Bikes, Trams, Canals and a Zoo

Amsterdam is very difficult to navigate, there are so many trams, buses, people and mostly bikes. Lots and lots of bikes. We constantly hear bringgg, bringgg, telling us to move over. Just when you move away from bikes and think you are safe, you're actually in the tram lane.

We went to the Rijkmuseum today, which holds many of Rembrandt's most famous works, including the Night Watch, which is his largest canvas, and also, the Jewish Bride, of which Vincent Van Gogh said he would give up 10 years of his life to be able to sit in front of it for 2 weeks with nothing but a stale crust of bread. The Rijkmuseum was also hosting a special exhibit of work from Johannes Vermeer on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. April, 2009 is also the 400th anniversary of the Dutch East Indies Companies commission to Henry Hudson to find a better, faster route to China. Instead, he ended up discovering the new Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. We saw an actual letter detailing the purchase of Manhatten, and in September the Rijkmuseum and the United States National Archives will present a special exhibition of this 400th anniversary at the South Street Seaport.

After Rijkmuseum, we went to the Van Gogh Museum. There we saw virtually every one of his most famous works, including Self Portrait, Wheatfield with Crows, Sunflowers, Bedroom at Arles, and as a special treat, the museum also had a temporary exhibit titled Van Gogh and the Colors of Night. There we saw Starry Night, on loan from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was very interesting to learn about Van Gogh's life, and to see the dramatic change in his art from very dark, Dutch influences early in his career, to much more colorful and vibrant work after he moved to Paris and the rural south of France.

We spent our afternoon at the Artis Zoo. They have many playgrounds, a planetarium, aquarium and geological museum. It was very enjoyable to see something so familiar, the zoo, in such a different place, with so many different people.

We had pancakes for dinner, super delicious. We've had alot of fun, but we're also ready to come home. One more day of trains through Germany, then we leave from Frankfurt. We'll be home for A-Day, Roll Tide !!!