Day 8: Amsterdam- Famous Artists, a Canal Cruise, and Flowers

I got an early start, and made it to the Rijksmuseum by 9 am. Absolutely no lines, and I practically had the place all to myself. I LOVE it when that happens... Of course by the time I left, there were so many people that it'd be impossible to get up close to the different paintings without navigating your way through a herd of people. So maybe there's something to be said for this early rising thing, after all. Rijksmuseum was filled with tons of Dutch paintings and artifacts, telling about the history of the Netherlands. The museum's biggest draw is its paintings though, especially those by Rembrandt and Vermeer. These paintings are totally different than the ones I loved in Paris. They're darker, more realistic looking, and very traditional. It was fun to see the painted portraits, not only because they're amazingly realistic, but also because the clothes people wore during that area are insane! Huge gowns with billowing sleeves, lots of rich colors, crazy huge collars... I guess you can't blame these people for wanting portraits of themselves when getting dressed everyday had to be a major accomplishment in itself. After the museum, I took some pics of the famous "I amsterdam" letters just for fun.


Next I went to the Van Gogh museum, where there was a terrible and ridiculous line... And I got to walk right past it since I'd already bought my museum pass the day before. Seriously, am I the only person who plans this stuff in advance? Buying a pass = saving money and never having to wait in line. Winning. Anyway, after a bunch of dirty looks from all the people I passed in line, I went into the Van Gogh museum. Up until now, a lot of the museums I've been to had a lot broader collections. Maybe they were only from one time period, but still lots of different artists. The bulk of this museum though, as you might guess, is Van Gogh's work. Throughout the museum there are also lots of different excepts on the walls, taken from letters that he wrote throughout his life. Those quotes really helped to put his work into context and explain how his painting style changed over time, and why. He never had the professional artist's education, and felt that art should come more from passion than knowledge. He was a religious, and before getting into painting he was an evangelist. Eventually, he decided that he wanted to paint and leave beauty with the world through his work. He moved to Paris (specifically, Montmartre!) to lie with his brother Theo and work on becoming a self-sufficient artist. While there, he became friends with other artists like Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. I think it's so interesting that all of these famous artists were buddies back in the day, sitting around cafes and drinking Absinthe, bouncing their ideas off each other. Van Gogh stayed in Montmartre for 2 years, then moved to Arles, in southern France, for a more provincial environment. Van Gogh developed some sort of illness (epilepsy, they think) and voluntarily committed himself to a psychiatric asylum. Sadly, the treatment there was ineffective and Van Gogh shot himself in the chest when he was only 37 years old. 2 years later, his brother Theo died as well. Theo's wife dedicated herself to making sure that Van Gogh's art got the attention it deserved.

Aside from the biography, the art itself was pretty amazing, though there weren't a lot of works that I recognized. Apparently Van Gogh's art is spread throughout museums all over the world, so that makes sense. They also had a special exhibit on Van Gogh in Montmartre, where they featured a number of the works he did while there, together with a lot of Moulin Rouge posters, and other art by Toulouse-Lautrec. So obviously I was stoked about that, as evidenced by the rambling on all things Montmartre/Moulin Rouge/Toulouse throughout my Paris posts. In addition to that special exhibit, there were also paintings by Pissaro, Monet, Signac, Gauguin, and others. Pretty cool museum.

I went to the canal cruise station to check on departure times, and then walked around for a couple of hours in some less-touristy parts of the city. I'm a tourist too, obviously, but the areas of town that cater to travelers seem to be a waste of time and money. In Amsterdam, for example, the tourist area is recognizable by the KFC, Subway, and McDonald's all within the same block, and souvenirs that cost twice as much as they do everywhere else (and I know this because I did an extensive wooden-shoe cost comparison survey!). Plus, how can you get a feel for a city when you spend all your time in an area that, in the words of my receptionist, is a "tourist only zone, do not go there! The locals hate it and you will not find any REAL Amsterdam there!" So instead I wandered around the canals, found a little bakery, and grabbed breakfast/lunch: a ham and cheese croissant, and a little bag of stroopwafels- little wafer-thin waffle sandwiches with a gooey layer of caramel in the middle. Mmmm.











So delicious! I hung out on a park bench, ate my lunch, and journaled for a little bit before making my way back to the canal cruise station. The cruise was pretty uneventful and I'd walked around the city so much already that I didn't see anything new, but I did learn some interesting historical tidbits and it was nice to rest my legs for awhile... Plus, who doesn't love old wooden boats?














After the cruise I was on a hunt for more comfortable shoes. I knew I wouldn't find Toms, but I hoped for something similar. I searched for what felt like forever, then remembered that Skechers just came out with Toms knock-offs called Bobs! And I know this because I talked a lot of crap about them when they did it! Ha... my opinion changed as soon as I saw a Skechers store. Hooray for knock-off Toms!

Ecstatic with my new purchase, I went and checked out the world-famus flower market. It really was amazing- countless tulip bulbs, beautiful hydrangeas, plenty of souvenirs, even a year-round Christmas shop.


























By then it was getting late, so I had some Thai food for dinner and called it a night. Sightseeing is exhausting!


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