Rijksmuseum, Vondelpark and More

We started our day with Dutch pancakes, which are really like crepes. On our way to breakfast we ran in to Edwin, our apartment host. He told us that Amsterdam folks hop on the train and head for the beach on warm, sunny days like today and tomorrow. Tomorrow, he is going early to the beach to avoid the crowds on the train.

Rijksmuseum

When it comes to Amsterdam museums, we saved the best for last. To avoid the lines we got our tickets for the Rijksmuseum in advance, but unlike our tickets for the Van Gogh and Anne Frank museums we did not need to come at a designated time. We had thirty days after purchasing out tickets to use them, Built in 1885, the beautiful Rijksmuseum is dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. A lovely garden surrounds two sides of the museum. We used the informative free app, www.rijksmuseum.nl/tours to guide our visit.

Among the 8,000 objects on display, Rembrandt’s works are the stars of the show. His The Night Watch is the most famous painting in the museum and had by far the most people viewing it.

Two other Rembrandt masterpieces were acquired by the museum in 2016 for 18 million euros each. Marten and Oopjen are the only life-size, full-length standing wedding portraits Rembrandt ever painted. Since portraits like these were reserved for the nobility, this young couple was obviously very successful.

There were so many beautiful and interesting things to see in this museum that we are already talking about spending more time here the next time we come to Amsterdam. The stunning library in the Rijksmuseum is the largest public art history research library in the Netherlands.

Vondelpark

After our mix-up a few days ago, we got better directions and found Vondelpark today. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the park and a nice picnic.

We crossed a small bridge that had lovers’ locks like we had seen in Paris.

We love exploring neighborhoods, so we planned our walk home from Vondelpark through the De-Pijp neighborhood and had fun browsing the Cuypmarkt, the largest and most popular market in the Netherlands.

We had a yummy waffle with chocolate.

Since I left home without a watch, I was thrilled to get a watch for four euros. If it only lasts until the end of my trip, it will have served its purpose, and it is pretty cute.

Tonight we took a canal cruise, a classic Amsterdam activity, with Rederij P. Kooij. We chose that company from the many Amsterdam canal cruise companies because they were closest to our apartment. Our captain, Willem, was an interesting guy who liked to share additional information with us because we were the only English-speaking passengers and were sitting in the front. We learned that every year they retrieve about sixty bodies and fifteen thousand bicycles from the canals.

Van Gogh, Anne Frank and More

More than twenty years ago Paul became fascinated with Van Gogh when he first saw his work at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Ever since, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has been on his list of must-see places. It took awhile, but today we got to the Van Gogh Museum, home of the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh art.

The museum is beautiful and extensive. After a couple of hours, we took a break and had a yummy pastry in the coffee shop (a real coffee shop.) A little sugar and a little rest and we were ready to see the rest of this fabulous museum.

We were so lucky to be able to see the special exhibit, On the Verge of Insanity, which focused on the last eighteen months of Van Gogh’s life. Using letters, art, timelines and narration, the exhibit addressed questions about Van Gogh’s mental health such as why he cut off his ear, why did he commit suicide, and what illness did he have. Van Gogh’s last painting, which was unfinished, was at the end of the exhibit.

Anne Frank House

After lunch we went to the Anne Frank House. Because the line to get in is so long without advanced tickets, we wanted to get tickets ahead of our trip. Their web site is a little unpredictable, and every time we tried to get tickets, they were sold out. After doing a number of trial runs, Paul was pretty sure he had figured out their system and got up at 2:00AM one morning and was able to get us tickets.

I read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank when I was young and still remember how hard it was to understand what happened to her. Going in to the rooms where she and her family hid, seeing pictures of how the rooms looked when she lived there, watching interviews with her father and others who knew her and reading quotes from her diary created a powerful and emotional experience.

Paul had a very Amsterdam experience today-a bicycle ran into him. Paul and the cyclist went down, but luckily no one was hurt. Bikes are everywhere here, and we have really worked at being aware of them. I love seeing women in dresses and heels and men in suits biking to work. Children usually sit in little metal seats in the front, and no one wears a helmet.

We walked by a cheese store that was hosting a cheese tasting.

