My travels in February took me to a day trip in Amsterdam to see the Rembrandt Exhibit at the Rijks Museum and a visit to the Bijenkorf Department store’s cafe.
We went by train from Hoorn to Amsterdam. A short hop to the city without the hassle of driving in a city which has easy to use public transport.
It was a really fun day!
Flowers at the train station in Hoorn NL
In Holland there is ready access to buy flowers. They are one of the worlds’ largest growers and exporters of flowers in the world. And the prices are reasonable! It’s customary to bring flowers when you are visiting or buy them for your home.
Is an upscale department store just down the street from the train station in Amsterdam. The name of the store translates to the Bee Hive. Really.
We had lunch, but that was an excuse for me to have a piece of chocolate mousse cake. After lunch we made our way out of the store where I stopped dead in my tracks to take photos of the bakery goods! Such artistry to behold! Love it!
We walked to the subway tram and made our way over to the Rijksmuseum to see the Rembrandt Exhibition. When the new underground tramway was constructed They dug many meters below the original underground. There they unearthed layer after layer of pot shards and various archeological objects.
These objects are out in a separated strip between the up and down escalators to the tram platform below. As I rode down the longest, steepest (somewhat scary) escalator, there were many archeological finds which seemed to stream by me as we descended to the platform. You can see in the photos below the beautiful tiled walls across from the platform.
Lastly we walked to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam from the tram.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Ckatt 2019
The canal photo from the Canal Bridge right in front of the Rijksmuseum CKatt 2019
Fun Factoids: There are sixty miles of canals in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was named after the Amstel river. A canal boat ride is a unique way to see the city. They weather was overcast, but that stops no one from enjoying the city.
The Rijksmuseum was overhauled inside. It took a few years, but the results are very effective. The highlight of the Rembrandt show for me was Rembrandt’s self
Portrait as a young man. He had golden reddish hair as a youth. While this is a photo of it from an Art Education site. It is a pale comparison to the glowing atmosphere and his quality painting techniques. Under the museum light the Rembrandt self portrait was luminous.
Rembrandt Self-Portrait, 1627, Kassel, Staatliche Museum
The Rijksmuseum was showcasing four of Vermeer’s paintings! These paintings were a thrill to see. I was happy just to gaze and marvelat the clarity and richness of his paintings. Both Vermeer and Rembrandt were inspirations for me in my art student days. Included are “The Little Street” from 1658; “The Milk Maid” from 1658; “Woman Reading a Letter” 1663; “The Love Letter” from 1669. These paintings may be viewed at the link above at the beginning of this paragraph.
On our way to dinner I stopped by this shop to take a photo of the ceramic fantasy fish.
Amsterdam local art scene right across from the Rijksmuseum 2019
After a really pleasant dinner we walked back to the train station in a light rain.
Amsterdam at Night CKatt 2019
Have a good week.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.
