De Keuken Van 1870, Seated Next to a Sleeping Black Cat

Amsterdam has been really fun so far. The weather has cooperated, too; after some initial cloudiness, the sky got clearer and the temperature warmer. I have had fun exploring and walking around the town.

On Tuesday, I went to the Rijksmuseum, which was undergoing renovation but was still quite impressive. I saw a couple of personable Frans Hals paintings (including a large double portrait of a married couple), some lighthearted Jan Steens, a peaceful Vermeer (the one with a woman pouring milk into a jar), and some stunning Rembrandts, including the Jewish Bride, De Staalmeesters, and the Night Watch. The Rembrandts in particular were exciting to see in person, because the impasto technique lent an air of three-dimensionality that resists reproduction.

The lower level of the museum was dedicated to Dutch history and daily life, with Delftware pieces, silver plates, and elaborate dollhouses (created for wealthy adult women).

On Wednesday morning, I started with breakfast at my B & B (which is very charming, with a dedicated host family, two dogs, and a cat), and went to the Anne Frank House, as I had previously bought a ticket for Wednesday morning. I am very glad that I had prepared and bought a ticket, since it it allowed me to skip a lengthy line (and nobody wants to wait in line while on vacation). Being in the same space as Anne and her family did force me, and presumably others, to contemplate on a more personal level the way their lives were restricted during the Nazi occupation.

After that, I stopped inside a "coffee shop" (where I blended into a tour group lecture from the shopkeeper and bought a plain-old cappuccino), grabbed lunch, scurried through the Red Light District, went through the Rembrandt House (which had a demonstration of etching techniques, rooms decorated by works of Rembrandt and his pupils which had once been sold by Rembrandt in the house, and exhibits devoted to Rembrandt's etchings), the Hermitage on the Amstel (a satellite of the Russian Hermitage, with rotating exhibits, currently devoted to Russian iconography through the 20th century). I also walked down to the Van Gogh museum and walked through, although I didn't have time to see the whole museum and will have to go back.

By the end of the day, I had walked around the entire down. My feet are certainly feeling it, and I have a raw spot on my hip where my bag rubbed against me while I walked. Nonetheless, it's worth it.

As an aside, I am slightly disoriented by the extended hours of daylight. It is 8:40, but it is still bright out. It is very nice for touring and it's nice to explore with extended daylight, but it is tricky to have enough discipline to get to sleep at a decent hour.