Our last time waking up on the boat. We didn't have anything planned until the afternoon, but we had to be out of the cabin by 9.
So, my husband K and up got up at 7 and met our daughter J at 7:30 for breakfast and wished her a Happy Birthday. She got her usual omelet, but picked up a pastry for me. I had American Pancakes, which were seriously smaller than any American pancakes I've ever seen, but tasted good. K got Eggs Benedict, which tasted as good as they looked.
When we left the dining room at 8:10, we thanked Nina for the great service and hugged her. We wished her a good vacation in her home country of Serbia in about 3 weeks.
We went to the cabin to wash up and give it a thorough going over to be sure we'd left nothing behind. Even though we were not being transported anywhere, they'd said that if we left the big bags outside of the cabin they'd get them to the lobby. Meanwhile, I noticed that it was 55°.
At 8:55, J arrived and we left the cabin for the last time. We headed up to the lounge to kill time. There we watched the various groups that were still left as they were called to depart. We peaked down the hall and saw everything being removed from each cabin by a special crew that would ready it for the next guests. Our bags were brought up to the lobby and we could see them from where we sat.
When we'd planned this trip, we'd decided to spend an extra day in Amsterdam. We knew that catching a flight today would be a bit much, and thought we'd like to see Zaanse Schans, which was an excursion on many AmaWaterway trips that came through Amsterdam. When we'd been here for the Baltic cruise, we'd seen that the riverboats docked just east of the train station, Amsterdam Centraal. We also noticed the Ibis hotel on just the other side of the station. K and I knew from experience how easy it was to use the train to and from the airport. So, we decided to stay at the Ibis and I booked a room for three. Now, however, we were not docked to the east, but rather to the northwest of the station. That would make for a bit of a walk, but a cab for the three of us was unworkable. We sat here to kill the time, since we knew we couldn't get into the room and, also, to work ourselves up for the haul.
Finally, at 9:55, we decided it was time to leave. We said good-bye to Rolf, who was there to get others into cabs and such. The walk up the stone dock was a bit much. They were like giant cobblestones. K looked for another way, but found none. At one point, I wondered aloud if it would be possible to lift the bags up to the top of the retaining wall, but J and I both quickly discounted that, while K gave it serious thought. In the end, we just did the best we could.
It was really nice, when we got up to the sidewalk. We were on much the same path as yesterday. Soon, we headed more southerly and went under the large train bridge. At 10:14, we could see our destination in the distance.
During the walk, we got warmer, which was the one advantage to this hike. We reached the side of the building, where there was an entrance. We thought there should be one on the side facing the station, but no. At 10:21, we went in that side door.
It wasn't really a front desk. There was a snack bar to the right and tables to the immediate left. Down some stairs was the dining. Finally, a young woman appeared and asked if we were checking in. Of course, we couldn't get into the room, but we could take the luggage up to the fourth floor luggage room. She gave us the special card key for it and the elevator.
We actually ran into a couple from the boat, who had taken a cab over. Ah, well, we saved some money.
There was quite a bit of luggage in the storage, and we had to make a space for ours. I'd locked my carry on and the backpack with chocolate was in my suitcase. We crossed our fingers that all would be safe and we left at 10:47 to go to Centraal to take care of tickets for tomorrow and the day after. We figured it would be easier to have them in hand before we needed them.
The door where we entered was near a ticket counter, but that was for international travel. We had to look around a bit to figure out what we were doing. We saw the trains we needed for Zaanse Schans tomorrow and the airport the day after on the overhead monitors. So, that confirmed that they existed. Then, we had to find a ticket machine. Luckily, in Europe, you can always change the language on such machines to English. We decided we'd all head to the airport at the same time to make it easier. Having secured the tickets for both days, J went ahead and got tram tickets for each of us to use today at 9 Euros each.
After that, we decided to roam the station a bit. I was particularly taken with the art work on the pillars. I thought it was seriously cool, but it was also great that no one had attacked any of it with graffiti. Maybe, that was harshly dealt with and that's why graffiti was only outside.
At 11, we found a shopping arcade. We roamed about, stepping in to some of the shops, just looking at others. K checked on the price of the cheese at the cheesemongers, because he wanted to take some home as gifts. We'll compare prices.
When we left at 11:15, I turned around to get a photo of the front of the station. I found out that it sits on three man-made islands in the IJ Lake (remember the IJ Dock?). It was built between 1881 and 1889, which was the same time frame as the Rijksmuseum and Concertgebouw (concert hall we visited after the Baltic cruise), and other buildings. The station was designed by by Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers in the Gothic, Renaissance Revival style. He also designed the aforementioned museum. Evidently, there has been ongoing construction for the last 30 years.
