Sept 11, Amsterdam

By patmarkovich20152 hours ago

This morning we were up early to have our breakfast and then off to a tour at the Van Gogh Museum.

The day started a bit drizzly, so we donned our rain gear and headed out for a pleasant 30-45 walk to the museum. Located only a block from the Rijksmuseum, it was easy for us to find, made even better by no rain along the way!

The house in the middle is where our B and B is located. While the front of the house looks quite modern, the back, where we are is very reminiscent of sea gone by. Space is certainly at a premium in these homes!

Once we arrived at the Van Gogh museum, we checked in, received our tour badge and met up with our guide Lotte.

The tour itself took about 50 minutes and was filled with insights in Van Gogh’s troubled life and the evolution of his painting style.

Vincent did over 35 self portraits. We were told that he was fascinated in developing his portraiture style, but couldn’t afford a model, only a mirror!

As we strolled through the gallery we saw painters and images that inspired his work. He was a very prodigious painter, capturing study after study, never satisfied with his work. The odd time when he was satisfied, he would sign his painting.

You can see his signature on the vase. His good friend Gaugin loved these sunflowers, and it is said that Van Gogh painted these to decorate his friend’s room where they shared a space in Arles for a short time.

We also learned that Van Gogh was very influenced by Japanese artists doing wood panel paintings. A few distinct things he picked up from this style was dark outlines, no shadows, minimal perspective etc. you see this influence in his works.

While Van Gogh painted over 400 paintings in he lifetime (72 in his last 70 days before his death) he only sold 1 for a decent amount.

Van Gogh’s only sale during his life. This painting is part of a collection in Moscow.

Upon his death, his brother Theo continued to try to get his brother the recognition he deserved. But unfortunately, Theo died shortly after Vincent. Theo’s wife, carried on his wishes and brought Vincent’s name to honour and was able to sell some of his works for substantially more money. She kept many of Vincent’s paintings for her son, and later bequeathed the entire collection to the city of Amsterdam to be displayed to all.

After the gallery tour we headed back towards the central station via a tram (easy on off, just use a credit card when you board and the same card when you depart… no tickets!) From the Central Station we began our walking tour of Amsterdam.

By the time we got back to the Central Station the drizzle started once again. Oh well. No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!

It was getting close to lunch time, so what better opportunity to sample some Vlaamse Friet (Flemish Fries)! We stopped at Mannekenpis, voted number 1 in Holland for their fries!

I snapped this in between waves of hungry customers. These guys were hopping! All with 2 dozen different sauces! Needless to say they were outstanding!

Next on our walk we came to Dam Square. This square has been the heart of Amsterdam since the town was created. The royal palace (formerly the City Hall) sits at one end of the square and is still one of the homes to Dutch Royalty today.

This palace was built on the site of the former city hall in the 1600’s.

Further down Kalverstraat we came to the “hidden church”. During the reformation here, while Catholicism was banned through much of Northern Europe, the Dutch would allow the Catholics to worship as long as they practiced in humble, unadvertised places.

Quietly placed in the middle of a highly commercialized district, this church offers a quiet reprieve from the city’s hustle and bustle.

Further down Kalverstraat we came to the Begijnhof. This quiet courtyard has sheltered women since 1346. For centuries this was the home to a community of Beguines – pious gentle women who removed themselves from the world to devote their lives to God.

At the end of Kalverstraat, we came to the Mint Tower, which marked the limit to the medieval walled city and served as one of its original gates.

Mint Tower. Fun fact, stoners love to get their picture taken underneath of the clock as it strikes 4:20. A time when work is done and it’s time to light up! The clock was added to the tower in 1620, making this timing even more significant.

Next on our tour was the Flower Market. Row upon row of stalls selling bulbs and seeds…a gardeners paradise!

Our Frites didn’t quite hold us, so Dan and I opted for another Amsterdam Specialty, Herring Brodjes, or a Herring sandwich. We opted to share one with pickled Herring, onion and pickles. Yummy!

Whether pickle or fried, you can have your Herring many different ways.

If you look across the canal, you can see the row of Flower Market Stalls lining the canal in this area.

At the end of this tour, we walked back to Dam Square to explore some of the landmarks east of the square. 30 years ago, this area would have been filled with prostitutes, drug addicts and sex shops. Today little is left of that bygone era as the city tries to take back control of what was once very unsavory and unsafe.

We saw the Old Church, the first in the city. It was its tower that signaled to the sailor that they had finally arrived home!

This church has been added onto over the centuries and looks a little higgley piggley.

Being in the heart of the Red Light District it was fitting here to have a statue to the unknown prostitute!

One of the interesting things I found here were a number of buildings where uneven settlement was evident.

It looks like those middle two building might topple across the street.

Or this one caught my eye as another example of the adjusting sand beneath over the centuries.

Well. Lots of walking! Time to head back to our room for a little rest before dinner.

Once refreshed we decided to head back down to the theatre district ( close to the museums) for our dinner. Tonight we decided to try a highly rated restaurant called The Pantry. Their specialty is homemade Dutch cooking. Another delicious and hearty meal was enjoyed by all!

A glorious sunset gracing us on our way home

One last picture of nestled bridges. Such a beautiful and peaceful sight. It’s interesting because in Amsterdam when you stop to listen to the sounds around you you’ll here the low thrum of a canal boat engine, the whir of a bicycle, people talking as they walk by… no loud car noises, honking. It is a peaceful place, even in the heart of the city.

Another enjoyable walk back to our room and we are ready to call an end to our day! Tomorrow, we leave Amsterdam and head to Bruges where we will be based for 4 days. Looking forward to telling you all about our next adventures. Until Then!