Amsterdam

The morning began with chocolate croissants, potatoes, bacon, and tea (wouldn't it be nice if these magically appeared at home about 7:30 every morning?), followed by an “enrichment talk” on Contemporary Netherlands from a local expert. There are so many cruise ships heading to Amsterdam that they are only allowed to dock for 48 hours, so the Amadeus was moored somewhere on the outskirts of the city (Ijmuiden?) and we took a bus to Oud-Zuid (Old-South), the Museum Quarter neighborhood, and parked in an underground garage, perhaps made for tour buses.  Everyone eagerly clambered onto four canal boats, each with its own guide. The day was chilly and initially gray so we were glad of the partial roof that could completely cover the boat if it began to rain.

The canal boats follow a loop through the city, zig-zagging past other boats, and passing the Rijksmuseum, the Westerkerk, the Science Museum, the Palace of Justice, and other architectural sights, both the distinctive canal houses, the sometimes dilapidated but often intriguing houseboats, and interesting bridges such as the Skinny Bridge. One canal would be all beautiful, mostly restored houses, and then we’d turn onto another canal that would be more commercial. I had been very disappointed to miss out on tickets to visit the Anne Frank House despite many emailed reminders to book them exactly six weeks before our trip. When our guide said we were passing the Anne Frank House, I kicked off my shoes and stood on the seat to see it properly. I think if you read The Diary of a Young Girl when you were close to her in age, it leaves a lasting impression. The house seemed surprisingly central to have been an effective hiding place!

Anne Frank's House

More than half of the group chose to go back to the ship but everyone else wanted to see Amsterdam and the sun was emerging periodically. I had bought tickets for us to visit the Rijksmuseum and was very pleased I had chosen that afternoon because the canal boat dock was right across the street - I literally wanted to pat myself on the head for unforeseen acumen! However, our timed entry was 2:30 pm so we had several hours to kill. I asked the tour guide if there was a grocery store nearby – he found this an outlandish request but I explained that my mother really liked the apricot jam served on the ship (I told her to fill her pockets with the little containers but she declined) and I wanted to find her some. “Right behind the Van Gogh Museum!” he told me and that was sort of true, although we took a few wrong turns, after passing through an open food and souvenir market area.  I spotted a passerby carrying eggs so asked her and she told me to aim for the Concertgebouw, an impressive building with (allegedly) acoustics to match Symphony Hall in Boston.

My mother decided to wait on a bench while I zipped into the Albert Heijn grocery store, which I really enjoyed browsing and was tempted by so many delicacies. I bought Stroopwafels (Dutch cookies with caramel filling) to bring home, apricot jam, and chocolate bars. I thought about buying food for a picnic but was glad I hadn’t because my mother had got chilled waiting for me so we hustled on back to the Rijksmuseum. I was hoping the guards would let us in early and, in fact, they barely looked at our tickets.

The Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, is a stunning gothic building that occupies what seems like several blocks and has nearly a mile of galleries. It reminded me a lot of St. Pancras Station, where we had just been, with its arches, flying buttresses, and color. The museum is intriguingly shaped with two separate sections that are connected at the bottom by an atrium; also a road goes under the museum for pedestrians and cyclists. Later, we found the two separate towers/sections a bit annoying because you had to go all the way down to the atrium and across if you wanted to see something on the opposite side (which we did, especially at the end of the afternoon when we were really tired but reluctant to leave).

Vermeer

We warmed up with hot tea and cheesecake and bought a few things at the gift shop before we began to explore the museum, which is known for its massive collection of Dutch art, especially works by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings and is has its own dedicated gallery (in case anyone didn’t realize how important it is). The painting is displayed within a large, climate-controlled plexiglass case to protect it from damage and there is a secret escape route so guards can snatch it and escape with it if there is a threat (I did not see this but was eavesdropping on an English speaking guide). One of the reasons it is famous is that the figures seem to be preparing for a march, rather than being stationery, as in most paintings of the era. However, that same guide said he preferred Rembrandt’s The Jewish Bride, hung conveniently nearby, which I also admired. However, my favorite painting was a Vermeer, “View of Houses in Delft.”

The Great Hall on the second floor of the museum features a whole wall of stained glass windows celebrating classic artists and philosophers (I couldn’t find my friend Erasmus but he must have been there somewhere). We also visited Vincent’s self-portrait and (after going down then up again on the other side) a room full of Renaissance art before our hunt yielded the Madonna of Humility by Fra Angelico.

I was amused that our meeting place with the cruise directors was a nearby Marriott. We hurried to get there and, of course, were very early and the group didn’t leave for 45 minutes. Eventually, Alan and Fiona led us about four blocks away to catch a tram to the Amsterdam Centraal Station, as our ship was supposed to meet us at the Amsterdam Cruise Port on the IJ Waterfront. The tram was crowded but the ride was interesting. We walked through the train station and approached the waterfront, looking expectantly for our ship. Fiona started telephoning nervously and we learned it was approaching. Alas, there was no room at the inn, and to our disappointment the ship proceeded past us and out of sight, having been told to dock further down. We had been told the ship would be right by the station so while this was no one’s fault, people were really tired and if they had told us how far the walk would be to the ship, we could have got a taxi. Or they could have insisted on getting a taxi for those who needed one, which I will point out in my feedback.  This was really my only criticism of the cruise - and the tasteless cookies provided by the chef.

Renaissance icons

After this long day, we really appreciated the free flowing wine at dinner! We were sitting with sisters when two women arrived late and very disgruntled at the table next to us. They had secured 6:30 tickets to the Anne Frank House so missed the hotel rendezvous but found their way to where the ship was supposed to be, only it wasn’t. Apparently, Alan had been dispatched to lurk near the train station looking for stray passengers and had missed them. However, before you leave the ship, you exchange your room key for a ship card that has the ship’s phone number. In an emergency, you could call the ship (assuming your phone hadn’t run out of juice) and ask where on earth it was.

Poor old depressed Vincent!  I felt I owed it to him to pay my respects.