Yesterday I went to Amsterdam to drop-off my passport and visa documents at the American Consulate. My appointment was for 8.30am, so it was an early rise. I stayed over at a friends house in Zeist to knock-off an hour or so on the trip to Amsterdam. We left at 6.45am to arrive at the Arena Stadium, home of Ajax Amsterdam (soccer) and the Amsterdam Admirals (NFL Europe - Football). From their we used Hollands famous public transport (a day-pass is only EUR 6.30). We arrived at the Consulate at the desired time... The procedure is to get in line (there where about 20 people ahead of me) untill its your turn to identify yourself in front of a heavy gate. The guard will then let you in a few at a time followed by a bag-check and a first security-check. This clears you for entrance onto the Consulate grounds where you wait in line again. Another security-check together with a check of your documents gets you in. You go to the booth to present your case, pay any consulair fees and get (electronically) fingerprinted. The last step is to hand-over the return envelop for the passport and the new visa and you are done. It all took about 70 minutes. Not bad for a Consulate...
The Consulate is located right off the Mueseum-square with world-famous museums like the National Museum (Rijksmuseum) and the Van Gogh museum. It is a short tram-ride away from the city-center. My friends Pascal and Climmy came with me to Amsterdam and we visited the Anne Frank House. Coming from Holland it is almost a shame that both Pascal and myself had never been. It is a very impressive musuem since you walk through the rooms where the Frank family lived for the duration of their hiding. It goes without saying that this museum should be on everybodies list of things to do while in Amsterdam.
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I heard a report that Anne Frank's diary was taken from her house this week. Any ideas where it went?
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