Day 25 - Sunday May 14, 2017 - Amsterdam

We have tickets for Amsterdam’s three main museums – the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh and the Stedelijk. The Van Gogh tickets are timed tickets for Monday morning so that leaves the Rijksmuseum or the Stedelijk (or both) for today. We decide we might as well start with the Rijksmueum so, after breakfast, we walk the few hundred yards from the apartment across the canal to the museum.The museum opens at 9 am and we arrive a few minutes after that. No real line at that time, even on a Sunday morning, so, already having tickets, we’re straight in with no delay. We collect our prepaid audio guides on the way.

For us, visiting the Rijksmuseum is a bit like visiting the Prado when we were in Madrid a couple of years ago. It’s not our preferred sort of art but it’s a museum you simply can’t ignore so off we go. Sixteenth and seventeenth century Dutch art is not something I would want hanging on the wall at home but you have to admire the skill of the artists. Their ability to invoke light and shade and fine detail in their work is astonishing.

The Rijksmuseum itself is outstanding. A beautiful building that has been extensively renovated of late, the towering spacious entry lobby is very well done and the exhibition space well organised. The audio guide is invaluable at providing a better understanding and explanation of what you’re looking at.

A bit like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, the main drawcard here is The Night Watch, a painting that everybody knows is famous even if nobody really knows why, particularly since the Night part is a misnomer for a painting that was supposedly set during the day time. It is, however, very well presented. Hanging at the far end of the Gallery of Honour, it is immediately visible in the distance as soon as you turn in to the gallery. A series of open-faced galleries on either side contain lots of distractions on the way so it takes a while to reach the main event. Inevitably, everyone’s enjoyment of it is tempered by the one idiot who, oblivious of everything and everyone around them, has to stand right in front of it, as close as possible. Most people stand back 10 feet or so, allowing everyone a full view but not this chap. He has to get right up, as close as possible, while he reads the detail in his guide book, occasionally pausing to actually look at the painting. I’m very tempted to tap him on the shoulder and give him an appropriate suggestion in whatever language he may understand but I bide my time and eventually, finally, he moves out of the way, allowing everyone a clear view – and a photo without this idiot in it.

One nice feature of the presentation throughout the museum is the benches provided in each gallery so you can sit and contemplate your chosen work. Unlike most galleries that have hard, small benches, these are quite generously sized and comfortable to boot, so they positively encourage you to sit and look.

We finish our tour around so, what else but coffee? We head for the cafe, up above the entrance lobby and sit for a while, sharing a slice of apple cake. We eventually exit and head out the other side of the building from where we entered, heading towards Museumplein. The iAmsterdam sign already has lots of people either standing by it, taking photos of it or clambering on it so we take a shot and move on.

We can see the Concertgebouw in the distance, past the Van Gogh Museum. Supposedly, there are often free concerts on Wednesday lunchtimes, usually a rehearsal for whatever upcoming performance is on. Unfortunately we have to leave mid-afternoon on Wednesday so it will probably not be practical for us to try to attend. We wander on, past the Van Gogh and Stedelijk Museums, and head towards Vondel Park.

It’s now getting on for noon and the park is full of runners, joggers, cyclists, people just sitting etc. The forecast is for rain later but, for now, it’s sunny so most people are taking advantage of that. We wander for a while and eventually exit on the other side of the park from where we came in, before heading back towards the apartment. The side streets we walk along have some nice houses; not the canal-side houses one would normally see in Amsterdam photos but big old stone terraces with what appear to be large rooms with high ceilings. This would certainly be a pleasant neighbourhood in which to live.

We emerge on to Stadhouderskade, effectively the bottom of the Canal Ring, around the corner from the Amsterdam Marriott, which is housed in a building with no redeeming architectural features whatsoever. We pass the area from where the Blue Boat canal cruises leave, something we will do in the next day or two. Across the canal are a few very nice houses, not the usual canal-side style but larger, more ornate, detached buildings. We meander east towards the apartment, stopping on the way at the organic supermarket that was closed yesterday by the time we arrived. Supplies for dinner purchased – bread, cheese, olives, pate, some cold meat and a bottle of wine – we head back to deposit them at the apartment.

Resisting the urge to linger too long on the couch, we walk over to Leidesplein to catch a tram up to Centraal Station. We stop on the way to check out a couple of restaurants; after our miserable experience last night, we’ll eat in tonight but may venture out on other nights, though we’ll make a reservation if we decide to do so. We’re too slow to catch the # 5 tram, whose doors close just as we get to it but, no matter, there’s a # 2 right behind it.

We get out at Centraal Station. The first order of business is to find the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel. When we leave on Wednesday, we need to take the ferry company shuttle bus to the ferry port at Ijmuiden; the bus supposedly leaves from outside the hotel. It certainly appears to be a likely spot from which the bus would leave but, as it’s too early in the afternoon, no sign of it at this time. No matter, at least we have some idea of where we need to be.

The intention is to walk back to the apartment so we set out. Not surprisingly for a Sunday afternoon, there are hordes of people about. We slowly make our way south. Many of the shops have a boring predictability – Primark, C & A, Body Shop, H & M, Subway, Swarovski etc. etc. Once again, we could be anywhere — well, almost anywhere. We pass the Sex Museum so I guess that – and the couple of other similar museums that are around here somewhere plus the entire red light district – gives this town a rather different air. Unfortunately, it’s all rather tawdry and unappealing and of no interest.

We saunter on, eventually picking a cafe for lunch. We sit inside to avoid the smokers outside but, instead, get a couple of very loud Englishmen. I cannot see them as I’m sitting with my back to them but they sound to be very much of the ‘blokey bloke’ variety, loud, annoying and braying too much at their own ‘jokes’. Whereas in Japan (and elsewhere) it’s the Americans who are instantly recognisable (baseball caps, loud, demanding, telling everybody where they’re from and, within 10 minutes of arriving, explaining their entire life story to anyone within earshot) here it seems to be the Brits who fulfill that role. I recognise that I really am getting old and crotchety.

We end up at Dam Square, full of people and not very attractive as squares go. We continue on as the forecast comes to fruition and the rain starts to fall. After a while, it’s very heavy so people are trying to take shelter wherever they can. Fortunately we have the umbrellas with us but by the time we make it back to the apartment, we are decidedly damp.

Although it brightens up later on, lethargy (and the couch) get the better of us. Wine and cheese for dinner.