Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Amsterdam Trip 2017. Day 3

TUE MAR 14 (day 3)

Courtyard behind the Museum van Loon


Went to the Museum van Loon in the morning. The van Loons were a bigwig family dating back to at least the VOC (Dutch East India Company) days, and this canal house is now a museum, at least most of it, most of the time.  BIG entryway/staircase with a very cool, script brass baluster going up the stairs.  They had a special tulip-themed art show nearly ready to open.  A formal garden courtyard let to a carriage house which held a fancy carriage that a van Loon had build for no apparent reason other than to hopefully get invited to ride in parades. 



We attended a free lunchtime concert  at the Opera House.  People just sat on the stairs in the big entry foyer. It was fun.

Lunch - walked up toward the old town center, Nieumarkt square, and ate lunch in de Waag, which used to be the weighting house and an entrance into the very old city. It is the site of Rembrandt’s “Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp”.  Guess that happened upstairs somewhere.  The place looks like a castle from outside, and now stands by itself in the middle of Neiumarkt square.  Very cool atmosphere, with high ceilings and lots of real candles, and again, good food at a reasonable price for something smack dab in the middle of a busy, touristy place!



Next up was the the famous Stephen and Penelope knitting and yarn shop.

Stephen and Penelope



                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                                           


Rembrandt, looking down on a recreation of his "Night Watch" painting.































Drawbridges, both wooden and metal



Walked around more after lunch, and ended up at the Rembrandt House Museum. They had it it done up, as much as possible, as it was when he was living, working, and painting there.  There were printmaking and paint prep demos.  Many steep, winding, spiral staircases.  Rembrandt had a bic collection of collectables and curiosities that he used as working models for the art (his & his students).

Dinner at Ali, a Turkish/kabob place, just south of Rembrandtplein.  Great hummus-like appetizer, made with walnuts, roasted peppers, and tahini.  Muhammara.   Lots of walking today! 

Dinner spot




Many of the buildings actually do slant toward the street.  Stairways are very narrow, so big things are loaded in through windows, using the cantilevered beams mounted in the gables. The overhang helps.

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