We went to the Red Light District and saw women in windows. There seemed to be more coffee shops (the marijuana kind) in this part of town, and people were sitting outside smoking marijuana. Some of the shops sold marijuana candy, cookies and tea.

On the way back to our apartment we found a great outside table on Rembrandt Square and ended our day with a light meal and some great people watching.

Exploring Amsterdam

I was in breakfast heaven this morning, sitting outside enjoying a plate of poffertjes. Sometimes called Dutch doughnut holes, they are little baby pancake balls smothered in butter and powdered sugar.

After breakfast we strolled through the lovely Jordaan district, reputedly the most famous neighborhood in the Netherlands. Developed in the seventeenth century, it is a maze of little streets, art galleries, restaurants and specialty shops.

We visited the Stedelijk Museum whose collection includes examples of every significant movement in art and design in the 20th and 21th centuries. Dream Out Loud, a special exhibit showcasing twenty-six designers trying to solve complex social problems, was a special treat. We saw a huge design made from cocktail umbrellas and a neon chandelier that turned at the same speed as the earth. The museum was amazing, but I would not recommend lunching there.

Vondelpark was on our itinerary today, and we thought we were there and weren’t too impressed. When we got home and checked our map, we realized we hadn’t gone far enough, so we missed it. The park we thought was Vondelpark didn’t even have a name on the map. We’ll try again another day.

Afghani Dinner

While exploring the Jordaan district, we walked by Mantoe, the Afghani restaurant Farid, our taxi, driver had recommended. The universe was definitely telling us to try this place. Luckily, we were able to get reservations. We weren’t disappointed. Our five-course meal was one of the best ever.

Mantoe’s is owned by an Afghani family and is the first Afghani restaurant in the Netherlands. Our waitress told us that it is part of her culture to offer guests a feast.

Arrived Amsterdam

A warm, sunny morning welcomed us when we arrived in Amsterdam today. Driving to our apartment, our Afghani taxi driver, Farid, talked with us about life in Afghanistan and his family’s experience moving to Amsterdam. He said Kabul is safe, but the outer areas experience daily bombings and both the Taliban and ISIS are gaining ground and adamantly stated that they are not Muslims. Farid told us he chose to live outside Amsterdam because he did not want his three children being close to the coffee shops, which sale marijuana, not coffee in Amsterdam. Coffee ship patrons must be eighteen, and I had that it was mostly tourists who patronized the coffee shops; local people were not very interested.

Our host, Edwin, met us outside our second-floor apartment in a seventeenth-century building. Thank goodness he was there to help get our luggage up the incredibly steep “Dutch stairs”. They look more like a ladder than stairs. Because houses used to be taxed based on their width, older Dutch houses are very narrow and tall; they have nice size rooms but not much space for stairs. Edwin assured us that in a few days we would be so accustomed to the steep stairs that we would go up and down without giving it a thought. Right now we are holding on to both railings and stepping slowly both up and down .

Our apartment is a block from the flower market. Stall after stall sell bulbs and flowers. We didn’t realize until we walked past the flower market that the stalls are built over the canal.

Edwin recommended that we visit the Brouwerij”T IJ brewery located next to the De Gooyer windmill, the only remaining windmill in Amsterdam. Thanks to his great recommendation we enjoyed a sampling flight of their five original beers and met a lovely couple from Cleveland who gave us a great Paris restaurant recommendation.

Along the walk to the brewery we passed many of the more than 3,000 houseboats on the Amsterdam canals. Some of them are available to rent. Prior to 2008 very few of the houseboats were connected to the sewer system. Now, more than 2,000 boats have connected to the system, and the goal is to have all boats connected by 2017.

After a wonderful Indian dinner at Indian Shiva, it’s early to bed for us.

Off to Amsterdam! Fear of Traveling?

Amsterdam

Husband Paul and I are leaving soon for our next adventure-four days in Amsterdam, four days in Bruges and seventeen days in Paris. I am looking forward to enjoying art and beer in Amsterdam, waffles and chocolate in Bruges and everything in Paris, my favorite city in the world.

