Day Eight of London, Amsterdam, Paris
Thursday
I will not lie to you, it's been a long run already, and we've still got another 6 days to go. How terrible, right? 6 more days in Europe. I'll stop complaining.
Anyway, we woke up this morning a little late. We had booked tickets into the Van Gogh Museum for 10a and when the first alarm went off at 830a, I assaulted the snooze button. Jet lag has really pushed my sleeping time back late, typically between 2-3a. So when we finally got rolling, we stepped outside to find it raining. Not as bad as London, but bad enough to slow everything down. We got to the tram station and the first tram didn't show up, so we were delayed by close to 5 minutes. I was a little worried they wouldn't let us in. I'm always worried about that sort of thing. It was no big deal and they let us in without complaint.
The Van Gogh Museum is the largest collection of the artist's work in the world, I think I remember it being close to 275 of his paintings under one roof. He was, of course, Dutch, so the country takes tremendous pride in his life and art. We did something I almost never do and purchased the audio tour (an ipad sort of thing that hung around our neck with headphones). It gave so much context to his art, I am no longer badmouthing those things. Sure, you'll look like a tourist, but you'll enjoy your experience so much more, particularly in Paris where all the card are in French.
The collection was stunning. So many wonderful pieces. And though I had visited this museum once before, I found myself rediscovering pieces and connecting with the art in a whole new way. This trip has been such a wonderful opportunity to experience Amsterdam. We spent a solid 3 hours in the museum, going through all 3 floors and drinking in the experience. When we finished the collection, we made our way across the park to the Rijksmuseum.
The Rijks is THE Dutch Art Museum. It's housed in a late 19th century building that looks every bit as imposing and important as it is. Again we picked up the audio tour and began walking through the collection. The highlights of the walk would certainly include multiple Ver Meer (another Dutch master) and several Rembrandts. The Dutch collections all focus heavily on the contribution of Dutch artists, if that's your style, you can't beat Amsterdam. The Nightwatch, a massive Rembrandt that you'd recognize, is currently under restoration, but even that was on display.
After several hours in the museum, we headed out into the rain and decided to hit up one of the spots our guide from yesterday, Florentin, recommended. We went to Foodhallen, sort of a food court with trendy food and beer. I think food court is probably putting the wrong idea in your head. Think more of a food truck spot. That would be closer, I think. Anyway, we both ordered European style hotdogs (so so) and some fries (very good). Our experience was good enough we'd probably do it again.
Connected to the food area were a group of artistnal type shops, craft goods, prints, clothing, posters, that sort of thing. We walked around but didn't purchase anything. I won't lie, the prices were a little high, but I suspect it was because of the area and the aesthetic of the place. We headed out into the rain and onto the tram to head home.
But when we got close to the tram station, we realized we were only a mile or so away from the apartment. The rain was dying down, so we decided to walk back instead. Amsterdam does that to you, honestly. It's so pleasant and enticing, people smile and greet each other, the drivers are polite to pedestrians, it's wonderful. We walked home and were so happy from the experience. Amsterdam is spectacular.
- Dan
I will not lie to you, it's been a long run already, and we've still got another 6 days to go. How terrible, right? 6 more days in Europe. I'll stop complaining.
Anyway, we woke up this morning a little late. We had booked tickets into the Van Gogh Museum for 10a and when the first alarm went off at 830a, I assaulted the snooze button. Jet lag has really pushed my sleeping time back late, typically between 2-3a. So when we finally got rolling, we stepped outside to find it raining. Not as bad as London, but bad enough to slow everything down. We got to the tram station and the first tram didn't show up, so we were delayed by close to 5 minutes. I was a little worried they wouldn't let us in. I'm always worried about that sort of thing. It was no big deal and they let us in without complaint.
The Van Gogh Museum is the largest collection of the artist's work in the world, I think I remember it being close to 275 of his paintings under one roof. He was, of course, Dutch, so the country takes tremendous pride in his life and art. We did something I almost never do and purchased the audio tour (an ipad sort of thing that hung around our neck with headphones). It gave so much context to his art, I am no longer badmouthing those things. Sure, you'll look like a tourist, but you'll enjoy your experience so much more, particularly in Paris where all the card are in French.
The collection was stunning. So many wonderful pieces. And though I had visited this museum once before, I found myself rediscovering pieces and connecting with the art in a whole new way. This trip has been such a wonderful opportunity to experience Amsterdam. We spent a solid 3 hours in the museum, going through all 3 floors and drinking in the experience. When we finished the collection, we made our way across the park to the Rijksmuseum.
The Rijks is THE Dutch Art Museum. It's housed in a late 19th century building that looks every bit as imposing and important as it is. Again we picked up the audio tour and began walking through the collection. The highlights of the walk would certainly include multiple Ver Meer (another Dutch master) and several Rembrandts. The Dutch collections all focus heavily on the contribution of Dutch artists, if that's your style, you can't beat Amsterdam. The Nightwatch, a massive Rembrandt that you'd recognize, is currently under restoration, but even that was on display.
After several hours in the museum, we headed out into the rain and decided to hit up one of the spots our guide from yesterday, Florentin, recommended. We went to Foodhallen, sort of a food court with trendy food and beer. I think food court is probably putting the wrong idea in your head. Think more of a food truck spot. That would be closer, I think. Anyway, we both ordered European style hotdogs (so so) and some fries (very good). Our experience was good enough we'd probably do it again.
Connected to the food area were a group of artistnal type shops, craft goods, prints, clothing, posters, that sort of thing. We walked around but didn't purchase anything. I won't lie, the prices were a little high, but I suspect it was because of the area and the aesthetic of the place. We headed out into the rain and onto the tram to head home.
But when we got close to the tram station, we realized we were only a mile or so away from the apartment. The rain was dying down, so we decided to walk back instead. Amsterdam does that to you, honestly. It's so pleasant and enticing, people smile and greet each other, the drivers are polite to pedestrians, it's wonderful. We walked home and were so happy from the experience. Amsterdam is spectacular.
- Dan
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