A FEW DAYS IN AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

The constant buzz about Amsterdam from "those in the know" in Portland is the bicycles. Ah yes, the bicycles; how refreshing to see a city that works by bike (if you don't get killed by one). There are so many refreshing things about Amsterdam bicycling. No lycra! No cyclists bent over racing handlebars moving like bats out of hell! The tinkling of bike bells when they come up behind you! Bike tires that are fat enough that they don't get caught in the tram tracks and cause injuries to cyclists. Bikes that don't cost thousands of dollars! Yep, Amsterdam commuting bikes are typically heavy beaters that are designed to be practical - imagine that! I do wonder about the injury rate, and the seriousness of such; after all, nobody wears a helmet, they careen down the streets and paths with a passanger sitting side-saddle on the back, they carry large and heavy objects, and we see a lot of them texting while riding (yikes!). But it all looks like it works, and so many people of all ages are riding bicycles.




Amsterdam is a canal city, with many miles of these waterways built in concentic circles around the city centrum. There are all manner of vessels on the canals of this city; however, the majority of those that are actually moving are the large tour boats that ply the canals. We'll do that tomorrow, although I am interested in the small elecrtric boats that can be rented.

Sex and drugs - where's the rock and roll? Red Light District - have not sought it out. But there are sex shops in some of the neighborhoods we've wandered through. And what is that faintly familiar smell when we walk past a coffee house? And why do I feel so good after walking past a few of them?







And did I mention culture? Is there a city with more museums than Amsterdam? We have already been to: the Rembrandt Huis (house), the Jewish Museum and Portugese Synagogue, the Ann Frank Huis, the Dutch Resistance Museum and the Rijksmuseum. In the Rijksmuseum (I think it is pronounced Reeks museum) I discovered that many of the painters in this country had either sinus infections or bad asthma - why else would they all be phlegmish? The paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch Masters are well known, and we saw many beautiful pieces. It is interesting to follow the development of Rembrandt's style through the years of his career. Even more interesting was what we learned about his life in the house he had owned. He went bankrupt, could not keep up the payments on the very large house in Amsterdam, and it was reposessed, along with everything in it. Before carting everything away, however, there was a complete inventory made of the house contents. Who knew that Rembrandt was a collector of things. In one room of the house now there is a display of some of his collection, including sea turtle shells, butterflies, sea shells, African spears and masks, rocks and geodes, books on many subjects, and on and on.

Of Rembrandt's art, I spent more time looking closely at his etchings. Some are seemingly simple drawings; others much more complex. What impressed me was the detail of the line work, scratched into metal plates with an assortment of tools. Here are some examples in very close view, so you can see the line work:


magnified a bit...





The above "Man making water" is accompanied by another engraving "Woman making water." These seem to be very popular, as they are done as postcards, framed prints, refrigerator magnets and more in the Rembrandt House gift shop.

OK...I have internet for a bit, so I'll post this, and write more later.



- posted from the fisheyepad