Revel in Rembrandt and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Things to Do Tips

With major renovation taking place at the moment (July 2006) and continuing until 2008 the main museum building is closed, however, a special exhibition entitled Masterpieces is on display in the Philips Wing.

This exhibition (containing over 400 exhibits, a fair amount for a lot of museums but hardly a scratch on the surface for the hundreds of thousands the Rijksmuseum contains) concentrates on the Golden Age of Dutch art - the 17th Century.

Exhibits include the amazingly detailed Dolls House owned and commissioned by Petronella Oortman, which as well as representing a wonderful feat of artistry it is also a great historical record of life in a Dutch canal side house. There are pictures and artefacts illustrating Amsterdam and Holland's standing as a world trading power (a very good accompaniment to many of the exhibits in the Amsterdam Historisch Museum) and paintings by Frans Hals, Vermeer and, of course Rembrandt including the magnificent "Night Watch".

Despite the fact that the galleries can get very busy, particularly at the weekend and around some of the more well know paintings, it is still wonderful.

Entry: 10 euro plus 4 euro or an audio guide
Opening Times: 9am-6pm daily

The website (www.rijksmuseum.nl) is a fantastic site and well worth a look.

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Phone: +31-20-6747047
Address: Stadhouderskade 42
Directions: Entrance at the moment is on JanLuijkenstraat
Website: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl

The Van Gogh Museum holds the worlds largest collection of his paintings, sketches, notebooks and letters and gives a fascinating and very intimate insight into this wonderful, tortured artist

The permanent collection of paintings are arranged chronologically from his early work including the atmospheric "The Potato Eaters" through the influence of Impressionism gained during his stay in Paris to his later intensely moving pictures such as "Wheatfield Under Thundercloud", completed after he had left the asylum at St. Remy and shortly before his suicide. Included in the exhibition are descriptions of the aims and ideas Van Gogh wanted to explore in his art, many being direct quotes taken from the prodigious number of letters he wrote. Also described are the circumstances under which some of the paintings came to be created. For instance the series of "Sunflower" pictures - possibly one of the most recognisable art images there is – were painted to decorate the room in which Paul Gaughin was to stay.

As a counterpoint to the Van Gogh collection the museum also contains an impressive collection of paintings by some who knew, were influenced by or who were contemporary to Van Gogh. These exhibits include works by Gaughin, Monet, Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec.

I find Van Gogh's paintings very affecting, partly because of their artistic value but also because he has injected so much feeling - highs and abject lows-– into his work. His brushstrokes bristle with energy and emotion, the colours are vibrant and used to such wonderful affect in order to create atmosphere as well as representation. Also one gets an interesting overview of his life and his relationships - particularly the closeness to his brother Theo - and again how they informed his work.

Poignant, vigorous, striking the experience of standing in front of Van Gogh's work stays with you long after you’ve left the museum itself

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Phone: +31-20-5705252
Address: Paulus Potterstraat 7
Website: http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl

The Amsterdam Historisch Museum traces the history of the city through archaeological finds, paintings, artefacts and personal testimony.

It is fascinating how the city developed from small settlements on raised pieces of land by the side of the Amstel river through the reclamation of land, building of canals, conflicts with Spain, France and England, the growth and importance of trade, migration from both Holland and beyond to the multi-cultural city of today. Phew! There is a lot to take in but the exhibits are clearly labelled in both Dutch and English and some are interactive, although we did find the layout of the galleries a little confusing at times

We particularly enjoyed the recreation of a Jordaan brown caf?, the paintings in the Civil Guard Gallery, the Delft Flower Vases and the very personal exhibits of some of those people who have made Amsterdam their home. Well worth a visit.

Open: Mon-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sun: 11pm-5pm

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Phone: +31-20-5231822
Address: Kalverstraat 92
Website: http://www.ahm.nl

This interesting and thought provoking museum chronicles how the occupation of the Netherlands affected the populace and the different ways the population resisted this occupation
Many of the exhibits take the form of personal testimony, written and verbal. There is a fascinating display of the ingenuity of people who hid radio transmitters in matchboxes or Vim containers and microfilm in a shaving razor.
The museum does not shy away from the difficult choices people had to, and did, make. Some chose to be actively involved, others helped when asked but didn’t volunteer their services, others refused. The museum makes no judgement on these decisions, rather it puts you in the position of thinking “what would I do were I in that situation” and asks you to imagine what it must have been like to try and carry on with a ‘normal’ life under an occupying force.
I found it a very moving experience visiting this museum and I would certainly recommend visiting it. Walking back out onto the streets of Amsterdam I was filled with a renewed admiration for cities and citizens who have and still do suffer oppression. And for a long time the question “What would I do” troubled my thoughts.

