RR couple returns from interesting trip to Israel

Editor's Note: This is part one of a three part series.

Submitted by Susan Douglas
What a fantastic trip and value for your money!
When Mark and I booked our trip last July many people were concerned over our safety, as well as to “why” we would go there! We have travelled extensively over the past 36 yrs., and bar none, this trip was the most historical and meaningful to us! We returned the end of Nov. and since people constantly want to know how it was, we’ll try to highlight the important aspects for you.
To begin with we booked online with an agency we use often, vacationstogo.com.
The trip was called 11 day Affordable Israel, First Class, and within our means. We decided to add a few extra days on our own at the end of the tour. We quickly checked several flights and decided on one from Int’ll Falls, Mn. a day early, and where we could leave our vehicle “free of charge” for the duration.
Part One-The Netherlands (Holland)-Anne Frank House
Nov. 12th, 2008 we departed from the Falls to Minneapolis, and on to Amsterdam, for a nine hour stopover. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised at the gorgeous Christmas decorations in the airport, which seemed more like a modern mall. There were large red and blue trees everywhere, and enormous wreaths hanging from the ceilings in huge displays of splendour. We made our way to the information desk, exchanged money into Euros as well as Shekels, picked up a tourist guide complete with map, and headed for the GVB train station. ($14.00 return each) The fast train is modern, smooth, and quiet, only a 20 min. ride to the city. Without any problems, (dodging bicycles instead of cars,) we found our way down the cobbled brick walkways, along the tall 3-4 storey narrow houses and water canals, to the Jam (Opekta, a jelling agent) Warehouse where Anna Frank was hidden during WWII. (Cost 2 for $15.00 Euro entry fee) Anne Frank was one of the millions of victims of the persecution of the Jews during the war. Her family had fled from Germany to the Netherlands in 1933 when Hitler installed an anti-Jewish regime there. In May 1940, the German army occupied the Netherlands forcing Jews into hiding. The Warehouse looks much like the others surrounding it, just as tall and on the canal, with a large tree in front. The Frank family took up residence here on July 6, 1942. They were later joined by the van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer, for a total of eight people.
The story and pictures of Anne unfolded as we walked through the building on the lower levels. The building itself is pretty empty other than the videos and neatly scripted words on the walls, quotes, from Anne’s diary. After more than two years in hiding, they were betrayed and deported. The Nazis ordered the emptying of the annex and all the furniture was hauled away. For this reason, it was Otto Franks’ wish that it remain unfurnished. Here, Anne’s original diary is on display under glass. It was first published in 1947 and has been translated into 65 languages.
We climbed the narrow, very steep stairway, to the top floor, ducking behind the large swinging bookcase ,devised to hide the secret entry to the hiding place. Anne’s bedroom windows were still darkened with dense semi transparent glassine paper and the walls were covered with movie star pictures, postcards of the Royal Dutch Family and the English Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, that Anne had pasted to decorate. It was cold in Anne’s room, and yet it was lovely outside, only Nov. so I can imagine how cold it was during the winter months. It was also a sad place knowing how this family struggled to survive. Anne wrote, “Countless friends and acquaintances have been taken off to a dreadful fate. Night after night, green and gray military vehicles cruise the streets. It’s impossible to escape their clutches unless you go into hiding”. Nov. 19, 1942
Peter’s van Pels’ board game that he received on his birthday is still on display. It’s sad to think all the while they hid, life went on outside; people throwing bread to the swans and ducks swimming in the canal, and people going about their regular duties.
Anne writes: “The English radio says they’re being gassed. I feel terribly upset.”
Oct. 9, 1942
On Aug. 4, 1944, the German Police received an anonymous phone call revealing the Frank’s hiding place. All eight people in hiding and helpers Kleiman and Kugler, were arrested and imprisoned, however, all the helpers survived the war. Only Anne’s father, Otto Frank, survived the Auschwitz extermination camp and died in 1980 at the age of 91 yrs. Anne contracted typhus and died just a few days after her sister Margot (also typhus) in March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
To read more on the Anne Frank House visit www.annefrank.org
This was a wonderful experience as I had read Anne’s book, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, along with Corrie Tin Boone’s “The Hiding Place”, as recently as this year. I felt it was also a prelude to the Holocaust Museum which was yet to come in Jerusalem, Israel. Following our tour we walked slowly back to Central Station and booked a Lover’s Cruise throughout the canals of the Netherlands. We were delighted with the various houseboats lining the waterways. We enjoyed a delicious meal of grilled lamb chops & ribs at a delightful Argentina type restaurant, complete with thatched roofs and candlelight, before heading back to the airport for our flight to Israel.