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Day 4 – Russian Czars, Finding NEMO & the EYE

We planned a visit to the Hermitage Museum which is partnered with the Russian Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It has an exhibition of the Romanov Family as well as a section on the Dutch Golden age of trade in Amsterdam.

Russian Czar Nicholas II.
An exhibit of Dutch Trade Guilds group portraits.
We walked from there to the NEMO Science Museum. The weather had turned cold and windy with light showers.
I had to get a shot of the same tour boat we had taken the day before.
We wanted to visit the NEMO Science Museum that we had sailed past yesterday. It is a five story structure designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano in 1997 which houses hands-on science exhibits for kids of all ages.
Lunch at the roof-top restaurant at the NEMO included fries with a tube of ketchup! It felt kind of like putting toothpaste on your fries.

Didn’t I mention that it was a blustery day?

Bev and Kyle approaching the EYE Film Institute which archives an international collection of 37,000 films and includes an exhibit on the history of filmmaking.

 

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Day 3 – FoodHallen dinner

After finishing the canal cruise at about 7:30, it was time for dinner. Seoul Food Korean take-away was closed so we went to FoodHallen which was hopping busy.
So many choices for dinner…
We went for the Dim Sum platter for 4. 
Delicious!
Some ‘graffiti’ artist had left his statement of civic pride on the railing. We agree!
Sunset on the canal and a very busy and enjoyable day in Amsterdam.
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Day 3 – Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Cruising the Canals

We started at the Van Gogh museum. Rather than paying for each museum, we purchased a MuseumKaart membership for 59 euros which offers entry into 400 museums for a month. We calculated that it would be a good value as we plan to visit 5 or 6 museums versus the 17-20 euro entrance fee per museum.
The painting that Bev most wanted to see called “Almond Blossoms” was the first one we saw when we started the tour.
Like most people, when I think of Van Gogh, his sunflowers, wheat fields and self-portraits come to mind. I really enjoyed seeing the variety of his works like The Irises. He created 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings but only sold one during his career. The rest were left to his brother.
The Rijks Museum, first opened in 1885, houses the works of the Dutch Masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Dyck.
One of the stained glass works depicting Rembrandt.

 

In the afternoon, we took an hour tour-boat cruise through the canals and into the harbor.

More canal views.

The Nemo Science Museum.

 

Montelbaanstoren, built in 1512, is a part of the protective wall that once fortified the city from enemy ships.

 

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Day 3 – The apartment

We are very happy with the apartment we rented through Homeaway. It is up two of the narrowest flights of stairs we’ve ever seen to get to the living area with a kitchen and dining room. Up another flight of stairs to 2 bedrooms, bathroom and laundry room; then up another flight of stairs to the roof-top terrace. There is a sun room that has been converted to a bedroom and an outdoor  sitting area with a grill. Great views of the canal from the roof top.

The living room with windows and balcony overlooking the canal.

A short video ‘walk through’ from the dining room to the kitchen. Very Scandinavian Euro-modern.

Roof-top terrace.
Looking back toward the sun-room.
Kyle would rather be sleeping!
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Day 3 – Breakfast

We stopped at a nearby supermarket to stock up for breakfasts and snacks. We found the prices to be very similar to the U.S. and Google translate helped find the right coffee cream and yogurt. No need to translate “banana”. Glad we brought Pike Place coffee from home!
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Day 2 – Dinner at FoodHallen

Just a 10 minute walk from our apartment, we visited FoodHallen,  an indoor food market with 20 stalls and choices from Dim Sum to Hamburgers. It occupies the space of an old tram station.
It is always important to stay properly ‘hydrated’ when you travel to new places.

 

After lunch we stopped for a chocolate-banana-split-sundae in a freshly cooked soft waffle cone. A bit pricey at 7 euros but enjoyed by all four of us.

 

We will keep this place in mind for a take-away dinner one evening.
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Day 2 – Arrival at our rental apartment in the Oud West neighborhood

Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village in the 1200s and got its name from the Amstel river. The canals extend for 60 miles and have more bridges than Venice (1281 versus 409).

Out for an evening stroll in search of a restaurant when we came across this charming bench a few doors down from our rental apartment.
The entry to our apartment on Jacob Van Lennepkade street. We are on the third and fourth floors.
The view from our balcony overlooking the canal.
There are 881,000 bicycles in the city which is four times the number of cars. More than half of the people cycle each day to work.
25,000 houseboats line the canals and about 15,000 bikes are pulled from the canals each year!

 

 

 

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Day 1 – Tucson to Amsterdam, via Chicago and London

Our flight from Tucson to Chicago was uneventful and we had just enough time to get a bite to eat before our departure at 8:40 pm for London. There was heightened security screening in light of the day’s news from the London Bridge. We were just changing planes so we never left the airport and our third and final flight arrived in Amsterdam at 2 p.m. to sunny skies and 65 degrees!

Waiting for our plane to depart from Chicago to London. I try to remember the sense of wonder that this little boy might have for a huge plane.
The BA 747 ready for departure. Bev and Evan were on the upper deck with just 20 seats.
Enjoying a pre-flight glass of bubbly.
Kyle had the window seat and I had the aisle for our 8 hour overnight flight to London.

The electric partition was just too much fun to play with, for kids or dads!

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Hey There Everyone!

This blog will be our way of sharing ‘Views’ i.e. photos, videos and thoughts of our ‘Voyage’ to Amsterdam, Norway and the Vienna Convention! We are looking forward to meeting those from the 8 countries invited:  Croatia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and United States.