We set off down busy Damrak stopping in stores of interest. I wanted a Dutch t-shirt for my almost 1-year-old granddaughter, but didn't want to pay souvenir store prices. Not long after the beautiful De Beurspassage pictured below, we came upon Primark, a relatively inexpensive department store. Both J and I found a few things for the baby here.
At 12:44, we were waiting for the tram and three minutes later, we were on the #2. The ride down to the Rijksmuseum took ten minutes. When we got off and were heading for the entrance, I saw a museum shop with Playmobil Vermeer and Van Gogh toys. I was interested, but our tickets were for a specific time. At 1, we were in line.
You'll no doubt notice the giant Vermeer sign on the facade. There was a special exhibition that had gathered together a number of his pieces. I truly love his work, but didn't buy tickets for the exhibit, when I first heard about it, in case we didn't get to go on the trip. When I finally bought the museum tickets, it was heartbreakingly too late. A sign up today said that none were available.
We got in at 1:07. Before we put coats and such in lockers, I went off to the shop to pick up the Playmobil Rembrandt that I'd paid for, when I bought the tickets. I needn't have done that. There were plenty on the table.
Since we'd come here in 2019 and had seen things like the dollhouses, we decided to take the tour that was on the museum's app and would take us to the highlights. J and I had been to the Prada and had been reduced to just seeing their top 100 pieces, because there simply wasn't time for more. So, highlights are nothing new to us and, in fact, we think every museum should just list their top hits for first time visitors.
We headed up to the Great Hall, which I don't think we saw last time. It was beautiful with lots of stained glass, murals on the wall, and mosaics on the floor. The windows depicted some Greek, but mostly Dutch artists, architects, poets, etc.
The one wall mural I could get a good photo of was of William the Good sentencing the bailiff of Kennemerlend by Georg Sturm.
Floor mosaics included the four seasons and astrological signs. I got a photo of the birthday girl standing behind Gemini. I was amazed at how close most of the seasons' names were to German, especially when I tried saying them out loud.
The hall was the site of an installation, too. I got a few photos, but also got a great overhead one from the museum's site. It was River of Stones, 2018/2023 by Richard Long.
We then headed into the galleries. While we didn't stay together, we did stay in the same room, as we usually do. We each approach museums as a rather independent activity. The galleries were crowded, either with people also seeing the Vermeer exhibit, or folks like us who had hoped to.
I'll give some of the paintings that I recognized or just liked. The first is The Merry Drinker by Frans Hals, 1628-1630. Look how the beverage is tilted in the glass.
The Feast of St Nicholas by Jan Havicksz Steen (C. 1625-1679), a painter I've heard of, really tells a story, when you look closely.
I like The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede by Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael (c. 1628-1682) because it shows an old Dutch countryside, as well as a version of a windmill that I've never seen before.
It was awfully hard to get a good photo of Isaac and Rebecca, Known as The Jewish Bride' by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).
This Rembrandt looks fairly dull in color in the first photo, but the second, where I got in closer, is more vibrant and you can even see some brushstrokes. It is The Wardens of the Amsterdam Drapers'
Guild, Known as 'The Syndics' Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). I knew the painting looked really familiar. Then, I suddenly realized why and a quick Google search confirmed it- the painting, without its background was used for years on Dutch Masters cigar boxes (see screenshot from an online seller). They still use a piece of the painting on their cigarillo packages.
bestcigarprices.com had this about the use of the painting:
... he’s recognized as one of the most talented among his contemporaries, who are commonly known as—you guessed it—the Dutch Masters.
That’s right, this semi-obscure 17th century painting is being used on Dutch Masters packaging as a nod to the artistic geniuses they named themselves after. These original Dutch Masters included many names beyond Rembrandt, including Johannes Vermeer and Hieronymus Bosch. These painters made such an impact on the world of art that their era became known as the Dutch Golden Age. Not a bad group to name your cigars after.
The Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild has been used on Dutch Masters packaging since 1911, and it has become so recognizable that it’s hard to imagine it going away anytime soon. Besides, why would you want it to? It’s not every day that a marketing team is able to take a piece of classical artwork and make it work for their product.
Rembrandt's most famous piece- The Night Watch- was painted in 1642. It is undergoing a restoration that was supposed to begin not long after we saw it in 2019. Lots of people came to see it, nonetheless.
There was a Vermeer on their greatest hits list, but we could not find it. We figured they pulled it and put it in the special exhibition.
Of course, there was a van Gogh, Self-portrait.
The architect of the museum, Pierre Cuypers, designed some furniture for his fiance upon their engagement. Evidently, she had to choose between marriage and a musical career, which was symbolized by the pictures from the life of St. Cecilia. There was no explanation for my patron saint, St. Catherine of Alexandria, being on the panel on the left in the middle. However, they were a very Catholic couple.
