relocate a team of people to Amsterdam in order to start “Zolder 50.” Their primary vision is to know Jesus, to become like Him, and to make Him known.
Over the next year, a group of about 40 individuals including people from The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and the United States formed. In July 2002 the first team members began moving to Amsterdam to look for jobs, enroll in school and find housing.

Between July 2002 and March 2003 the entire team of about 40 people made its way to Amsterdam.
The first gathering of “Zolder 50” was aboard a canal boat. How cool is that?

Slowly the group grew and began meeting in the attic (“zolder) of an apartment building.
In October 2007, the community moved into its current facility, located at Herengracht 88.

Zolder 50

The church we have partnered with in Amsterdam is the Zolder 50.

It is located on this canal:It's actually a large, basement.
In this picture, Laura is standing
right next to the steps that lead down to it.

We really enjoyed meeting so many of the members
of Zolder 50 and
We really appreciated their willingness to host
us as their guests for the week.
As you can see from the pictures below,
it's a great place.
It's set up like a living room with couches and pillows
and then there are a lot of cafe tables around.
They also have a kitchen and showers
making it a multi-functional place.

Global Warming Could Pose a Problem Here

Did you know that...
A quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level and Amsterdam is actually 13 feet below?

At the beginning of it all, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these were connected by dykes or canals. As the ground level dropped, the canals grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level.

Amsterdam itself is built entirely on piles, huge stakes driven into the ground because the ground is so saturated. Central station has 6000 of them keeping it up.

Where are we?

Here's a map of the city for ya.

As you can see, there's a lot of water!
The center section in the middle and then the canals go around the city like an upside down U.
The canals that make this shape all end with Gracht.

• Singelgracht
• Herengracht (where the Zolder 50 is located)
• Keizersgracht
• Prinsengracht (where the Anne Frank House is located)

Gardening

As part of our service projects
we were able to spend 2 full days gardening
for different residents in the city.
Because we were able to approach the task as a team,
we were able to accomplish a lot
in a short amount of time.

The boys help out this elderly Dutch couple

The girls help out the Dutch lady in the middle
At the start of things



By the end
Erica is one determined lady!

Fear the Bell!

So Amsterdam is a biking town.

The cars will stop for you, the bikers won't.

There were so many different moments of laughter and outright frustration with this, you'll just have to ask one of us about it.

The girls took a trip through town for a gardening trip and well, let's just say it was an adventure!

I heard many different exclamations with the word "tourist" involved as we pedaled by.

So, do we look like pro's or what?

The point of this picture is not that it's out of focus.

Look at the street below:

There's a sidewalk, a biker's lane and the street.

So, if you start walking down the street while in Amsterdam, make sure you're on the sidewalk.

If you hear a little chiming bell, then you better move and quick.

Like we said, "Fear the bell!"

Everywhere you go there are bikes and bikes are locked up out in front of everything. If there's no rack, then they'll just start a pile of bikes locked up together.

There are approximately 4 bikes to each household in Amsterdam.

Bicycle Parking Garage

If you look directly over the top
of the bridge, that is the
bicycle parking garage







Yes, there are multiple levels to this!

Oosterdokseiland

The Oosterdokseiland (Eastern Dock Sea Island) is at the top of Amsterdam

The Dam Square

The Dam (pronounced Dom)

derives its name from its original function:

a dam on the Amstel River, hence also the name of the city.

Built in approximately 1270,

the dam formed the first connection between the settlements on the sides of the river.
As the dam was gradually built up it became wide enough for a town square,

which remained the core of the town developing around it.

It is the central market square.

This is Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808.

Next to it is the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk or New Church

which is used for Royal Coronations

And last, but not least, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Shh!

We weren't supposed to take this picture,

but who can resist?

This guy is decked out in metallic paint and craziness,

drawing a daily crowd and making some change.

De Waag

The Amsterdam Waag is a remnant of the former city walls in Amsterdam.

It was constructed in 1488 and was originally one of the city gares, the Sint Anthoniespoort. When the city wall disappeared, theNieuwmarkt (new market) was created around it.

Zuiderkerk

Zuiderkerk was built in the 17th Century.
Zuid, meaning South or Southern
and Kerk, meaning church.

This was the first Protestant church built in Amsterdam.

Monet painted a picture of this scene and it is hanging in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

During the Hongerwinter ("winter of hunger") of WWII, (1944-1945), because food was so scarce in the Netherlands, the church was used as a temporary morgue because people were dying faster than they could be buried.
In addition, three of Rembrandt's children were also buried here.

Just Because

Faces of the Neighborhood Barbeque

This event was put on by a small group from Zolder 50, the church we partnered with in Amsterdam.
One of the girls in the small group lives in this neighborhood and is an artist.
She painted pictures of people that live in each one of the buildings below and then hung it up on the side of the apartment buildings to represent the faces of the neighborhood.
Then the small group hosted a barbeque for all of the tenants. So, while the DJ played some reggae, our team helped by setting up the tent, barbequeing chicken & burgers and making coffee (it was cold remember?).
We had a great time helping out were inspired by the creativity of this event.
What a memorable way to reach out to our neighbors: the people that we see on a daily basis, yet hardly ever slow down long enough to have a conversation with them.
Added Bonus: *The faces can be see by the passing train commuters.*

Bloemenmarkt

The flower market is a bright spot in this city.

The flowers were beautiful here with lots of tulips of course.

The most perfect looking tulip bulbs you ever saw.

They also have a quite a few souvenir stands loaded with

Dutch shoes and Delftware of course.

Check out this building on the right.

Right above the entrance, it is all mosaic.

75% of the entire worlds flower bulb production comes from Netherlands

The bell tower of Muntplein

marks the end of the market.