Amsterdam, Day 2

Today we woke to the sound of rain on the deck.  We had planned a trip to the Rijksmuseum, a good choice for a rainy day.

Central Station

We began, however, by checking with the railroad to determine whether or not our return trip was in any jeopardy (since we were supposed to go back via Bremen).  We got assurances that the trains were all back in service... we shall see!

Our friend Ron had told us that you needed to watch out for bikes in Amsterdam.  Boy was he right... they are everywhere. And they have come up with some interesting ways to park them.

every sidewalk

every ramp

5 ramps of bike parking

From Central Station we began exploring.  We purchased tickets for the Hop-on/Hop-off boats and bus.  We get 24 hours, so from 11 today until 11 tomorrow... but they gave us an additional 2 hours, so we can spend the morning continuing to explore.

The first thing we saw was the largest floating Chinese restaurant in Europe.

Next was the NEMO Science Museum, the largest science center in the country.  Everyone thinks the building looks like a ship... the architect says it's only a coincidence.  He was trying to make a statement that you should always be moving upward.   RIGHT!

Next to it is the Maritime Museum.

On the other side of the channel was St. Nicholas church, and this building that appeared to have a windmill on its roof.

St. Nicholas

We started down the Amstel River.  Near the bay was a watch tower protecting the city that the locals turned into a bell tower once its original use was no longer needed.

In the warehouse district we passed by one of Amsterdam's diamond centers -- this one offers tours!

(But not samples.)








Just after than, we passed this little complex that had put a park out front.  Right on the corner, an egret was ready to go.  See the ladder on the side?  The city is proud of the efforts to make the canals swimmable... they even say the queen has swum in the canals!

This is one of the sluice gates that helps with the efforts to clean the water.  They can dam up the natural flow of the river and get circulation through the canals.  The gate may still get used, but the watchman shack has been turned into a pub.

All over Amsterdam we saw swans.

This is a controversial building... they combined the Opera House with City Hall.  One use is at night, the other during the day.  Some people call it the Denture Building because of its white panels.

Here is a drawbridge.  This one goes to the Amsterdam Hermitage.  Like its more famous Russian cousin, this too is an art gallery.

This is the Royal Carre Theater and another of the sluice gates.  It is an interesting combination -- fine arts and river plumbing on the same property.

At this point we left the Amstel River and turned into the outer-most of the concentric ring canals.  This one used to have twists and turns -- the city straightened it out.  Unlike most of what we had been seeing, this has sloping tree-lined banks.  It is a popular area to live.







We passed by one of the famous landmarks, the original Heineken Brewery.  The beer is now brewed out of town -- they give tours here, and, of course, tastings.

Our goal for the day, the Rijksmuseum, came into view.  We stopped for lunch before the museum, so caught a picture of one of our boats passing the restaurant complex. You can see how low the tour boats are to get through the canal bridges.

Just outside the museum was a small gallery.  We were intrigued by the statue out front.

The tour begins.  They have a very detailed floor plan... it took a few wrong turns before we got to the elevator and we went right to the top floor where Rembrandt's The Night Watch is on display.  The area was crowded, but people moved through pretty well.

They have divided up the collection by centuries and you can see items reflecting the strong Navy the Dutch had, the Asian influence brought by the Dutch East India Company, and ties the country had with France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The Explosion of the Spanish Flagship in the Battle of Gibraltar

It was fun to see some of the paintings we had seen in art history classes.

Utrecht, Banquet Still Life

Frans Hals, The Meager Company

Rembrant, The Syndics
This reminds me of Dutch Masters Cigars!

Amid the masters, there were a few whimsical items.  This screaming child sculpture was on the wall.  The boy had been stung by a bee, according to the caption.






Here's a still life with a dead frog.

And can someone tell me how you can use this glass?

The alcohol consumption of the Dutch was the subject of at least one gallery.

The Topers

Hals, The Merry Drinker

At the west end of the building they have a gallery that looks like a cathedral with vaulted ceilings and stained glass.  There is even a portrait of Rembrandt in stained glass.

Then there are a few more Rembrandts:

his son Titus, in monk's robe

self-portrait, as Saint Paul

And we made sure to see the Van Gogh self portrait and two of his French landscapes.

Square Saint-Pierre at Sunset

Hill at Montmartre

Outside the museum there is a group of letters spelling out I AMsterdam.  People climb on them or take selfies with this as a background.  Scott's in there somewhere.

Under one of the arches below the museum, this quintet was playing... very impressive.

On the way home, the boat passed the cathedral in the square opposite Anne Frank's house.

That was it for our tour... sorry about the darkness of some of the photographs.  It was a dark and dreary day.