Category Archives: Amsterdam

A Visit With Vincent

The morning weather report had a forecast of snow and the startling cold air against my cheeks as I left the apartment made me believe that smiling weatherman. He was wrong — and I was relieved. There was already enough residual ice on the pavement all over Amsterdam to make the simple act of walking require alertness, concentration, and good balance.

Appropriately bundled up and laughing about the fact that a mere four days ago we had been at the beach in Australia, we caught the #3 tram and headed for the area known as Museumplein and the Van Gogh Museum at Paulus Potterstraat 7, trying to arrive right at the opening time of of 10 AM. The visitors were quite sparse and, feeling rather smug about that, we headed into the first of four floors of artwork. But by the time we emerged from the last gallery into the museum shop, we were walking in stops and starts due to the sheer number of people who entered the building in the two hour period since our arrival.

Van Gogh Museum exterior side view

This is a moving collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s work that clearly shows his evolution through various stages as an artist. The mental struggles that he endured are evident as you see the colour palette and brushwork change over the years. The pieces produced during his lighter and more upbeat years are a startling contrast to the heavier-hearted and more frantic works of art. I highly recommend this museum if you have at least a two hour window in your own visit to Amsterdam.

We are travelling now — finally — after planning this life change and free-fall adventure for over two years. So we have no place to call home right now, no walls to hang artwork on, no shelves to stack books on, no cabinets to place things within.

Books on display in the shop at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

I looked at the posters, opened the books, touched the scarves and t-shirts, and walked away from them. In the end my sole purchase was a handful of postcards. And Mark had quite a surprised expression on his face when he heard me say aloud, “I have no desire to acquire.” And I meant it!

Posters and prints in the Van Gogh Museum Shop

This is a beautiful museum inside — light and airy and contemporary. But there is no photography allowed inside, so I can only assure you that it is lovely and urge you to go and see it for yourself. Although the artwork is spread out over four levels, there are both stairways and elevators for easy access. And there is one of the nicest self-serve restaurants on the ground floor that I have seen in any museum. We took a break for a coffee and a pastry at 11:30 and were quite impressed with the food that was available.

After leaving the Van Gogh Museum, our plan was to walk next door to the Stedelijk Museum — the modern art museum — but it is closed on Mondays, so we will have to try again later this week.

Realizing that the crowds at the Rijksmuseum would be considerable so late after the morning opening time, we decided to spend the rest of the day gently meandering through the park area in Museumplein and then take a tram into the Central District for some window shopping.

Here are some of the sights that I spotted along the way. Enjoy!

Lunch Kiosk Microvan (made by same company that manufactures Vespa scooters in Italy)

Wooden clog holding sunflower on cafe table in Museumplein

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© Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the copyright of all text and photos on this website. All rights reserved.

New Year in Amsterdam Sounds Like A Battlefield

The flight was long, the seats were cramped, our bodies were aching. But we arrived in Amsterdam at 6 AM on New Year’s Eve, made our way to the apartment we had rented, and crashed into deep sleep.

A mere few days before we left Sydney, one of my Twitter friends, Krista Bjorn – @ramblingtart, had warned me that Amsterdam was going to be quite loud at New Year’s Eve. But I didn’t fully comprehend just how loud!

Somehow I slept through the folks that jumped the gun in the afternoon and Mark assured me that it sounded like cannon-fire all over our neighbourhood from noon onward. Over 20 hours of flying will do that to you — just knock you flat. My consciousness should probably still be somewhere over China or Russia today and working its way slowly west to Amsterdam.

We traded places and Mark fell asleep at 8 PM while I sat here with the computer and held my breath as the streets outside sounded like we were living in the middle of a battlefield. It was quite unnerving! He got up at midnight when the sound level, believe it or not, escalated. Putting our heavy winter coats on, we walked outside and a few metres away to the end of our block, stood there a bit awestruck, and watched explosion after explosion going off above the canal right in front of us. The sheer amount of fireworks is like nothing we have ever seen and the stunning aspect for us was that these were all privately purchased ones. Fireworks are sold quite openly and it’s almost as if there is a street by street competition to see who can make the most noise and light up the sky most brightly. Eerie!!!

The following morning, we emerged from the apartment to see the streets and pavements layered with discarded wrappings and tubes of fireworks. They were so thick on some streets that you shuffled through them, the sound against your shoes like the sound of fallen leaves in the autumn. The bricks of the pavement were stained in some places with the orange and red colours of the dry residue.

Fireworks wrappers after New Year's Eve in Amsterdam

Sporadic explosions continued well into the cold but sunny daylight hours of New Year’s Day as people walked around in a low-key manner, picking their way carefully through the discarded champagne, wine, and beer bottles. There was no sensation of hurry or rushing in the air.

With a mere 6 hours of sleep apiece, we decided to go out for several hours. Our faces are looking a bit battered and exhausted, but we have begun our explorations of this truly beautiful city. Come back soon for more adventures in Amsterdam!

Mark checking map in Amsterdam

Deborah taking photos alongside Prinsengracht Canal in Amsterdam

Copyright © Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the copyright of all text and photos on this website. All rights reserved.