Evidently, the museum doesn't want you to think they prize works only by Dutch artists. So, they send you off a ways to a new part of the museum to admire their Indian and Japanese works. Both of these involve stomping out ignorance.
Having completed the tour around 4:15, we decided we needed a café break. We'd liked it, when we were here the last time and we really needed to wash the taste of lunch out of our mouths. Getting there took us past the entrance and through the lobby.
There was a decent line going up the stairs to the café, but we were able to get in, when a table cleared. It was nice to sit down. J decided to get the Milkmaid's Bread Pudding for 6,50 Euros, which we shared. The waitress was very busy, but we managed to get that at 4:38.
Keith's coffee Americano was delivered at 4:43 and the Cokes, as well.
We finally had to flag someone down in order to get our Apple Crumble Pie (5,50) and Blueberry Muffin (4,50) at 4:54. Good thing they tasted good.
Finishing at 5:07, we made a pit stop before going to the shop. I bought more artist Playmobil and spent time explaining to an American woman what you could do besides play with them. (Put a picture of the painting they depict behind them, for example.) J and I each got some Miffy books for the granddaughter. The shop was busy and it was bad for my knees that it was down a set of stairs to get to the main part and then more stairs to get to the rest. At 5;35, we were out of the museum.
We had time before our dinner reservation. So, we didn't hurry. We also stopped in a grocery store to find food for breakfast, as the breakfast at the hotel was too expensive. We also wanted to get some cheese rounds to take home to folks.
At 6:39, we were standing in front of a building with the sign that said "Restaurant d'Vijff Vlieghen" (Restaurant of the 5 Flies). This was a restaurant recommended to J by a colleague and she'd made reservations here tonight for her birthday. This was not the entrance. That was in more of an alley behind the building.
Their website has this:
Our head chef likes to work with seasonal Dutch ingredients only,
preferably biological as well and always with respect to nature. All
natural, no finery with recognizable ingredients. We are proud of all
the beautiful ingredients that come from the Netherlands and we can't
wait to welcome you and savor it!
...
Restaurant d’Vijff Vlieghen (or the Five Flies restaurant) is known as a must do when in Amsterdam. In five 17th century canal houses still the most delicious dishes are served. We are proud to continuing the legacy which our founder, Mr. Nicolaas Kroese, started in 1939.
We had agreed that this was something not to be missed.
Inside, we were greeted and led to our table in one of the many rooms. This was not the Print Room or the Glass Room or any of the other special rooms. But, it was quite atmospheric and lovely.
We were brought a platter with delicious, hearty bread and creamy butter. Rather randomly, there was a container of almonds as well. It turned out to be sourdough bread and cost 5,50 Euros.
This was not a place with "cheap eats". Not seeing any beverages listed, we stuck with water. They had prix fixe 4-, 5-, and 6-course meals, which were not us. We finally decided that we could get just two entrees to share between the three of us. We ordered pork belly for 26 Euros and a half farm-raised chicken for 27 Euros. Both were delicious.
The restrooms were a tough climb up these old stairs and through a room that sadly did not photograph well.
The bill very specifically said a tip was not included, which was really weird for Europe. So, I put a 9 Euro tip on it, when I paid with my MasterCard.
We were out at 8:01 and went around the front to take photos of the other 4 canal houses. A couple had their date of construction.
At 8:09, we caught Tram 2 to Centraal Station.We arrived 6 minutes later and walked down to the hotel.
The desk was literally that, a desk. We'd already checked in. So, it was a matter of getting our keys. We were told which elevator to tap them on to get up to the guestroom floors. I have no idea where the other one went.
We stopped off to get our luggage on the fourth floor. The room was much emptier now, but our luggage was undisturbed. Then, it was up to the fifth floor. There, we had to walk through a glassed-in hallway that overlooked the train tracks. The hotel was literally built around them.
When we got to room 561 at 8:25 we were shocked by how small it was. The photo below was taken from the doorway. There was no place to open a suitcase, except on the bed or on the floor in the entry. That wooded thing on the far side was the "closet", which was open facing the bed under the window and had a few hangers. I wound up putting my closed up suitcase between the first bed and the wall to the bathroom and using it to hold my CPAP machine. In comparison to the room, the bathroom was huge.
As the evening went on, it became clear that we could not get the room to cool off. It was so warm! J opened the window, but we didn't want to leave it open all night due to the noise of the trains.
In getting ourselves organized, I decided to photograph my Playmobil haul and post it on Facebook.
We went to bed at 11:30 knowing those European duvets would be miserable during the night.
My phone recorded 13,884 steps for 4.7 miles and that 2 floors were climbed.
No comments:
Post a Comment