I am planning a trip to Amsterdam. My plan is to purchase Dutch products for gifts. I have an hour or two at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for a layover. I noticed in the past there were tulip bulbs for sale, which I thought would make a perfect gift for friends and families. But I’d heard that they are not of the highest quality and sometimes don’t even grow. What is the best place in Holland to purchase the bulbs?
— Linda of Vancouver, Washington

Dear Linda –

Schiphol generally tops the list for the world’s best airport shopping, in particular for chocolates, Stroopwafle, Dutch Genever Gin, Gouda and Edam cheeses, Delft Pottery – but definitely not tulip bulbs, often old and difficult to grow.

The most well-known flower bulb ‘sanctuaries’ in the Netherlands can be found in the region south of Amsterdam, in the uppermost part of the province of North Holland, and in a section of the province of Frevoland.

Linda, will you be visiting Holland in spring? If so, make sure to put Keukenhof Gardens on your list; you’ll be surrounded by a kaleidescape of blooming Dutch tulips at the most famous and largest flower park in the world. Keukenhof’s spectacle of 320,0000 square meters of flowers is a short and easy drive from Amsterdam, and it is essential to plan your visit in advance. AND YES, this is the place to purchase tulip bulbs.

Tulips grow best in maritime areas, preferably not further away than 30-50 miles from the coast. In the Netherlands the area most like this is near the North Sea. The best types of soil are the sandy-clay grounds in the provinces of South and North Holland, Flevoland and the Noordoostpolder. In particular, the maritime climate and the vicinity of water are optimum conditions for growing tulips. I noticed that you live in Vancouver, Western Washington State, which is close to the Skagit Valley. Once a year there is the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which should prove to be an easy location to access the bulbs when not visiting the Nethlerlands.

Dear Dutch-American –

Why are there so many bicyclists in the Netherlands when the nation has public transit, automobiles, trucks and buses?
— Barry of Omaha, Nebraska

Dear Barry –

The Dutch can afford automobiles, but the price of petrol is over $9/gallon. City fathers have made parking cars in town centers highly expensive, making it much more affordable to simply pedal into the cities. Plus, over 26% of the Netherlands is under sea level, and for centuries the Dutch have battled against the ocean water with a system of polders, dykes and weirs. This has created a stunning and unique flat as a pannekoeken (pancake) landscape of reclaimed land across the country, ideal for bicycling. As one of the world’s most forward thinking democracies, Dutch citizens are highly educated, aware that unregulated fossil fuel could not only damage their health, but also the life of our own planet. I’ve noticed that many Dutch people find it perplexing that ignorant far-right Americans consider monetary profiteering more important than the health of their own children. Please note: When strolling through a popular tourist destination, it is the bicyclist who have the right aways on the pathways — so keep your wits about you and be quick on your feet.

Dear Dutch-American –

My time in Amsterdam is far too limited to see all that needs to be seen. What is your pick for the city’s best museum?
— Wendy of Portland, Maine

Dear Wendy –

This is a win-win situation. You really can’t go wrong.

MUSEUM SQUARE is a brief tram ride from Amsterdam’s city center, home to the RIJKSMUSEUM, which includes the works of Rembrandt and Vermeer.

The VAN GOGH MUSEUM is short walk away, and contains the world’s largest collection of paintings and drawings by the artist.

JOODS HISTORIC MUSEUM consists of four adjoining synagogues, linked by internal walkways to form one large museum. The synagogues were central to Jewish life until WWII, and were restored in the 1980s. Most Dutch tourist who visit the museum today are not Jewish, and consider the museum a part of their own history, as well.

ZUIDERZEE MUSEUM in Enkhuizen, an hour away from Amsterdam by train, recreates local Dutch village life throughout history.

“You can always give something, even if it is only kindness.” – Anne Frank.

ANNE FRANK HOUSE & ADJOINING MUSEUM: During World War II, over 103,000 Europeans of Jewish ancestry were deported from the Netherlands to Nazi concentration camps. The most famous was a 13-year-old German girl named Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank. In 1942, the Frank and van Pels families went into hiding in the secret upstair’s annex of a canal building in Amsterdam. For two years, Anne worked on her diary, giving an account of growing up during one of the most inhumane periods of modern history. She made her last entry three days before being arrested. Anne and her older sister Margot died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before the concentration camp was liberated. The heroic Amsterdamer, Miep Gies, who had helped to hide and feed the Frank and van Pels families at the risk of her own life, found Anne’s manuscripts and gave them to Otto Frank, Anne’s father, the only family member who had survived the concentration camps. With the utmost respect for the privacy of the Frank family, Ms. Gies never once opened the manuscript. In 1947 the first Dutch edition of the diary, “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” appeared. Since then the diary has been published in more than 55 languages. Anne’s hiding place is the most visited site in the Netherlands. Today you can retrace her steps where she entered the secret annex hidden behind the bookcase.

Meet our Dutch-American: Deb Roskamp

This installment of our advice column comes to you from T-Boy photographer Deb Roskamp, a first generation Dutch-American, whose ancestral home hails from Andijk in the province of North Holland, the place of her mother’s birth

Readers, feel free to ask our staff any questions regarding their ancestral homeland of your choice at ed****@tr**********.com . T-Boy has an illustrious team of writers ranging from British-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Nigerian-Americans, Norwegian-Americans, and more, who have an acute understanding of their ancestral homeland.

The post Dear Dutch-American by Deb Roskamp appeared first on Traveling Archive.

