Amsterdam, you fickle city

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I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate--Vincent Van Gogh

As of the beginning of April I have visited Amsterdam twice, and while the museums are enchanting, there is a seediness that permeates the touristy areas and makes me happy to live in Den Haag.

My first trip was with Kaitlin, a girl in my program at Haagse Hogeschool, waaaaay back on January 29. We took a train from the Holland Spoor station in Den Haag. It was a pretty easy journey; it takes about 40 minutes to go from Den Haag to Amsterdam Centraal. Getting out of Amsterdam Centraal was a trial. We tried to get directions and a map, but the best we could get was the number tram we were to take to get to the Amsterdam Historical Museum. No stop or direction. Welcome to the Dutch transportation system. Great, if you can figure out where you are going.

We eventually found the museum. While getting our tickets we got the Dutch museum pass, which has been a wonderful investment so far. It allows you to visit a bunch of museums in the country for free or a reduced price. It has already paid for itself. I only wish there was one for all of Europe! Come on, EU…

The Amsterdam Historical Museum was wonderful. Somehow centuries of history are put into this one building. We were there for a couple hours, and even then we didn't read everything. But it was a wonderful introduction to the city. It covered everything from the first settlements to hippie counterculture and the housing trials. There were so many artifacts. There was actually a whole section dedicated to old toilets. Apparently, back in the middle ages and Renaissance when people had outhouses, everything would end up in one. They have found shoes and pottery in these things! Maybe there is hope for my roll of film under Monet’s porch. It should be easier to find than anything in a toilet!

We left the museum hungry (yes, hungry, even after the outhouse exhibit), and wandered about the main shopping area. It was packed! One thing about the Dutch: they know how to shop. It doesn’t matter if it is 3 in the afternoon, people will be shopping. After six is another matter entirely though. After lunch we went to the main square, by city hall (which, we learned in the Historical Museum, was proclaimed by the Dutch to be the 8th wonder of the world. They were quite modest, those Amsterdammers...) and the nieuwe kerk (which means "new church"). The next stop on our museum extravaganza was, in fact, the nieuwe kerk. It is a very impressive building from the outside, what you can see of it anyway. This part of Amsterdam is quite congested. The square itself is huge and open. But then there is the massive city hall, and directly next to it (with barely enough room to fit the tram that runs between them) is the nieuwe kerk. It is surrounded by other buildings of its era and ones that have come since.

The ornate outside of the church makes the bareness inside seems strange. In actuality, the inside did once match the outside. But in the late 1600s (I believe) Protestants took over Amsterdam and stripped the Catholic churches, making them more fit for Protestant services. It has remained that way ever since. It was also hard to see the interior of the church because there was a special exhibit of modern art. The exhibit was set up in the middle of it, so what we could see what limited. The exhibit was a bunch of contemporary art and its take on religion. Now, I like art. But I have to say that I'm a snob or not classy enough or something, because I do not understand most modern art. I especially didn't understand (or like) almost everything in this exhibit. And it took up a lot of the church. Darn modern art :-)
After the nieuwe kerk we didn't really know what to do next, so we wandered around, making our way back to the station. We visited tourist services, who told us how to get to Anne Frank's house (but refused to give us a map unless we paid. Everything costs money here!). So we went back the way we came, becoming lost again and then finally stumbling upon it.

Without sounding callous, Anne Frank's house was...okay. It was certainly mindboggling being there, seeing the actual rooms and trying to imagine yourself in the situation. But, even after having read her diary, it seems so unreal. Particularly because Otto Frank didn't want the furniture back or any of the rooms really refurbished. He wanted it bare, so it remains that way for the most part.

It was a good experience and made you appreciate what you have, but it was kind of touristy. That kind of dampens the experience.

