Day 8 - Amsterdam

Bundling up in all our layers, we ventured out into the cold morning. Across the canal from our houseboat was an outdoor market selling fresh bread, cheese and produce. The smell of the bread and pastry was intoxicating. Yes, these items would go into our bellies for breakfast!

We walked through the Jordan, enjoying the crocked buildings and the lovely canals, making our way to the Van Gogh Museum via the morning tram. I was on a mission to get there early before the crowds arrived. Upon our arrival, we walked right in (upon our exit, there were lines down the sidewalk-good job us!).

For me going to any museum is a very personal activity. If it's a museum that I am returning to, I feel like each painting is an old friend as well as the artist himself. So upon entering the museum after 8 years since my last visit, it really felt like I was walking into a friend's home. Matt is really good about my need to visit privately with each painting. When I finish my visit with a set of paintings, we regroup and talk about any paintings he has an interest in. It really means a lot to me that he understands how I need to experience a museum and the artist on my own. Thank you Matt for letting me visit with my friends.

The most momentous change in Van Gogh’s life was triggered by his younger brother Theo, who advised Vincent to become an artist. As time passed, Theo also gradually assumed the role of ‘wise older brother’ and became his art dealer. He died only 6 months after Vincent. The museum has a treasure-trove of personal items, including Vincent's paint and pallete, hundreds of letters, and his ink well and writing desk. Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Theo's wife, is the reason why we have so many personal items of Vincent's. After her husband died, she took over the Van Gogh family estate, saved all the items from Vincent's life and managed his collection of paintings. She keenly sold only a few pieces as needed to fund the estate. But for the most part, this collection is intaked because of her foresight. The Van Gogh family was deeply involved in every aspect of building the museum. Each level of the museum allows you to follow the progression of the artist through his paintings and his letters to his brother. It's a wonderful museum.

NOTE: if you are a true Van Gogh fan, you MUST make a day trip out to the Kroller Muller Museum. It's a private collection, over-shadowed by the VGM, but it has "Cafe du Nuit" and "Starry Night." Helene Kröller dreamt of a ‘museum-home’, a dream that came true in 1938 when the Kröller-Müller opened its doors. Helene Kröller-Müller was its first director. We had wanted to make it to this museum, but by doing so, we took a big chance on missing our drop-off appointment for the car...that would be bad. Also, both Matt & I had visited the Kroller Muller in the past. I just wished we had the time to visit my "friends" there again.

We said goodbye to our friend, Vincent. I think Mom enjoyed the layout of the museum. Outside of the Museum was...surprise...an ice skating rink. The little ones had special skates that had 2 sets of blades like a sled. They could go straight, but turning was near impossible. Again, behind the idyllic setting of children ice skating was the Cocaine Warning sign. It will also be in every tourist's iconic photo with the "I AMsterdam" sign.

Although it was not tulip season, we made our way to the Flower Market. Bulbs with the seal for export to America are now only sold in the springtime. Of course, all the really cool and unique bulbs can't be exported. On past visits, I've had a 50% success rate in getting my "illegal bulbs" home.

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese and MORE cheese! I love cheese, so does Mom. I think we ate an entire day's worth of calories while sampling all the varieties at one of my favorite cheese shops. The Kaaskelder Cheese Shop had so many varieties and all so delicious! The unanimous favorite was a smoked sheep cheese and an aged Gouda. As we filled our basket with cheese, I asked, "Can we fit all this in our bags?" Mom responded, "Oh yeah, we will make it fit!"

In staying with today's theme of introducing Mom to some of my favorite artists, we stopped by Rembrandt's house. The house has been beautifully restored. When Rembrandt went bankrupt and had to liquidate his household assets, however, meticulous records were kept of what was sold and its location in the home. Many of the pieces were recovered and returned to their place in the home. His studio has some of the most perfect light to paint by. While there, we had a demonstration on how Rembrandt made his paint and what material was used. Who knew that burnt rabbit bones made the best black and that boiled rabbit bones made his primer. Blue was the most expensive color for him to make from Azurite so it is used very sparingly. He used a total of some ten pigments: white lead (very poisonous), bone black, Kassel earth, umber, yellow ochre, lead tin yellow, vermilion, madder, smalt and azurite. He stored his self-made paint in pig's bladders.

Walking back to the boat was a good walk. I think we burned off some calories from all the cheese we ate earlier.

It had been a long day with lots of walking. The market we had stopped at in the morning was getting ready to close for the evening. We picked up some more bread and along with our cheese, we decided that we wanted to make dinner in our little houseboat. Plus, the evenings were averaging 32 but felt colder due to the wind. Mom stayed at the boat enjoying some wine while Matt and I went out to forage. Finding a grocery store similar to "Safeway" was a big challenge. The first 3 grocery stores that we found were high-end Whole Foods-type of stores. Matt said, "A store that does not sell Pepsi will not have what we want." Finally, after another long walk, we found a store, but it was packed with shoppers...all who were like us and did not want fancy foods. We got some Minestrone soup, salad, potato salad and an ice cream like dessert that we saw other people buying.

Dinner was perfect. The cheese and bread went great with the soup. Mom and Matt began the first night of their Cherry Beer tasting. I enjoyed my dark beer, but tried theirs. The Extreme Cherry tasted like cherry cough syrup to me. Conversely, Mom and Matt thought my dark beer tasted like wet burnt wood.

After dinner, Matt and I had a night out to ourselves. We walked through the streets lit with Christmas lights and eventually made our way to the Red Light District. We had a good time people watching and popping in and out of the shops.

Ten years ago, I was visiting the Red Light District and walking down a VERY narrow alley way. The alley narrows down so that only 1 person at a time can pass comfortably. As I waited for my turn, I looked into the window I was being pushed against to see the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She was stunning. I mouthed the words, "You are beautiful." She replied simply with "Thank You." I returned to Amsterdam a year later and she was in the same spot, I smiled at her and she smiled back. In my little fantasy world, we were friends who visited over tea while she shared stories with me about her "clients." While walking through the District, Matt and I went back to her window, but a new girl was now there. She was not nearly as pretty. I wonder what ever happened to her.