Museums, Breweries, and the Real American Hot-Dog

I met up with Ynn and Tank again today, to resume our Amsterdam Adventures.  We went to a number of museums: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank House.  And Tank did not cause a single international incident!  Woo-hoo!

Today Ynn and I are both Amsterdam.

The Rijksmuseum being 'renovated' for a few years now, so the main galleries are closed to the public and most of the is art on loan to other Dutch institutions or in storage.  Happily though, they have what they are calling "the Masterpieces" on display in the south wing.  This includes the Rembrandts, the Vermeers, and the other Big Names of Dutch Golden Age Painting.  Along with some beautiful silver and Delftware.

As it turns out, Louise and I saw most of the Van Gogh Museum on our brief visit oh-so-many weeks ago.  It would be fun it you were really into van Gogh, but I'm not, so it was just nice.  Tank wasn't a big fan.  He likes paintings that look as realistic as possible, and so really liked the Rijksmuseum.  The line was ridiculous, and what was even more ridiculous was that, if you purchased something at the gift shop, the bag they gave it to you in was huge and bright bright yellow with a big purple "Vincent" written on it.  It was so offensive, we didn't even walk into the shop.

We ate Real American Hot-Dogs at the park between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.  They weren't exactly real though because the hot-dog buns weren't foam, they were actual bread, which is pure madness!

He practically ran across two lanes of cars, two lanes of bikes, and two tram tracks in order to clamber up onto the klompen.  And all to find out that it was too big.

This was a common sight.

As the Heineken Experience is closed for renovations (just like the Rijksmuseum: coincidence? I don't think so), we went to visit the Brouwerij 't IJ, a mini local brewery whose symbol is an ostrich.  It is also located right next to an old-time windmill.

Outside the brouwerij 't IJ: the elusive Ynn is captured for posterity!

Another treat for us at the brewery was the unexpected open-air concert by a Dutch Gospel Choir.  It was just too funny.

The Anne Frank House was unsurprisingly heavy.  The line to get in is amazingly long, so I thought it would be easier to buy the tickets in advance online.  I was right, and we could just walk in at the special door and move directly into the museum.  It was easier to understand how the Franks could have gone into hiding in a secret back part of the house after seeing it.  Practically every schoolchild reads at least some of the Diary of Anne Frank, but actually being in the Secret Annex makes it so much more real.  There is no furniture left, as after the inhabitants were arrested the rooms were emptied.  But all of the pictures of movie stars that Anne pasted to the walls of her room are still there.