Going Dutch

So you know we made it to Amsterdam (a week ago from my time of writing this!), and had a great evening cruising the canals that first day. The next day was devoted to two big museums, the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum.

We started out early so that we would be on time for our 9:30 entry appointment. Found a good bakery for starting the day. With the help of a friendly passerby, we found our way to the proper tram. I won't bore you again with further rhapsodies about the transport system, but I loved it.

As we arrived at the Van Gogh Museum, we noticed that the Concert-Gebouw was across the street from the museums set relatively closely to each other. What a splendid building!

We would have loved to attend a concert there, but missed a performance by a couple of days.

Across the street, in the Museum Kwartier, we first encountered the Stedelijk Museum, to which we did not go. Next in the quarter is the Van Gogh Museum, which of course we had planned to visit. We got there a few minutes before our appointed time, only to be told that there was an incident in the museum and we would have to step back to the Stedelijk Museum and await further word.

The waiting crowd grew exponentially larger as time passed and they evacuated everyone from the Van Gogh. Finally, they came around with flyers apologizing and explaining that this was a fire drill and anyone holding a copy of the flyer was entitled to a free coffee or tea once they were back in the building. That seemed nice, since we had already lost some of our time to this exercise. They told us to line up to get (back) into the museum. Then they told those of us who had not yet entered the museum to evacuate that line because that was for those who had already been in. They also took away from us that explanation flyer and let us know that we were not included in that free drink offer. Hmmph. Then they told we-who-had-not-been-in-yet to line up away from the line of those who were returning to their previous inside status. THEN they told us to line up behind the "inside" crowd (where we had been before). We did finally make it inside, after making friends in line with a family group of mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter from the Midwest (US). We were only about an hour off schedule, but as a former museum people-moving logistics person, I would certainly have planned that return very differently and more logically. But the whole exercise made for good people-watching. 😎

I'm just sorry I didn't take pictures... But Cindy did take some pics of a few unusual pieces by the great artist:

This was so different from VG's other work that it was startling. And then there was this:

More easily understood, I think, was his being drawn t o Japanese influences.

And of course we had to acknowledge that Van Gogh might have been the first master of multiple selfies:

He did a LOT of self portraits. According to the labels, this was because he couldn't afford to pay models. He also frequently painted a new painting on the back side of an earlier painting because he couldn't afford new canvases.

After getting our fill of Van Gogh (and not having some free tea in the cafe), we headed to the Rijksmuseum for an extravagant afternoon with the old masters. As has been the case with many of the places we have visited or will visit, we're missing major things by one or two days. It was the same, of course here, where the special Vermeer exhibition had just closed. 😢

There is an expansive plaza between the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum, where there are food booths, buskers, and lots of people. But I understand that the number of people we saw there is a small fraction of the numbers that will be descending on Europe in another few weeks. I guess we'll see them in Italy...

Anyway, the Rijksmuseum is another awesomely beautiful building...

...with fascinating detail and figures

Our first order of business upon arrival was to have lunch. The Rijks Restaurant has a Michelin star, so of course we needed to start our visit there. No debate on that. We ordered a lunch that featured local cuisine, including the bitterballen, which are called croquettes elsewhere. Here Cindy plays with her food:

And I admired the flatware/napkin presentation that we have seen in various assemblages during this trip.

Notice the soup: it's asparagus, and it's accompanied by a lovely sandwich--which was listed on the menu as "bread." There was cheese with that thar bread, and it was all delicious!

A couple of views from our table:

Keeping with the stone theme that seems as if it will run through this trip, I draw your attention to that stone installation in the middle of the floor;

And something else seen from our lunchtime table:

We finally had to leave the table and really look at art. But before we moved on, I photographed this--and then was surprised by the base once I looked at it close up:

The Rijksmuseum is a work of art in itself, as evidenced by these images that just don't begin to do justice to the Great Hall:

On to the Old Masters. We spent a couple of happy hours here just immersing ourselves in these exquisite paintings hung in impressively grand mini-galleries (that may be an oxymoron right there, but other words fail).

These galleries are as beautiful as the paintings they host. But the biggest draw in the entire section was Rembrandt'a Night Watch, which is currently being investigated and restored. We couldn't get any closer than the glass surround allowed, but it didn't lose any of its grandeur.

By the time we made it through this, we had just enough time to see the Medeival art before the museum closed.

As we left the museum, we encountered one of the strangest musical groups we've ever seen.

Really lovely. Cyndi Mulligan, might Howard and you have seen/heard that kind of stringed instrument?

That evening, we visited the Red Light District, because that's what you do on your first visit to this city, and found some interesting items as we wandered:

Belle: A tribute to sex workers everywhere

The 'golden torso' in the paving at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam's oldest building.

We had our only bad meal in that area, but on our way back home we found a terrific community bar that was just the place to counter the sort of slimy feel of the Red Light District.

The next day, which became an entirely different experience, started early--and it's way too late tonight to start that report.

This city gave us a diversity of experiences that still linger a week later, even though we've covered so much distance since then.