amsterdam II

Today is the last day in Holland. I feel like we've made pretty good use of our time here...
I'll start with today and go backwards...

Rijksmuseum exterior

Today we headed to the Rijiksmuseum, which is only a couple of blocks from our hostel. We've passed it so many times but we'd never entered before today. They had some of the most wonderful paintings by really famous and not so famous Dutch artists, but they were all fantastic and in that Renaissance style that is my favorite. I am not a fan of modern art so I felt like this was just the place for me. We mulled around the museum for a good five hours, taking our time in each of the 14 galleries. They had "The Night Watch" and another famous picture of several fabric testers in the 17th century painted by Rembrandt, which were amazing in the play between light and dark and how he made his figures move. What really intrigued me about all the artwork was the ability for it to be both realistic and completely fantastical at the same time. For instance, a woman's hand could hold such realistic detail and look as though your hand could have been in it's place, but in the same painting the artist could leave certain details up to the onlookers imagination, for them to decide what the painting was of. I like the realism/fiction that interplays in these paintings; it is absolutely fabulous and allows you to think and be creative in such more depth than looking at a photograph.
After that we went to McDonalds and Starbucks for the "only in the Netherlands" versions of things. I enjoyed a nice Appeltaart McFlurry for only €2,10. It was delicious with all those apple crisp chunks floating in it...

Anne Frank Memorial Statue

Yesterday we began with the Anne Frank museum, which was really interesting because you could walk through the rooms above her Otto Frank's jam factory/storage/office space that hid the Franks during the war. It was so sad that she died only one month before the liberation. Touching and heartbreaking, the museum was a cold reminder of all the horridness in the world, but also the good in people, and how people will perhaps not 'stand up' to what's wrong but at least try to make bearable a situation for others. Here in Amsterdam I think a lot of museum space is spent urging the visitors to consider what 'just following orders' means. I'm wondering if that's a European wide thing or just here specifically. It's an interesting thought process that Americans don't need to ponder as deeply as these people do, perhaps, because that mindset has never led Americans to such horribleness. Another really fascinating aspect of the museum was it's ability to guide the visitors into thinking about Anne's family members and friends outside of her subjective portrayal of them in her diary. I don't know about you all, but I've always thought of Anne Frank's diary as an objective account of how Jewish people felt living in the early 1940's in Europe, but when you think of all of her opinions about herself, her family and so on, you begin to realize that there are other viewpoints on this story, like how she got along with her mother and how she idolized her sister. It was also interesting to hear Otto Frank, who was always very close to Anne, warn that "most parents really don't know their children" after reading his daughter's diary. But, a once in a lifetime experience to actually see Anne Frank's diary.

The Harry Potters

We ended with a bar crawl that ended at 4 am. Yep, I stayed out until 4 am. It was probably worth it, €20 for a night out and drinks/entrance to six bars. Also, protection and safety in numbers. It was surprisingly full for a Monday night out on the town here...in one of the bars Shaina and I got a drink called the Harry Potter, and the bartender lit it on fire and produced a ton of sparks! It tasted like spiced, really spiced, rum and was served warm with an orange wedge. Delicious and sparkly.

Brouwerij 't Ij

Sunday we went to microbrewery here in Amsterdam called the Brouwerij 't Ij which was under the oldest/largerst windmill in the city. They had delicious unfiltered double distilled beer and cheese that was made from a local farmer who took the leftover wheat/other ingredients from the brewery to feed his animals. A good day.

Sorry for the extensive post, I hope all of my readers are doing well! I can't guarantee this update level throughout my trip, but I will post when I can. Tot ziens!