Most of the exhibits have explanations in Dutch and English though some on the poster displays have not been translated from Dutch

Entrance Fee: 4.50 euros
Open: 10.00am-5.00pm Tues-Fri
12.00-5.00pm Sat-Mon

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Phone: 620 25 35
Address: Plantage kerklaan 61 a
Website: www.verzetsmuseum.org

The CoBrA Art Movement was founded after World War II by artists from Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands in order to develop and encourage avant-garde and modern art. The name CoBrA is derived from the capital cities of the countries from which the artists came – Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam.
The museum contains some permanent exhibits from its collection – including works by Karel Appel whose fountain sculpture stands outside the entrance - and also organises exhibitions by other artists in keeping with the avant-garde ethos of CoBrA. When we visited there was a very striking exhibition examining how African Folk Art has influenced Primitivism in Western art. Being able to see the exhibits side-by-side, for instance African carved masks and totems next to modern paintings and sculptures, allowed you to see how influences had been transferred and compare and contrast the different exhibits.
The art in the museum will not be to everyone’s liking – indeed not everything was to my liking – however what I did enjoy was that each piece provoked a reaction and, for me, that is what I feel art should so. It should make you think. It might simply make you think “I really like this” or “I really don’t like this” or it may make you reflect on some deeper meaning or emotion - there is no right or wrong reaction. The way you feel about a piece of art is individual to you, a personal reaction, and what I really liked about the CoBrA Museum was that it provoked responses in me, it challenged me and it made me think. I was very glad we visited!
Entrance Fee = 7euros
Open: Tues-Sun. 11.00am-5.00pm

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Phone: 547 50 50
Address: Sandbergplein 1, Amstelveen NL
Directions: The museum is situated in Amstelveen - a pleasant town on the outskirts of Amsterdam - take Tram No. 5 from Amsterdam Central Station to Amstelveen Binnenhof.
Website: www.cobra-museum.nl

The Oude Kerk (Old Church) stands rather incongruously in the Red Light district of Amsterdam. Built in the 14th century as a replacement for an earlier wooden structure and dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Given Amsterdam’s standing as a port and a centre of commerce perhaps it is no surprise that the church was dedicated to the patron Saint of, amongst other things, pawnbrokers, merchants, water and sailors. The church escaped the fire of 1452, which destroyed much of the city and in 1565 the churches tower was built.
The interior of the church is large and quite spartan with its stone floor and plain walls, which I imagine provide a good backdrop to the exhibitions the church sometimes hosts. Decoration is in the form of some interesting stained glass windows, the ornamented organ, the vaulted ceiling and – my favourite – the carved wooden choir stalls some illustrating sayings and proverbs.

Entrance Fee is about 4 euros each

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Phone: +31-20-6258284
Address: Oudekerksplein 23
Website: http://www.oudekerk.nl

The choir stalls of the Oude Kirk are carved with small vignettes many of which represent proverbs or sayings – the one represented in the picture is, according to the interesting official website (www.oudekerk.nl) “It’s like trying to out-yawn an oven door’: A person can’t yawn as wide as an oven door, i.e. don’t try to accomplish the impossible”.
Look out for the one that represents “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Let’s just say that the money isn’t falling out of a tree but out of someone’s.. I shall let you guess!

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Phone: +31-20-6258284
Address: Oudekerksplein 23
Website: http://www.oudekerk.nl

Once part of the city walls the impressive Waag has been a weigh house, where merchants brought their produce to be weighed and measured, housed an operating theatre – where Rembrandt painted “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp”, a place of public executions and is now a very pleasant bar and café.
Even if you decide not to stop for a coffee and a cake it’s worth going to look at the very striking building.

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Address: Nieuwmarkt 4

We found these fantastic little critters in a small park not far from the Leidseplein, just up from Max Euweplein. They look so lifelike when they are in the grass that the first time we saw them we did a complete double take!

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Address: Leidsekruisstraat (I think!)

Early streets in Amsterdam did not have names and the houses were not numbered, instead decorative plaques were placed on the houses to identify them and the house would be known by the description of what was on the plaque. I would imagine that the house this plaque was on was known as “The House of the Sun” or even “The House of the Rising Sun”!

The plaques are all over Amsterdam, we saw quite a few in the Warmoesstraat and Zeedjik area not surprising really as these are two of the oldest streets in the city. Keep an eye out for them and there is also a display outside the Amsterdam Historical Museum.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to say “I live at the House of the Leopard” rather than “No. 19”! Much more poetic!

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Address: All over