Guest Blogger Shawn is back with another edition. This time Amsterdam!
Amsterdam, our next destination, was highly recommended by both our girls. So with high expectations, we made a visit to the city and weren’t disappointed. Amsterdam is a photo waiting to happen, easy to walk around, and so quaint. We checked into a beautiful, large apartment with high windows and a great balcony overlooking one of the iconic canals next to the Rijksmuseum. We agreed this area of town was the most beautiful and far away from the heavy tourist area which is closer to the Red Light District.
The apartment was hundreds of years old with the typical Dutch steep stairs. Imagine lifting 50 pound suitcases up here!
But the view was worth it!
We were a five minute walk to the Rijksmuseum which houses many of the famous Dutch painters including Rembrandt. Incredibly impressive museum and large enough to handle the crowds. It’s very hard to do this museum in one visit. So much great art. We visited on our first day and vowed to come back before we left – but never made it so much to see and do.
We spent one afternoon walking though the eye-opening Red Light District brothel windows, bars/restaurants and coffee shops (marijuana bars). The Red Light District is a spectacle created to to assuage many vices, but not charming like the rest of the city, which we greatly preferred.
We indulged in many tours but our favorite was a private tour of the Van Gogh Museum. We had a great guide from New Zealand, Serena, who had studied art history and was married to a Dutch man.
The museum was built by Van Gogh’s nephew. It’s stunning and so well curated. Van Gogh (1853-1890), well-liked by family and friends, tried to be a successful art dealer like his brother, Theo. After a failed stint of art dealing, Van Gogh decided to become an artist at the age of 27. Over the next ten years (till his death at age 37) Van Gogh was incredibly prolific, sketching and painting over 2000 pieces displaying a myriad of brush techniques – sometimes many visible in a single piece. Unfortunately for Vincent, he only sold one painting during his short life time.
The first piece VanGogh tried to sell was his now famous Potato Eaters (1885). He self proclaimed it as his Masterpiece, but others didn’t agree. Van Gogh, while suffering from bi-polar disorder with psychotic episodes, was supported by his brother until his death at 37 years old. Much focus has been on his argument with Paul Gaughin in Arles, France where he allegedly cut off his ear. There is controversy in the art world that Gaughin had a severe temper and Van Gogh may have been protecting his friend by saying that he cut off his own ear. We greatly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend this company. [https://www.viator.com/tours/Amsterdam/Van-Gogh-Museum-in-Amsterdam-Small-Group-Tour-and-Skip-the-Line-Ticket/d525-8681P5]
Another tour we highly recommend is the Anne Frank house. The tickets sell out months in advance so buying ticket on line ahead of time is key. It is a very interesting tour which frames an horrific atrocity.
One of the tours that we had high hopes for was the Countryside Windmill Bike ride with Cheese Tasting and Clog Factory tour. The company we used employed rude guides and cattle herded our group around the city, countryside, and clog and cheese factory. Nevertheless, I do recommend doing this type excursion but be very picky and research all the reviews. The company not to use is Mike’s Bike Tours, Amsterdam.
All in all, we really enjoyed walking the city and had some great dinners. There are many great restaurants in Amsterdam but we had two favorites. Van Vaanderen [https://www.restaurant-vanvlaanderen.nl/nl/] was exceptionally good. If you go there make sure the weather is good so you can reserve an evening table on their balcony overlooking a beautiful canal. Senses restaurant [https://www.sensesrestaurant.nl/en/index.html] is also really, really good. Newly decorated and serving mouth watering trendy delicacies.
One of our Amsterdam highlights was a concert at the Paradiso, an old church converted into an entertainment venue in the late 60’s. It was great to see the sheer enthusiasm of the Dutch crowd for John Prine, an old American country folk singer, who is most well known for his songwriting. But he put on a really good show in a great auditorium.
Off to Bruges, Belgium!