Rainy Amsterdam

My plan was to wake up and be at the Anne Frank house at the 9 am opening. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much again and I was exhausted. I did manage to walk over the western canal rings and get to the house by 10:45 am where there was an hour wait to get in. All the online tickets had been sold out for weeks, but I was hoping that the fact it was Monday and raining, the queue wouldn't be so bad. The museum is impressive with what they have been able to recreate and explain in order to raise awareness for tolerance. You're not able to take any photos in order to preserve the memorabilia, so here's a photo collage of the queue, the exterior, and a model of the house:

Just up the block is The Pancake Bakery which is supposed to have the best Dutch pancakes. After my museum visit, I had a cappuccino and the Autumn Special which included Belgian chocolate flakes, whipped cream, pears, cinnamon ice cream, and cherry compote. It was very sweet and I could not finish it all. A photo below:

Afterwards I walked eastward and through the Red Light District. Amsterdam is known for legalized prostitution, and this is where women stand in the windows in their lingerie underneath red neon lights. It's one of the oldest and historically poshest neighborhood in Amsterdam where wealthy merchants used to live - it was once known as the Velvet Canal. To be honest, it was a little weird as many of the women just looked bored or were talking on their cell phones, with men walking around high and in and out of the coffee shops. Supposedly, this is one of the safest neighborhoods due to the abundance of security cameras and police - you're not allowed to take any photos either. 

Ironically, I walked through the neighborhood in looking for a church! In the center of the Red Light District, there was the Our Lord in the Attic Church which was a hidden church when Catholic worship was banned by the Dutch Protestants. The church is in the attic of a merchant's canal house built back in the 1600s. My guidebook and TripAdvisor said this was very unique. Here's a collage of the church including a view from the galleries:

I then walked along the canals to the Flower Market. I wish I was here when it was Spring to see all the tulips in the countryside, but alas, I'm here in November. The stalls had lots of flowers and seeds, including hemp seeds. Some photos below:

I then walked down to Magere Brug, translated as Skinny Bridge, which crosses the Amstel and is the most famous of the 60 drawbridges in Amsterdam. Apparently it's been in a number of movies. To me it seemed a bit ordinary - you decide:

On my way back to the city center, I stopped in the Hermitage, which is an extension of the St. Petersburg museum. To be honest, I was tired of museums, but my back and feet were aching and I didn't want to pay to rest in a cafe or bar and The Hermitage is included in my Museum Card. I rested on a bench and then walked through their "Dining with Tsars" exhibition which showcased the elaborate dining pieces and china of the Russian royalty as pictured below:

For dinner, I ended up at Savini, an Italian restaurant. To be honest, it was difficult to find decent restaurants on the street - there are so many Argentine steak restaurants for some reason! I ordered spaghetti with seafood in a spicy tomato sauce and a glass of chianti, shown below: 

I had hoped to rent a bicycle today from my hotel to be one with the locals, but it rained all day. The locals bike everywhere - while texting, walking dogs, and making calls! You definitely have to have enough gumption to ride the streets as the folks are pretty fearless and quick while maneuvering between the cars and trams. 

I also thought to go on a canal cruise, but the tour operator advised it would be tough to see and the windows would be foggy without wipers. I did manage to squeeze in a few picturesque canal photos in the morning when it rained less. You can see the locks, canal houseboats, and canal boats:

So I'm officially done with the Netherlands portion of my trip. For having purchased an almost 60€ Museum Card, by my estimate, I saw almost 120€ worth of museums / attractions. Off to Belgium tomorrow!

The Hague

This is the reason I took an hour train to The Hague:

Sidenote: I originally edited most of the paintings by rotating and cropping them, but then they looked like I downloaded them and uploaded the images. So I reverted them to original, so you can believe I actually saw these!

