Some of our walks were in the museums. After walking several miles from our hotel, we passed the Rijks Museum, and went straight to the Van Gogh Museum for several hours. At the Van Gogh Museum, no photographs were allowed, but these two by Van Gogh, a self portrait, and 'The Cornfield' were in the Rijks Museum. (We saw them the following morning.) The Van Gogh Museum collection is incredible, as everyone has told us all. Kathy had been lucky to see many of the painting at the giant Van Gogh retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum several years ago. At the Van Gogh Museum there were crowds, as there were at the LA County, but the paintings speak loudly over the din of recorded tours, and many languages uttered in awe.
On our way back, we saw the Rijks Museum in the distance.
We were thrilled to be there. It was a very hot day, and most of the people in the city were there cooling off in the reflecting pool. We relaxed too.
That day, we had used all of our 'museum energy', so
after a great Indonesian dinner, and a visit and a beer with
David Shorey at a cafe by
a canal, we walked back to our hotel for a good sleep.
We were back the next day. We were dwarfed by the immensity of the collections.
It was amazing to be actually in the presence of some of these famous paintings. Here is Rembrandt's 'The Nightwatch'.
One of our favorites, in color and mood, was Rembrandt's 'The Jewish Bride.
