Amsterdam

Museum Night.  Canals.  Rain.
   

Although it was raining pretty heavily when we arrived on Friday night, we didn’t let it dampen our spirits!  We booked a hotel in the Museum quarter and it was quite artsy, we really liked it.  We quickly dropped off our bags and with umbrellas in hand, we hit the town to find some of those tasty frites we heard about!   Mission accomplished and dang, they were so good!  More please.  Surprisingly, several of the shopping streets were already lined with festive holiday light displays.  It's early in the season, but Amsterdam is already in “Christmas” mode!

We started out Saturday morning by putting the map away and losing ourselves in all the different canal-lined streets, along the way picking out which house “leaned” the most.  Not a lot of right angles here!   

 

We walked through the Jordaan neighborhood to the edge of the Red Light District to see what all the fuss is about (probably a bit more lively at night), and I didn't want to stare, but we did see "ladies in the windows".  And they looked bored -- one was on her iPhone and another was reading.  Funny.  IAt this poing it had started to rain a bit more so we headed to the classic department store De Bijenkorf, which is equal parts history, culture and retail therapy smack in the middle of Dam Square.  I found a much needed hat (which I wore the rest of the weekend) and we found some cool sunglasses for Matt.  We then continued down to Rembrandtplein and ended at the Bloemenmart / Flower Market.  

 

  

Along the way, we stopped in the Tassenmuseum (Museum of bags and purses) as it started to rain again quite heavily and Matt was umm, the minority gender here!  I think he quite enjoyed it though.  Alligator or armadillo purse anyone?  It was actually a nice display overall, we just thought these bags were a bit out there and Matt couldn't resist snapping a few pics.

 

Uh oh!  This bike took a wrong turn....

Saturday night was reserved for the annual Museumnacht (“Museum Night”), where dozens of Amsterdam museums offered special, themed events and performances during unorthodox hours -- 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. Several museums also offered food and drinks aligned with their themes.  We made it to 8 museums and returned to the hotel after 12:30 AM!

Our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum (Impressionist art collection temporarily at the Hermitage).  We then continued to the Portuguese Synagogue (no electricity - just huge glowing candelabras), followed by the Tattoo Museum (carnival-like atmosphere where you could watch customers getting real, permanent tattoos) with a short stop to the Hollandsche Schouwburg (photographs, video images, objects composed to show the gradual development of discrimination against Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands).  After that, we waited in line at FOAM (black and white photography of Diane Arbus), and then went across the street for the Museum Van Loon (magnificent private canal house built in 1672 where they've kept the interior of the house largely intact from centuries ago).  By this time it was going on 11PM and we needed some food!  We found a great burger joint to rest and re-fuel before heading to the famous Rijksmuseum (magnificent selection of Dutch paintings from the Golden Age).  Our night ended at the Stejdelik Museum (contemporary art), our 8th and final museum of the night!  We did pretty good, no? 

 

 

 

Sunday morning we awoke to sunshine, which was short-lived.  As long as it wasn’t raining we were happy though.  We walked through the vast Vondelpark, which was around the corner from our hotel and it was full of runners, walkers and bikers.  Popular spot, even in cold weather!   
 

We were getting hungry so we found a lively and cozy café for brunch where we warmed up and filled our bellies (we even had apple pie with whipped cream!) before heading to the Anne Frank Huis.  We waited in line for approximately 50 minutes, but at least it was dry.  The wait was well worth it as the exhibition was very moving and educational.   

We ended the evening on a more upbeat note with a visit to the Heineken Brewery, which was a lot of fun.  It was a self-guided tour offering a little bit of history, interactive games, 4-D movie of what it's like to be "brewed" and "bottled", and of course, tasting beer at the end!

 

Maybe on our next visit we'll see some windmills and tulips!