It's been a while

But I am back :-)

We just had a lovely weekend away (coinciding with our 3 year wedding anniversary :-)) in our very own capital city - Amsterdam. Sadly the weather was atrocious so I have no photos at all of our visit. We did manage to visit 4 of the main musuems however; eat some extremely tasty Malaysian & Thai food; and go out Saturday night with Niek and Noah to the infamous Cotton Club and the groovy jazz club, Cafe Alto.

The museums we managed to visit (not in any particular order):

Anne Frank House

Even though I had visited this "house" once before and knew more or less what to expect, it still remains one of THE most moving museums I have ever been to. Everyone pretty much knows the story of Anne and the 7 others (including 3 members of her own family) who, in July 1942, went into hiding in the secret annexe behind a warehouse along one of the canals in the middle of Amsterdam. It would be just over 2 years before they were betrayed by someone unknown and the secret annexe was stormed by the German security police.

After being taken to the Gestapo headquarters and interrogated, all 8 were transported to Auschwitz. About a month later Anne, her sister Margot and Mrs van Pels were all transported to Bergen Belsen, and tragically within 6 months all were dead. Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only surviving member of the group, and it is thanks to his efforts that the house with the secret annexe was saved from demolition in 1957. It was officially opened as museum in May 1960, but remains to this day empty of furniture, with the only signs of the previous inhabitants being the photos glued on the wall of Anne's old bedroom. All lovingly cut out of movie/fashion magazines by Anne herself and glued to the wall with homemade glue in an attempt to make the bare room more homely. A moving reminder that Anne was really just a "normal" 13 year old girl. Really a must see for anyone who visits Amsterdam.

Rijksmuseum

The museum is still undergoing extensive renovation, so "only" the masterpieces are on display! A unique opportunity to view all the highlights of the Dutch Golden Age all in one place. After a cold, wet, and windy 30 minute wait in line it was heaven to step into the warm cocoon of the museum :-)

Highlights for me were a small painting by Vermeer that I had never seen before, het Straatje (the Little Street), and the Prophet Hannah by Rembrandt. The first painting depicts an everyday street scene from Delft but it is as if you are looking at a photograph - he captured the moment perfectly! And the second painting for some reason really moved me just because the old woman's hand is painted with such beautiful detail. The light, for which Rembrandt was famous, also creates a moody atmosphere.

Rembrandt House

This "museum" is an interesting reconstruction of Rembrandt's everyday life, his living quarters and his former studio. The house was originally built in 1606 (the year Rembrandt was born!), and he bought it in 1639 for the then massive sum of 13,000 guilders and lived there until he went bankrupt in 1656, when all his belongings were auctioned off. A collection of over 200 beautifully detailed black & white etchings/prints from Rembrandt are also on display, along with the furniture, objects and tools that he is likely to have used in the time he lived in the house.

van Gogh Museum

A visit to this museum is always a unique experience. Nowhere in the world can you see a larger collection of the mad genius' work in one place! It is all carefully arranged in chronological order so it is clear to see the developments and changes in style and subject matter over the years. Funny to see that at one point in his "career" van Gogh was busy with making copies of other artists' paintings (in his own unique style of course!), and was also heavily influenced by Japanese print making, so also created a series of Japanese-style paintings complete with his own made up Japanese/Asian words! The only real disappointment was the fact that Starry Night is not part of the collection, it has been on show at the MoMA in New York since 1941 !

Alli xxx