I had trouble sleeping all night, but still made my way to the train station to catch a morning train to The Hague. My first stop was to go to the Mauritshius which was within walking distance of the station. Mauritshius is a mansion now housing the National Picture Gallery. The museum has recently undergone a massive renovation and expansion, doubling in floor space. During the renovation, the collection was displayed at the Gemeentemuseum. Here's a picture of the ceiling:

The museum famously houses Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" as noted above as my reason for going to The Hague - here's a selfie with the painting below (this was no easy feat with the crowds):

Also one of the most famous Dutch paintings, Vermeer's "View of Delft" which is considered the best cityscape painting by a Dutch master:

I also enjoyed Jan Steen's "Girl Eating Oysters" which could be me as I love oysters! The painting is also very small (about 8 in x 5 in), so the detail was impressive:

Breughel and Rubens collaborated on this piece, "The Garden of Eden" - I hadn't realized that the Dutch masters had collaborated, but apparently they had as there were several examples:

After walking though the museum, I went next door to the Binnenhof and Ridderzaal, also known as the Inner Court and The Knights' Hall, the center of the Dutch government and Parliament. Here's a picture of the courtyard:

I then walked a few blocks to the former Winter Royal Palace which is now the M.C. Escher museum. His drawings and illusions are very popular in the U.S. I didn't realize he was Dutch! I enjoyed his drawing of the Mezquita which I visited in May when I went to Córdoba, Spain - you can see the candy cane arches vividly even though in pencil:

Other famous drawings you probably recognize:

A cool skull chandelier juxtaposed with the palace ceiling:

Some fun illusions from this very kid-friendly museum - the cube is drawn on the walls:

I then walked over to the Panorama Mesdag which is an extension of the Mesdag Gallery. The panorama is 45 ft high and 400 ft in circumference. The sand in the middle adds to the illusion and realness of the panorama:

I stopped in as it was included on my Museum Card and was on my way to the Peace Palace known for the International Court of Justice. I was warned by the U.S. embassy via email there would be demonstrations. Indeed there were white dove balloons and protestors, but the demonstration was very peaceful. Here's a collage of the palace and the word, "peace" which is translated in Korean below, and translated into different languages and inscribed on a stone bench:

I then walked about a mile to the Gemeentemuseum, also known as the Municipal Museum. They were having a Rothko exhibit which was very crowded. But the museum is known for housing the largest Mondrian collection in the world. Here's his famous "Victory Boogie Woogie":

The museum also housed an impressive collection of Delftware which are porcelain imitations of Chinese and Japanese ceramics. Apparently, the Dutch became really good at the imitations as they could study the many imports that were brought to the Netherlands. As a sidenote, one of my options for a day trip was to Delft. Here's a flower pyramid in the "Vases with Spouts" exhibit:

And a dollhouse that included a room holding miniature Delftware ceramics in the middle right as shown in zoomed portion of the photo collage:

I was starving by this point as I hadn't eaten lunch. So I grabbed a chicken sandwich and cappuccino in the museum cafe. I then took the tram that left in front of the museum directly back to the train station. I had thought to go out to the beach resort called Scheveningen for dinner, but it was too windy and I'd have to transfer trams. So, I took the 50 minute train ride back to Amsterdam. I looked through my guidebook for dining suggestions and didn't see anything I liked. So I walked around Center City, subject to secondhand marijuana smoke. 

I ended up at an adorable brasserie near my hotel called Van Speyk where I had the local draft beer, traditional Dutch stew, and a cheese plate. It was my waiter's 2nd day on the job, so he didn't know much, but was very nice. It's also very easy to converse here - I think I read about 90% of the Dutch can speak some English. Plus many of the words are very similar to English, so the signs are pretty understandable. Not sure if you can see the photos from my dinner that well as it was very dark:

I walked a ton today - over 17,000 steps to be exact. But it was worth it to enjoy the fall weather and the serenity of The Hague as pictured here:

Amsterdam

First off, happy birthday to my mom! I'm sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you, but I love you and miss you!

