Amsterdam: Brevity Isn't One of my Gifts

I’d like to publicly take issue with the claim that, “Laura has called dibs on blogging Amsterdam.” Mostly I figured it would be fitting, since I haven’t contributed to the blog at all up to this point, to be overly critical of Braxton’s opinion. What are wives for, right?

I don’t believe I ever called ‘dibs’ on this post, nor did I imply that Braxton would do anything less than a wonderful job explaining the sites in Amsterdam. I have full confidence in him. I say all of this not only to be finicky, but also to let you all know that I’m not an art historian, and I may, in fact, be nearer to an uneducated cretin than even Braxton. ; )

Now, with all the formalities out of the way, on to Amsterdam – figuratively speaking. Holland is a beautiful country, as you might imagine, so having Braxton’s brother Zack drive us through the countryside was really a treat – lots of cows and old-style windmills. I never expected to go to Amsterdam. It always seemed kind of scary and made me think of marijuana and prostitution. As it turns out, though, Amsterdam is a beautiful city and the only thing to really be afraid of are the bicycles. Bicycles are everywhere. You may dodge the cars and the people, but if you miscalculate while crossing the street or aren’t paying attention, chances are you’re going to be mowed down by some crazy hooligan going 40 mph on two wheels. The thing is, these people seem very kind when they’re off their bicycles, but once they’re on that seat they seem to be after you. Zack mentioned that it was very much like a cartoon, and Braxton and I had to agree. Imagine. We’re standing carefully on the curb with our full attention on the task of crossing the street. All heads turn first to the right and then to the left. The way is clear, so the right foot is just extending over the pavement in full confidence ready to cross the street when all of the sudden fifty bicycles come out of nowhere and from every direction for the express purpose of ripping that limb from its associated socket. This is the point in the cartoon where all three of us are whizzed around in circles and come out with googly eyes and dizzy lines above our heads. It was a dangerous business, this crossing the street.

We survived, nonetheless, and in the process we not only got to see several Coffee Shops, which sell marijuana instead of caffélattes (We saw them from a distance, just to clarify.) and the red light district (also from a distance), but also wonderful art museums, the Anne Frank house and a city full of lovely architecture and a great canal system.

Amsterdam boasts two well-known art museums – the Rijksmuseum and a Van Gogh Museum. Luckily for me, Zack and Braxton endured them both. The Rijks is currently undergoing a renovation project, so most of the collection is not on display. Of course, the collection is quite expansive, so I don’t think the fact that they have just the masterpieces on display bothered my companions. The most famous painting in the Rijksmuseum is The Nightwatch by Rembrandt, but there are also many other wonderful paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch masters. Here is a link to the museum’s website, if you’d like to check it out.

The Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam is really amazing, and, incidentally, my favorite thing we viewed in the city. Since Van Gogh was Dutch, it makes sense that his country would have the most extensive collection of his art. The museum gives a great picture of the artist’s life by showing his paintings in chronological order and with biographical information. It is a lot to take in, but the viewer can really come to grasp a better understanding of Van Gogh as a person and an artist. And, if you choose one artist to know better as a person and an artist, Van Gogh is a good one to choose. He was a self-taught artist who was, cliché as it sounds, never really appreciated in his lifetime. It’s fascinating to watch the work transform throughout his lifetime. He began with an aversion to the colors and techniques that would eventually make him so famous, but he slowly grew to use color and texture and movement in a way that’s proved to be quite striking and important to the direction of Modern Art. It was very informational and (as an artist) encouraging to see this gradual shift. It also makes me wish he hadn’t killed himself, so we could have seen the further progression of his skill and exploration 119 years later. Here is a link to the Van Gogh Museum. You can change the language in the top left corner.

Both of these museums are excellent places to visit if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam. The Anne Frank museum also has quite an impact and is well designed and informational. The museum is actually in the building where the Frank family stayed and visitors get to climb through the secret swinging bookcase that hid the family’s living quarters into the rooms where the Frank family stayed to avoid the insanity of the Nazis. Here is a link to that museum as well.

As you can see, brevity really isn’t one of my gifts. Overall, I gave Amsterdam a 7.0 on the 10 point scale. I’ll go ahead and leave you with a few pictures of the city. Good times.