day 13: and then there was silence

Jerrain and I did not exchange many words this afternoon. No, we did not fight. We were moved and deep in thought after visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Walking through the memorial was like passing a massive cemetary with oversized tombs. I guess that was the idea. The 2711 tomb-like concrete stelae represented the innocent deaths of more than six million European Jews between 1933 and 1945. Unlike a regular memorial, the 19,073 square metre field of stelae of varying heights must be walked through. Nobody could pass through that memorial without being engaged on a certain level. It does not leave you a choice.

The information centre in the basement put faces and names to the rather impersonal memorial right above. It was sad to hear personal accounts and track the stories of families.

This was not an easy day. But I am sure Auschwitz will be worse.

• Location: Berlin, Germany
• Highlight: The free New Berlin tour is excellent. Finn, our enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable guide brought us around twenty over key sights in three and a half hours.
• Cost: €5 tip for free Berlin tour, €2.90 muffin and tea for breakfast, €2.80 croissant and coffee for lunch, €2.60 train, €3 computer in the hostel lobby, €3 currywurst
• People: Met many new girl friends - Our roommate Gougou or Madelaine from Nanjing China now studying in France, another roommate Kelly from Kansas USA, Jin Sha from Hunan China, and loads of Singaporeans!! Rachel who is studying in UPenn and her two girl friends, and four more people who are studying in Hamburg.

day 11: the movable bookcase

Jerrain wanted to sleep in so I ventured out on my own at 8 in the morning. The streets were empty, except with the few drunkards who have not found home or the locals cycling to work. It was nice to be out early (ask me again in a few hours after fatigue kicks in, and I might say otherwise).

First - and my priority - stop was Anne Frank Huis. Despite being 15 minutes early (it opens at 9am), there were already three American tourists in the queue.

No photography was allowed. But none was required. I would never be able to capture the Secret Annexe as well as Anne had described in her diary. The unfurnished house demonstrated how moving her words alone are. I cannot imagine how scary it must have been. And I pray that no one would ever have to go through that type of fear again. *world peace \V/*

To lift my spirits, we decided to get some authentic Dutch food. Open since 1945, Van Dobben serves excellent Kippensoep (chicken noodle soup) €6.50, Broodje Croquet €2.50, Broodje Pekelvlees (ham sandwich) €3.25, and others which we had no stomach space for.

I took a quick stroll around the Bloemenmarkt (flower market) and an endless shopping street before heading back to the hostel. It is our last night in Amsterdam and we were determined to check out the clubbing scene.

• Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Cost: €8.50 Anne Frank House, €6 Dutch lunch, €2.50 hot chocolate in a cafe.
• Highlight: Visiting Anne Frank Huis, and relating to a lot of what she wrote in the book