My plane arrived about 30 minutes early to Amsterdam's Schipol airport. Usually there is a 15 minute or so direct train to Amsterdam Centraal (the Dutch use 2 a's) station, but there was track work today. As such, I had to change trains and it took about 30 minutes. Here's a photo of the station, considered a landmark of Dutch Neo-Renaissance style:



From the station, I walked about 800 meters to my hotel, Convent Gallery, an Accor hotel where I have silver status. They had also offered 3 nights for the price of 2, so I booked with them. My room was ready early, so I checked in, showered, and napped. Around 10:30 am, I walked out and took the tram to Spui Square where I grabbed brunch - an egg and spinach frittata with cheese and a latte macchiato. I then took the tram to Leidseplein so I could visit the tourist center. I bought an unlimited day metro ticket - the trams are easy to use and look like this:



I went to the tourist center to try to buy a Museum Night ticket as they were sold out online and my hotel suggested trying to buy them here. Museum Night is the first November Saturday where the museums are open all night with events and parties (kind of like White Nights). Apparently, folks bike from museum to museum enjoying the parties. Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy the festivities as this would be totally up my alley, but I'll probably be too tired anyway.

I then took the tram to the Museum Quarter where I first visited the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art. I specifically made an effort to go here first as it is closed on Mondays and I planned to go to The Hague tomorrow. I was also able to buy a Museum Card here which allows me priority access and admission for practically all the museums in the Netherlands for an entire year. Although I'm only here for 3 days, with 15€ museum admission prices, you're able to recoup the almost 60€ card price very quickly.

Here I saw one of my favorite Chagall paintings, "The Fiddler":



The museum also had a lot of design pieces, including Gerrit Rietveld's "Red Blue Chair" that according to my guidebook was "game-changing" in 1918 (he also designed the Van Gogh museum):



Afterwards, I walked over to the Van Gogh museum which was just next door. The line was really long, but I went through pretty quickly with my card. You are not allowed to take any pictures in the museum, but the famous pieces here are "Sunflowers", "The Bedroom", and "The Potato Eaters". I'm sure you've heard of them / seen pictures - they are truly exceptional in person. As a substitute, here's a selfie of me outside the museum in line with my Museum Card:



In order to max out being in the Museum Quarter, I also went over to the Rijkmuseum, which is the State Museum and right next to the Van Gogh museum. Most famously, it houses Rembrandt's "Nightwatch" pictured below - the central figure's hand feels like it's 3D:



And Vermeer's "Milkmaid" shown below:



Also in the Museum Quarter is Vondelpark, which reminds me of Central Park. There are bicyclists everywhere (not one helmet though), runners, rollerbladers, and people enjoying marijuana. Indeed, I could smell it practically everywhere I went today. As my dad would say, "it smells like Chinese herb. It smells nice." Here's a picture of a massive bike lot in center city and a photo from Vondelpark:





I then took the tram to the Leidseplein area. I read that the Indonesian and Suriname cuisine are good here, albeit adapted to Dutch tastes. This is very logical as both were colonized by the Dutch. My guidebook recommended an expensive Indonesian restaurant and a cheap one. I went with the cheaper option called Bojo. I was excited as I had been to Bali in 2011 and hadn't had Indonesian in awhile. Here's a picture of my mini-rice table and satay along with a local Amstel draft:



After dinner, I walked over to Beginhof which is a small courtyard surrounded by almshouses right off of Spui Square. Women have been living here since 1150 leading a spiritual and philanthropic life. Apparently, there are several courtyards and almshouses around the city, but this is the most famous. I then took the tram to Dam Square which is the main city square. Here there is the National Monument, a white obelisk was erected to remember Dutch soldiers who died in World War II and the Royal Palace which is pictured below:



I then took the tram to my hotel and rested for the night. I took the tram a lot today to max out my ticket, but the whole city is pretty walkable and flat. I also didn't want to tire myself out - I've been up since 2 am U.S. time and it's now around 10 pm in Amsterdam. I plan to get some rest as I plan to visit The Hague which is about an hour away tomorrow.