Amsterdam Friday May 10 - Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum exterior

Stood in the freezing, windy line for the Rijksmuseum at 8:20AM this morning--waited until 9:20 to enter. Magnificent building, but the collection wasn't impressive. A few Vermeers, Rembrandts--the famous “Night Watch”--but altogether the offerings seemed sparse and the rooms very crowded. The high point of my visit was in the overpriced cafe where I sat across from two friends, one Dutch and one Brit, with whom I enjoyed a lively conversation. I learned the correct pronounciation of tot suis (essentially, “see you later”), but don’t ask--its not pronounced like its spelled. It seems the Amsterdam tourism bureau is doing a better job than the museums deserve. It makes me appreciate San Francisco all the more--we have some excellent works from all periods.

My favorite painting in the Rijksmuseum

After being clued in to the transit realities (she can be taught!), I hopped back on the #10 tram to Fredericksplein and walked a few blocks south to the Albert de Cuyp street market. Right away, I scored a universal adaptor for 5 euro that works here with the fat Dutch plugs. It was fun to walk around and check things out. The shoes were plastic--fake suede, horrible--and the scarves, clothing and material were all of the cheapest polyester. Netherland is not a fashion capital, that's for sure. Had my third herring sandwich, bones and all--I think I'm done with herring for a while. The fish at the marketstall was bright-eyed and firm-fleshed, and the produce looked strong and healthy too--a good place to cook your own.

Fish stall, de Cuyp market

I took the tram to Weesperplein and caught the Metro to Waterlooplein. I don't know what it is about this place, but I always get turned around. A couple of German tourists helped me out with their map and got me going in the right direction. I finaly found the bloody Rembrandthuis. I was shocked to see that I had walked right past it the day before without even noticing. It’s right down the street from the dreadful Argentenian restaurant with the privy soup-water. I did the short tour; my feet were killing me after days of abuse. Rembrandt evidently bought high, and the place bankrupted him; his financial woes were partly brought on by a mistress miffed that their years-long domestic arrangement didn't end in marriage. Serves him right, the old lech--he traded her in for a younger model. The most interesting part of the house was his collection room, filled with statuary and various specimens, reproduced exactly from the records used when the house was auctioned off.

Rembrandt looks somewhat confused in this early self-portrait

Made my way back to the metro courtesy of a very strong cup of coffee, and spent the trip back talking to four young, adorable christian evangelists. They did ask me if I knew god, and I told them we had met many times.

There was a market going on outside A’damsepoort, the shopping area next to the Hostelle--smaller scale, same junk, and a lot of paler faces rushing back from work and those silent office buildings. On the way back, I picked up a chicken leg and roast veges for dinner (excellent value --less than 5 euro, and really good quality)  at the deli next to Bakker Bart, where I picked up my morning sausage roll.

Tomorrow, I prep for Naples. 70 degrees and raining. How am I going to do this?

Bike lanes and bike parking lots--you gotta love this!

To see more of Amsterdam, go to the travel image page on my website: aboutjoannemiller.com

Amsterdam, Thurs. May 9 – Van Gogh Go

For more of Vincent's work (we ARE on a first-name basis),
see my travel website images: aboutJoanneMiller.com

“Avoid the lines, purchase your ticket in advance” just isn’t true. I had a 9AM ticket entry (the first of the day), and I waited outside with 200 other people for more than 30 minutes. Then we were all admitted at once. Initially, it was really difficult to get near any of the paintings because there were so many people, but the way the new modern museum is laid out on several floors, visitors spread out in a few minutes.

I realized it’s not just the extraordinary colors and unique brushwork that draw me to Van Gogh (which the Dutch pronounce van hockh)—I actually had a crush on him, based on his many self-portraits. If I had met him in my younger days, I probably would have fallen for his intensity and manic energy and excused away the depression and pyschotic episodes as artistic temperment. One thing for sure: painting was his life. It’s sad that it enriches us, but made him a wandering pauper during his brief life. I wonder what he would think nowadays, as his face and work have become a brand to sell T-shirts and mouse pads. He’d probably cut off the other ear.

One of Vincent's experiment with pointillism

I planned to go to the Rijksmuseum in the afternoon, but even with my prepaid ticket, it was a three-hour wait (yes, three hours). I didn’t find out until later that May 9 is Ascension Day, a national holiday; locals and tourists were all vying for a spot. The city’s most famous museums surround a three-block long plaza called Museumplein (pronounced museum plane—Dutch translates fairly easily); a massive lunch place on Museumplein was full of merry, beer-swilling tourists. 

The Museumplein's block-long fountain

I opted instead for a hearty sandwich at a nearby cafe recomended to me by one of the museum guides: Vrolyk, on the corner of Hobbesmustraat and the canal, just down the street from the Rijksmuseum.

After lunch, I wandered around in circles, thinking I was moving towards the de Cuyp market in the section of town called di Pijp, and discovered that I ended up back at the Rijksmuseum at 2:15. The wait had dwindled to one hour. I decided to try again on Friday morning, since my ticket wasn’t for a particular time. I had bought a 48-hour chipkaart for the metro, which enabled me to ride anywhere on Metro transportation during that time period at no extra charge—a really good deal for $17.

Buildings near my hostel

                                                                                The architecture of Amsterdam is modern, creative, innovative. Of course, so much of the city suffered bombing in WWII that it rose almost from whole cloth in many areas. The layout is in a series of semi-circular canals fanning out from Central Station; I don’t think I’ve ever had so many opportunities to get lost.

Main Library interior

                                                                                It was too late to visit Rembrandt’s home, so I rode up to Cental Station and saw the incredible main library with a citywide view from the restaurant on the top floor. Then I wandered down to Waterlooplein, the old Jewish neighborhood, and walked around ...the streets were very crowded and the shops were interesting—a bit of hippie flair here and there, a hand-made candy shop, a few second-hand stores, and a few “coffee shops”—no, I didn’t sample the merchandise. I was already lost in Amsterdam. Not only is marijuana legal here, there were a wallful of herbal “trips”—legal chemical mixtures that mimic LSD, MDMA, and a lot of things that didn’t exist in my experimental days.

View from the top floor of the library

As I prepared to enter the Metro station, I realized my Metro chipkaart was gone right out of my pocket where I had put it when I began walking to the station. Fortunately, that was the only thing IN my pocket. I remembered getting bumped by a short man on one of the busy streets. Or, it could have fallen out when I was reaching for my camera, or when I went to the bathroom, but  I think I would have noticed...still, it was gone and I was upset, attached to the insignificant money value--about $7 left on the card—but really mad at myself for being careless. 

I ended up getting lost again, ate a a truly terrible Argentinian restauant (out of fish soup, she offered chicken soup of a sort...almost all broth and teensy pieces of chicken with tortilas).

I walked back to Central Station and bought a new 25-hour card that expired 7:30 Friday night. When I told the policeman at the station my pocket had been picked, he made a wry face, especially when I demonstrated the bumping part. He hears this all the time. I usually pride myself on how careful I am with things I don’t want to lose, and wouldn’t have even had the card in my pocket normally. Its a lession learned, pretty cheaply.

For more of Vincent's extraordinary work, see my travel website images: aboutJoanneMiller.com