Today we felt ready for a bit of culture so we headed for the Dutch national art collection at the Rijks Museum or as the Dutch call it, the Rijksmuseum. They have a particularly fine battle swan. The museum provided a commentary sheet calling attention to the care and detail with which the swan poop had been rendered. Ah, those Dutch Masters. They have a special offer on Rembrandt this month, with every single Rembrandt work in their collection on…
We spent most of the day at the Artis Zoo, which is only two blocks from the place we are staying. I fell in love with the southern ground hornbills, mostly because they are the only bird I have ever seen with eyelashes. There was also their song, a deep booming duet that echoed round the zoo. The first bird goes “HOOT hoot-hoot” and the second one replies “HOOT hoot-hoot-hoo-ho” trailing away into silence before the first bird takes up…
This morning we set off for the Begijnhof, the home from the 15th century to the 20th of a community of Catholic women devoted to good deeds. I would like to image that Begijnhof is Dutch for Penguin House after the black and white costumes worn by nuns, but alas in the 15th century the penguins were not a common sight on the streets of Amsterdam, and anyway these were not nuns. There are some interesting decorative details. The Virgin…
Today we had our first Stroopwafel. It’s a thin cinnamon flavored waffle, sliced in half with surgical precision, filled with gooey caramel, stuck back together, and then (for an extra €0.50) half covered in chocolate. Delicious. We also learned how to pronounce “Gouda” which sounds something like a cough followed by that thing you ride elephants in. That layer of protective wax is to keep the cheese safe from spittle. There are feral parrots here, the same Ring Necked Parakeets…
Amsterdam seems like a relaxed place. It’s not so much all the coffee shops selling pot (though that probably helps) but the fact that so many people bicycle everywhere. There seem to be lots of bikes for every car, which means less noise, no traffic jams, and less frustration for everyone. The buildings pay very little regard to verticality. They lean out over the street to grab a little extra floorspace, or snuggle up to their neighbors as if they…