Amsterdam

Today the class took a semi-organized day trip to Amsterdam. We were in the city for twelve hours which was enough for me! It’s a very strange place—the charming canal houses are mixed in with raunchier stores and “coffee” shops which don’t actually sell coffee…

However, we did manage to find the tamer parts of town. We started off at the Anne Frank Museum. As one climbs the stairs of the canal house and nears the attic annex where the Frank’s hid, one also passes chronologically through the time they were in hiding. At the very top of the house, one is confronted with Anne’s at so many others’ fate and the immense weight of the Holocaust.

As much as the Anne Frank museum was sobering, the Van Gogh museum was delightful. I realized how much he was first influenced by other Dutch painters—especially in his dark color choice—and then moved on to reflect impressionists and the French’s bright pastels I’m familiar with. I also couldn’t help but remember the “pin the ear on Van Gogh” game we always played at my birthday parties. While I really enjoyed the sunflowers he painted—my favorite color!—I thought his paintings of wheat harvests were very interesting. I also never realized he did so many landscapes and that his work was very influenced by other impressionist artists!

We also made it to the Rijks Museum for classical, Dutch paintings. More Rembrandt!

I’ll do a post about the Hague where I’ve spent the last week soon. The Netherlands is a strange mix of culture—herring stands, art museums, slightly questionable parts of town. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all and figure out what I think!