When we were planning this trip, Brussels was the first choice for our Belgium stay. We booked an apartment one block from the Grand Place, the central square of Brussels and started planning our excursions and day trips. Three days after we confirmed our Brussels apartment, suicide bombers set off three bombs in the city. Although the bombings got us thinking about safety, we decided to stay with our plan. Two weeks later our Brussels landlady called to tell us she had to cancel our reservation because she was selling her apartment and leaving the city because of the bombings. After that, we decided the universe might be telling us to go somewhere else in Belgium. Loving the film In Bruges and reading about the beauty of Bruges, we had no trouble changing our Belgium home from Brussels to Bruges.

Bruges

Some friends and family have asked us if we feel safe traveling to Belgium and Paris. One family member half-jokingly referred to this trip as our “ISIS tour” and asked if we were also going to Nice. A few people have told us safety concerns caused them to cancel their Europe travel plans in the last year. I understand their concern and have discussed travel and safety with my husband. But really, we feel like we will be as safe on this trip as we were on previous trips to Europe. Data supports this feeling. According to one data scientist we are sixteen times more likely to die from being hit by lightning than from a terrorist attack. Other than trying to avoid train stations during rush hours and being more vigilant, we don’t really plan to do anything differently on this trip.

Why do we worry about our safety in one travel destination and not in another? We didn’t hesitate to book our Paris apartment just a few months after the tragic Paris attacks. Our lack of concern about safety in Paris may be because we have been to Paris numerous times and know and love the city. We have never been to Brussels, so it was harder to imagine what might make us feel unsafe there.

Part of the joy of travel is visiting new places and having new experiences. I want to be both a wise and a fearless traveler. So, we leave for our next adventure with as much excitement as ever and maybe a tad more caution.

Arriverderci, Italia

After six wonderful weeks in Italy, we are heading home tomorrow. Today we left Siena to return to Florence for our flight home. We made a brief stop in the lovely town of Volterra. Although it was raining and cold, we enjoyed exploring a little bit of the town. We toured the Palazzo Viti, a beautiful home that is still occupied by Signora Viti (I think she sold us our tickets) and ate one last traditional Tuscan meal.

Paul and David were a great team navigating and driving through the many hill towns we visited this last week.

In addition to the wonderful memories I am taking home, I am leaving with vivid impressions and greater understanding of this beautiful area of Italy. Regional loyalty and distinction is strong. Early in our trip an Italian told us he couldn’t understand Italian spoken by people from other parts of Italy because it was so different. We experienced a little bit of this difference in Siena when a waitress explained to us how to pronounce “grazie” and it was not how we heard it pronounced in Firenza.

There is no such thing as Italian food; there is regional food. At lunch today our waitress told us about dishes that were typical of Volterra, not Tuscany where Volterra is located. Firenze and Siena are about an hour apart, but other than gelato, the deserts are very different. I liked Siena desserts better.

Italian men will kiss your hand (at least chefs and restaurant owners do.) Italian is easier to learn than I thought (wish I had spent more time on this.) Tuscany really does look like all the paintings of it. Italians live and work in buildings that are older than our country.

My final impression of our six weeks in Tuscany? Bellissimo!

Last Day in Siena

Paul took David, Julie and me on our final Siena walk-about this morning. Looking up at the Duomo, I thought about how our morning hikes have been a great way to explore new areas.

We ate lunch at Zest, a great little place that is on such a steep hill all of the outside tables and chairs have slanted legs. I felt like if I stood up too quickly, I would go flying into Paul’s lap. The leek, Gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onion tart was amazing.

We had some sights left on our Opa Sci combo ticket, so we spent the afternoon at the Baptistry and the Duomo Museum. The beautiful baptismal font is decorated with works by Ghiberti, Donatello and others.

The Duomo Museum was our last stop. The museum is housed in what was planned to be the expansion of Siena’s cathedral until the Black Death in 1348 took 4/5 of Siena’s population. The cathedral was never completed.

Some of the artwork in the cathedral was moved to the museum and replaced with copies, giving museum visitors a chance to the see the artwork up close. The beautiful stained-glass window that was above the altar is now at eye-level in the museum.

There were two 15th century paintings by Sano di Pietro that looked as if they had been painted more recently than 600 years ago.

