Saturday in Amsterdam

A few weeks ago, we ventured into Amsterdam for a Saturday in the big city. (Yes, this post is a bit overdue). Since we didn't yet have internet at home, the first stop when we got to the city was the library (or Bibliotheek). I also love checking out new libraries, so I was secretly excited about seeing the building, too.

The central branch of the library (which we visited) opened in 2007. From each floor, you can see panoramic views of the city through the large glass windows. Lines of computers sit ready for public use, and signs on the escalators indicate which collections are on each floor. Library patrons lounge in a variety of futuristic chairs. It was definitely the most modern library I had ever visited.

Openbare Bibliotheek (Public Library)

After our initial stop at the library, we started our walk to the Van Gogh museum. Out of all of the sites in the guide book, this museum ranked highest on my husband's to-do list. We had previously planned our route with stops at a few other museums and the Nieuwe Church in mind. Unfortunately, the church was closed for the day (maybe because of the carnival that was in town) and we accidentally bypassed the other museums by walking on a parallel street.

Rides at the Carnival

When we finally reached the Van Gogh museum, the line was extremely long. After walking for about an hour, I didn't want to wait in line for another 2. I had read in our guidebook (thanks, Rick Steves), that a year long MuseumKaart can be purchased at any museum. With this card, you can bypass the ticket line and walk right into the museum. Originally, our plan had been to buy one of these at the smaller museums in the central area of the city, but those were the ones that we accidentally missed. We looked around for other museums in the area. There was the Rijksmuseum, but we knew the lines would also be long for it. Plus, we weren't sure we were in the mood for 2 large art museums in one day. We tried the jenever (gin) museum and a diamond museum. Neither sold the pass, but they suggested trying the Stedelijk museum down the street.

We had no idea what the Stedelijk Museum was, but we figured it was worth a short. The line for the museum was only about 4 people long, which was way better than the line next door at the Van Gogh. It turns out that the Stedelijk is a modern art museum. However, it is currently under renovation, so they are having an exhibit called the Temporary Stedelijk at the Stedelijk Museum. We bought our MuseumKaarts, grabbed some sandwiches at the cafe, and explored the part of the museum that was open. All the exhibits were artists' interpretations and/or commentary on the creation of museum space and art exhibits. One room had a piece called, "The Well Polished Floor Sculpture". Other exhibits varied in accessibility for those of us who are not quite so abstract-minded.

Source: http://ioanaciocan.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/25/

After going through the exhibits at the Stedelijk, we headed to the Van Gogh. The museum not only had a very large collection of work from Van Gogh himself, but also works from other artists of the same time period. I enjoyed seeing the contrast of the Van Goghs and the other works. I also saw many Van Gogh paintings that I found much more interesting and beautiful than the ones that are commonly printed. By the time we got through the large collection of works, however, I was tired, my feet and back were getting sore, and I was more than ready to head back.

On first impression, Amsterdam is a busy, international city, with many travelers and immigrants. People aren't shy about carrying around their guidebooks, and English is heard as much, if not more, than Dutch. Many businesses are aimed specifically at tourists, and it's hard to get an idea of what a local person is like. I constantly felt the need to check my belongings to make sure no one was trying to make off with my purse or my camera as people bumped into us on the sidewalk. It was hard to just stop and enjoy the sites with a tide of people pushing us down the street. Still, there is so much culture in Amsterdam. The buildings are amazing and there are so many things to see.

I thought this was the palace, but it's a shopping center!

Whenever we tell someone that we went to Amsterdam, they always ask, "Did you see the Red Light District? Did you see Rijksmuseum? Did you go to the Anne Frank house?" Everyone has their favorite place to go or thing to do, and we definitely plan on making a few more trips into the city to make sure we at least hit the major sites.