Kaitlin and I conquered three museums in one day, which I think is pretty much awesome. We also made time to souvenir shop. That is where the seedy side of Amsterdam comes out. You can't go into a shop without seeing body parts and various pictures of drugs. Of course those things are what Amsterdam is famous, maybe infamous for. But considering I don't really want to see any of it (or know about it...I like my bubble, haha) it was a bit unsettling. All I wanted was a scarf! It doesn't matter what shop you visit, the stuff is there. After awhile you just gloss over (most) of it.

I left that day rather ambivalent. The museums had been wonderful, but the city just has a dirty aspect that doesn't exist in little Den Haag. However Amsterdam is full of great art museums, so I couldn't stay away for long.

On March 6 I went on an art museum expedition with Anastasia, an exchange student from Russia who is in my Dutch and French classes. We had actually both been in Brussels during spring break, and had been at the same art museum. At the same time. And saw each other. But thought it was so strange to see each other there, of all places, neither of us said anything. When I got back to Den Haag, I just had to ask her. We both thought it was ridiculous we hadn't said anything, which it was. However now we knew we both liked art, and so our Amsterdam trip was planned.

The Rijksmuseum is under a massive renovation, so what we saw was unfortunately only a small portion. But it was great, even that supposedly small portion. Along with Dutch masters (including Nightwatch by Rembrandt) there was a significant part dedicated to Dutch history. It is strange that I know so little about the country I'm living in, and I love having the opportunity to learn more about it. There were so many little things that stuck out there, paintings and knickknacks. I wish I could see it after the renovation.

Afterwards was lunch. You really do have to eat in between museums. They take it out of you, all that history and art, haha. Anastasia wanted somewhere cheap (I'm high-maintenance, so I didn't really care) so we wandered around. She ended up finding a pizza place back on a small street. I am not adventurous and imagined all sorts of diseases that I could get from a restaurant located off the beaten path. I was wrong though, which isn't that abnormal! The restaurant had cheap pizza and was great. I don't think I could find it again, but I would return there if I could.

Next was the Van Gogh museum. It is located in a park-like place, and is actually two buildings connected by an underground passageway.

To be honest, I never really liked Van Gogh. I wanted to go to the museum, because I was there, and had the opportunity. But I never really liked his paintings and figured he was just famous for his antics. Seeing his paintings up close changed all that though. They are amazing! The colors in some of them are so brilliant, the brushstrokes complicated. There was also a whole obsession with Japanese woodcuts that I never knew about. He had range too: from the dark Potato-Eaters to such bright renditions of meadows. So many paintings, and in such a short time span. I got a whole new appreciation for his work (along with some cool souvenirs. I honestly can't go into an art museum without coming out with something. It's a sickness!).

The museum was a nice end of the day and of my second trip to the city. Amsterdam would be so nice if I could just visit its museums all day! That isn't to say Amsterdam doesn't have its pretty parts. Its canals are much more prevalent and bigger than those in Den Haag, and there are very unique buildings from ages ago. But, really, who needs real views when you have the paintings?! :-)

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Photos

Flatness
Sun rises while I take my first trip to Amsterdam

Artifacts
A glimpse into the Amsterdam Historical Museum

Bikes are important
Important enough to be in the museum. After this photo I attempted to ride it (obviously allowed). In this land of the tallest people in Europe, it was a challenge.

Outside of the Amsterdam Historical Museum
It used to be an orphanage, back in the day.

Top of City Hall
They went all out for this building. It was built during the Dutch Golden Age, so they could afford it.

Old Buildings
The city hall is to the left, and the nieuwe kerk to the right...with the banners, haha.

Amsterdam canal
What is the possesive form of Amsterdam? Amsterdammer? Amsterdaminian? It's a quandry.

Rijksmuseum
Under construction...sigh.

Van Gogh Museum
The second (and cooler) building of the museum

Holland loves flowers
These are flower stands along the canal. It was the beginning of spring then, so they were beginning to come out everywhere.

Amsterdam Centraal
Took this picture for Tyler, of course.