There were a number of rooms filled with treasures, including some very ornate reliquaries. One of them held the skull and some bones of St. Clement, the Martyr.

We ate dinner in a building that is 900 years old.

Monteriggione and the Via Francigena

Almost every Italian we asked about recommended villages to visit in Tuscany said, “Go to Monteriggione.” Built in 1214-1219 by the Sienese as a defense against the Florentines, the little walled village sits almost totally intact on the side of a hill.

Walking through the village gate is like stepping back 800 years in time.

The simple Romanesque church sits on the Piazza Roma,

It was fun to walk along parts of the wall and imagine sentries watching for threats. Monteriggio is a little village and in less than an hour, we had seen all of it.

The Via Francigena passes through Monteriggioni, so we were able to combine hiking part of the trail to Siena with our trip to Monteriggioni. Running from Cantebury to Rome, the ancient pilgrim route was first mentioned in a document in 876. In ancient times, the route connected abbeys, not cities.

Designated a Cultural Route in 1994 by the Council of Europe, the routes are being more clearly identified to make hiking the trail easier. The Region of Tuscany is leading the way to recover the Italian leg of the route.

Up hills and over very rocky paths, we passed beautiful stretches of Italian countryside unlike any we had experienced before.

We went by vineyards and olive trees. As we walked by one farmhouse, an older woman sitting at the window waved to us.

Some day I hope to hike from village to village along this historic route.

On the way back to our apartment we stopped at the Church of San Domenico. I had read about St. Catherine of Siena, one of the patron saints of Europe and learned that her head is displayed on an alter in the church. It was hard to imagine how this would look.

We ended our lovely day on Il Campo, the town square of Siena.

Siena Duomo

Sitting atop Siena’s highest point, the Duomo is a beautiful white and green-marble delight. As I often do here, I look at this 13th century structure in awe of what they accomplished with the available tools. Recognized as one of the most fascinating facades in all of Italy, the cathedral is the most impressive building in Siena.

Unlike the Duomo in Firenze, the interior of Siena’s duomo is as ornate as its exterior.

We felt so lucky to be able to see the inlaid artwork on the floor. Most of the year it is covered to protect it, but in October it is uncovered. This year it was also uncovered in September in honor of Expo 2015.

I never realized how damaging soot from candles was until we saw the frescoes in the Piccolomini Library. They have never been restored but still look bright because the large windows in the room made candles unnecessary.

Large, beautifully decorated sheets of music line the walls of the Piccolomini Library. These were used before individual hymnals were available.

We started our day with a walk through a new part of Siena,

a delightful mid-walk coffee break at our neighborhood coffeeshop,

and a stroll through the huge, weekly market.

Montepulciano

Today we headed off on an hour-long drive through the Tuscan countryside to the beautiful hill-top town of Montepulciano.

Starting at the Porta al Prato city gate, we began our walk into Montepulciano up the steep Via di Gracciano nel Corso.

Using a Rick Steves’ guided walk we noticed points of interest along the way. Palazzo Bucelli has Etruscan and Roman fragments embedded into the outer wall.

A clock tower at the half-way point is topped with a statue of Pulcinella, a character from Italy’s commedia dell’arte.

We ate lunch at Ristrante al Quattro Venti, a wonderful little restaurant on the Piazza Grande that grows their own organic vegetables. I had pappa al pomodoro, an amazing tomato soup made with bread. The Italians use toasted bread during the long simmering of their soups with wonderful results.

During lunch we noticed people walking around in medieval garb. Our waiter told us they were filming a movie. One of the producers told me it was a series for Italian TV about the Medici family.

One of the actors, whose English was about as good as my Italian, asked me where we were from, and, I think, told me Dustin Hoffman was on the set somewhere. We never saw him, and my conversation with her was a bit shaky, so I am not sure he is even in the show. It was fun to talk with her, and she seemed so eager to communicate with us.

After lunch we went to Contucci Cantina for a wine tasting. While in Firenze, I discovered Nobile wine from Montepulciano and was excited to go to the area where it is produced. We explored the cellars where wine has been kept since the 1500s. The Contucci family has lived here since the 11th century.

Known as the “Jewel of the 1500s”, Montepulciano is a beautiful town, and we all had a great day.