Dam Good Time (Part 3)

Our last day in The Dam dawned and we packed our bags, said a tearful farewell to the roof terrace and made our final climb down the stairs of terror.  We walked the short distance to the Rijksmuseum, one of Amsterdam’s jewels.  Even if museums aren’t your ‘thing’ the building and gardens are worth a walk by.  And while you are walking around you just might stumble across some massive letters.  Lots of cities have slogans that they use for branding and marketing.  Some are successful like “I <3 NY” or “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”.  Others maybe not so successful.  Baltimore’s “The

City That Reads” is routinely edited to “The City That Breeds”.  Some cities aren’t even trying.  Lafayette, Oregon bigs itself up as “Third Oldest City in Oregon”…informative but dull.  Then there’s Cleveland, Ohio’s positive “Mistake on the Lake”.  Anyway, I could go on but I’ll stop there and try to get back to my point.  Amsterdam came up with the slogan “iamsterdam”.  A little bit word play, a little bit social inclusion; nicely done.  In an effort to promote the slogan, iamsterdam is spelled out in massive letters and we stumbled upon them over near the Rijksmuseum (not literally thankfully!).  Apparently these letters travel around the city so you might want to double check where they are before heading out but they are well worth a visit and a photo op.

After being a tourist, we headed back to the museum.  Rijksmuseum simply means national museum and it was founded in 1800.  It was relocated to Amsterdam, from The Hague, eight years later and the current building was purpose built in 1885.  The museum has a collection of over a million objects and almost 8,000 of them are on display.  Much of the artwork on display is from the Dutch Golden Age of painting by artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer.  Just like a visit to the Louvre wouldn’t be complete without a glimpse at the Mona Lisa, a visit to the Rijksmuseum wouldn’t be complete without a glimpse at Rembrandt’s The Night Watch.  Thankfully, unlike the crush of humanity that usually surrounds the tiny portrait of Mona Lisa, The Night Watch is massive so even if there is a crowd, you’ll see a good portion of it.  I can’t say I had strong feelings towards the painting before I arrived.  I knew generally what it looked like but to be honest, it was more about ticking a box and saying “saw it”.  But being able to stand inches away from it and see the brush strokes and his use of light (now I’m sounding all artsy!) definitely made me appreciate its beauty.  The other two massive paintings that flank The Night Watch are some of my favourite.  Militiamen of the Company of Captain Roelof Bicker and Lieutenant Jan Michielsz Blaeuw by Bartholomeus van der Helst (a mouthful isn’t it!) and The Meagre Company by Frans Hals and Pieter Codde are amazing in their detail.  Again you can stand close to the painting (but not TOO close) and see the details of the lace collars or fancy buttons.  I also loved the attitude the guys were giving off, working their angles and looking like they would be at home on a catwalk…all it needed was a few to pull the arm triangle pose and it could have been a group going off to a high school dance!  (I’m a born art critic aren’t I?  Iamsterdam!) 

After getting our fill of art, we headed to Centraal Station to drop off our bags.  

 On our canal trip the night before, we had floated by the Sea Palace, a pagoda style Chinese restaurant that is apparently the first floating restaurant in Europe.  If you like Chinese food, this place is amazing.  Just wandering in the main door is a feast for the eyes with the ornate decor and views onto the water.  And if they were a feast for the eyes, the food was just a feast for the stomach.  You can get a bit complacent about Chinese food when the majority of what you eat is take away but have some good dim sum and it makes you appreciate it all over again.  

 With our stomachs full, we headed off to our next museum.  This museum was a bit different than the illustrious Rijksmuseum we had just visited but as museum people it was our duty to traverse all museums; large or small, renowned or rude.  So off to the Sex Museum we went.  Perhaps we took a too academic approach to the ‘museum’ but it seemed rather conflicted as to whether it would be an informative museum that explored the history of and humanity’s relationship with sex or whether it was going to be a crude and jokey flesh parade.  Not to say one style is better than the other but it needed to commit to its mission statement!  (It’s official…this masters has ruined my mindless enjoyment of museums forever!)  While they had legitimate museum pieces like Ancient Greek pottery they also had an animatronic flasher.  A visit is worth it for a laugh but it really could do with a reimagining…now that sounds like an interesting work placement!

Keeping on the theme of the afternoon, we wandered over to the Red Light District.  I’m sure it’s much different at night, but to be honest you can hardly tell you are there.  For the most part it looks like any other Amsterdam street with cobblestones and canal houses.  Every now and then instead of a standard door, there was a glass door with a scantily clad woman waiting there.  Some stood and posed but others sat looking bored or ate their dinner, it was weird but I guess that’s the reality of legalised prostitution.  Just like office work, sometimes you have your slow days and some days you’ve gotta eat at your desk.

Getting back on the culture track, I popped in to see the Oude Kerk (old church) which is the oldest building in Amsterdam.  Opened in 1306, it started life as a Roman Catholic church and after the Reformation, changed to a Calvinist Dutch Reformed church.  It’s still an active church today but it is also used for non-religious purposes.  The day we were there it was acting as an art gallery with large art installations in the aisles.  The inside is pretty stark and empty, which is probably why they can host a wide range of events there.  The organ, which dates back to the 1650s, dominates the centre of the church and I bet that would be amazing to hear.

With our flight hour approaching, we boarded the train to Schnipple Airport and bid a fond farewell to The Dam.  It had been a whirlwind tour of The Venice of the North with amazing weather, lots of laughs and, of course, that stunning roof terrace!  Until next time  :)