• 7 Essential Movies From French Filmmaking Legend Robert Bresson (Collider)
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• A cruise line’s arrival at the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic coincided with the local tradition of slaughtering pilot whales, shocking passengers. (The Messenger)
• One in seven motorists say anxiety affects their driving (Avia.com)
• Finn: Name Meaning, Popularity and Info (BabyNames.com)
• World’s Best Vineyards 2023: Top 50 (Youtube.com)
• 10 Years Ago: George Zimmerman is found not guilty of killing Trayvon Martin (NYmag.com)
• Guess Which Word Each U.S. State Looked Up More Than Any Other (Dictionary.com)
• Why Was a Book about Anne Frank Banned in Florida? (katiecouric.com)
• Booze, black-tie balls and a hell of a lot of sex – the secrets of Army life (telegraph.co.uk)

The post Summer: Driving, Cruising, Vineyards & Banned Books appeared first on Traveling Archive.

1 Anne Frank’s Childhood Friend Recalls Their Years Before the Holocaust – Smithsonian Magazine

2 Will AI destroy the music industry? – theweek.com

3 Guide to the Scottish Highlights – tripsavvy.com

4 FDR’S First Fireside Chat: March 12, 1933 – Miller Center

5 How Native Hawaiians Have Fought for Sovereignty – history.com

6 Common Causes of Foot Pain – verywellhealth.com

7 The Jewish Refugees Who Fled Nazi Germany—Then Returned to Fight – history.com

8 Costa Rica Wildlife – Meet the Red Brocket Deer – ticotimes.net

9 Movement and Nature’s Patterns of Leadership – kathleenallen.net

10 The 10 Best Films of 1971 – Traveling Boy

“If you want to make a documentary you should automatically go to the fiction, and if you want to nourish your fiction you have to come back to reality.” – Jean-Luc Godard

The post Spring: History, Health, Film & Wildlife appeared first on Traveling Archive.

What can you say about Anne Frank,  one of the most famous people of the last century, that hasn’t already been said? Her diary, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” contains the ruminations of a young German Jewish girl who went into hiding in Amsterdam in 1944 with her family and friends desperate to escape the Nazi slaughter of Jews.  Living in cramped quarters for two years, this energetic young lady kept her sanity by writing to “Dear Kitty” in her diary every day, recording her hopes, fears, dreams, philosophy, and even her optimistic outlook, as well notes on the dawning of her sexual awakening.  As recorded history has shown us,  the Nazis eventually found the hiding place and everyone was arrested and carted off to concentration camps where Anne and her sister Margo died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen camp just several weeks before the allies liberated the camps. Her father Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the family, posthumously published his daughter’s  incisive wit, witticisms, and observations contained in her diary in 1947.

First printed in Dutch, and subsequently translated into 67 languages, this slim book has sold over 31 million copies.  A  play, based on Anne’s diary, made its Broadway debut in October 1955 and ran for 717 performances, winning a Pulitzer Prize.  Subsequently, it was made into a film directed by George Stevens, winning three Academy Awards, including the Best Supporting Actress nod going to Shelley Winters, who donated her Oscar to the Anne Frank Museum.  The film is listed as eighteenth in AFI’s Top100 of the most inspiring American films.

So, I’ll pose that question again: What can you say about Anne Frank that hasn’t already been said?  In an attempt to alter the famous narrative, “Anne,” currently on stage at the Museum of Tolerance’s Pelz Theatre, is a fantasized interpretation written by Jessica Durlacher and Leon de Winter, based on Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl adapted by Nick Blaemire.   Directed by Eve Brandstein, in this version, Anne (Ava Lalezarzadeh) survives the concentration camp and is now a young lady in her twenties determined to get her story published.  She meets with a publisher (Timothy P. Brown) who is interested in her experience. With the ensuing action sticking very closely to the original text as penned by Anne, he silently observes the events unfolding on stage replicating the life and times as experienced by the people co-existing in that infamous hiding place.

The ensemble does a creditable acting job in bringing these characters to life.  The cast consists of Rob Brownstein as Anne’s dad Otto,  Andrea Gwynnel as Edith Frank, Marnina Schon as Margot Frank, Aylam Orian as Herman van Pels, and Mary Gordon Murray as Mrs. van Pels and Miep, the good Samaritan who provides the group with food and hope.  Tony DeCarlo also plays multiple roles, with Kevin Matsumoto playing Peter van Pels, the young boy with whom Anne falls in love. Technically, given the limited space and production budget, Desma does a good job with her set design depicting the Frank family home in Amsterdam and the Annex hiding place where the inhabitants try to live some semblance of a normal life.  Other production values consist of Lighting Design by Ian James, Derek Christiansen’s Projection & Sound Design, and Florence Kemper Bunzel’s Costume Design.

This June, Anne Frank would have celebrated her 90^th birthday.  Just think what the world would have benefited from her talent had she survived.  Just think also about what 6,000,000 murdered Jews could have contributed to humanity.  With the world Jewish population at around 13.3 million, almost close to half live are divided between America and Israel, which has become a world leader in such fields as science, technology, medicine, chemistry, physics, agriculture, and water conservation.*

Today, the powerful “Never Again” battle cry has tiny cracks in it given the escalation of anti-Semitic acts being committed around the world and at home, sprouting from the explosive, divisive political climate permeating our country.   We need not look any further than “The Diary of Anne Frank” to be reminded of the potential catastrophic consequences of singling out a group of people and making them “the enemy of the people.”

*Israel’s top 45 greatest inventions of all time | ISRAEL21c

New Israeli Cancer Vaccine Triggers Response In 90% Of Cancer

“ANNE”
Pelz Theatre
Simon Wiesenthal Center
9786 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Run:
Sundays:  3:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Mondays: 8:00 pm
Closing:  Monday, July 22, 2019

Tickets:
General Admission:  $40
Seniors: $25
Students:  $20
Family Pack:  $100 (two adults and up to three children)

310.772.2505 or www.museumoftolerance.com

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