Amsterdam 2023: Vermeer and more

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Rijksmuseum at the time of the Vermeer exhibition

On the Tuesday of our week in Amsterdam we had booked tickets for the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, our primary purpose for visiting the city. We were really looking forward to this, and it was wonderful to see so many Vermeers gathered together, but the experience was less than ideal. Despite timed tickets with limited numbers, it was mobbed and very uncomfortable. We shuffled slowly forward and as we got near each painting a bank of phones would be thrust in front of us because people wanted to take photographs. I don’t understand why when the entire exhibition, both images and texts, were available online, and still are if you follow the links.

Anyway, having said that, I was a hypocrite and I did take one picture of Girl with a pearl earring just to prove I was there.

Rather crowded!
Girl with a pearl earring

Our next plan was to have a coffee before looking at some of the rest of the exhibits. We had done as asked and left our bags and coats in the special lockers for the Vermeer exhibition and now, also as asked, we removed them and went to the main locker area. Full. Try the cloakroom? Huge queue. Keep them with us while we had coffee? Even bigger queue. So at this point we cut our losses and left. We have been to the Rijksmuseum several times before and no doubt will go again some day. We had coffee on Museumplein instead.

Museumplein café
Museumplein café

While there we noticed that the townhouse lying between the Riksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, which had been offices last time we looked, was now a modern art museum, Moco. There is also a Moco Museum in Barcelona and this summer a branch will open at Marble Arch in London. We decided to leave the indoor collections for another day, but the sculpture garden is free to visit without a ticket, so we did just that. Brief explanations in the captions.

Moco Museum
Le Refuge by Marc Ange. A sanctuary and escape from reality.
Vandal Gummy by WhIsBe. A symbol of innocence lost.
Thinking of You by Adam Parker Smith. A resin and fibreglass version of an air-filled balloon, seeming to defy the heavy marble crushing it.
Flat Shyness by Federico Clapis. A commentary about how our phones might become part of our identity.
Portrait by Marcel Wanders. A cork sculpture onto which everyone is invited to stick pins.
Portrait by Marcel Wanders. A cork sculpture onto which everyone is invited to stick pins.

And now it was lunchtime! On our very first visit to Amsterdam we went to a nearby café-bar for lunch after visiting the Rijksmuseum, and I’m almost certain it was this one, Hans en Grietje on Spiegelgracht. It’s very likely, since it has been there since 1876! Even if it wasn’t, we have definitely been frequenting it since 2011 when we had an apartment a few doors down. It wasn’t even our first visit on this trip as we’d had dinner there on the night we arrived. Yes, we like it.

Hans en Grietje
My lunch
John’s lunch
John with beer
Anabel with beer

Given we had no clear plans for the afternoon, having expected to spend most of the day in the Rijksmusuem, we set off to wander again, looking for quirks as we went.

Street sculpture
Leopard on building
House from 1683
House from 1683 – “it really does not matter” above the door

We decided to visit the Houseboat Museum on Prinsengracht, a former cargo ship, Hendrika Maria, built in 1914. The cargo hold is now a surprisingly spacious and cosy living space, though I’m not sure how long I would last before climbing the walls.

How deep are the canals?
Hendrika Maria
Comfy looking bed
Less comfy looking bed!
Living room
Another bed
Anyone for tea?

More wandering and more quirks! Also more Stolpersteine to those murdered by the Nazis.

Musical statues in the square named after singer Johnny Jordaan
House detail
Het Stuivertje Restaurant
House detail
Canal view
Gnome fishing!
Two deaths in Bergen-Belsen, one in Auschwitz.
Plaque thanking the Dutch for supporting the American Revolution

Our final stop of the day was the Canal Museum on Herengracht. The main exhibition is audio-visual, so not suitable for photographing, but like many Amsterdam museums it has the additional advantage of  being in a beautiful canal house, in this case from the 17th century, and that definitely was photogenic.

Portrait of Mathilde Marie Helene Vaupel who lived in the house 1910-24
Beautiful room
Garden
Clock
Clock detail
Art exhibition

Then it was back to our apartment to relax before dinner, which my diary tells me was at Mayur, a rather smart Indian Restaurant which we have been to several times. Our favourite restaurant remains Het Stuivertje, the green painted building two galleries above, but we couldn’t get a table on this visit. Next time we’ll book as soon as we arrive!

The following day we took a ferry to North Amsterdam. Coming soon!

Netherlands , , , ,

54 Comments »

  2. I am not surprised that it was a madhouse at the Vermeer exhibit. It is always the case for very popular ones. Too bad you weren’t able to visit the rest of the museum; they are all getting too busy these days. Nice discoveries on your meanderings. (Suzanne)

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  3. I really hate museums where there are hordes of people and you can’t even move or enjoy the exhibits. I have so little tolerance for that experience. It seems you gave up too; I can’t say I blame you at all. Still, you did see The Girl with the Pearl Earring! Your meals all look delicious. I’m not sure I could ever live on a boat. Way too claustrophobic!

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  4. Wow. What a busy place Amsterdam was during your visit. Was that recently? So, I guess you’ll never live and travel on a houseboat then? Looks pretty cool and romantic to me! And, was your blog title a “play on words” – Vermeer en meer (and more)? 🙂

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  5. When we were at that museum in 2019, I didn’t see the painting of the Girl with the Pearl Earring, although I looked for it. Do you think they changed the paintings over the years, or I was just unable to find it? They did have the famous painting of the maid there, (can’t remember its name), and more of his work, but that was the painting I was especially hoping to see. But then again, it wasn’t that crowded when we visited either, so perhaps the exhibit wasn’t as extensive then.

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  6. I must admit we didn’t go to any museums in Amsterdam when we went. Did see a few outdoor sculptures though which was nice, and of course, as you have shown, the simple town houses there are charmingly beautiful.

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  8. Hi, Anabel- I am so sorry to hear about the immense crowds. I am glad that you were able to get a picture of The Girl with the Pearl Earring, to pick up some postcards and take in a great meal. Crowds have also driven me away from many places as well

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  9. Looks an interesting city. I prefer just turning up for things on the spur of the moment so the booking everything in advance craze just turns me right off as I do not take part in that at all. Luckily, I did most of my city to city bus runs and doors open days before that really took off as I’m sure it’s all online now and I’d never get a place just turning up unannounced without booking ahead. Those days are gone for good unless there’s a solar pulse.

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  10. It’s a bit frustrating when lots of people want to be where you want to be as well. At least you got to see the paintings, even from a distance. All the other museums look great though and far less crowded. And how lovely to be able to return to a favourite restaurant.

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  12. An Vermeer. And no surprise re the crush. I’ve been to two exhibitions based around Vermeer – “Vermeer’s Women”The first was many years ago in Cambridge at the Fitzwilliam. The visit was actually J’s Christmas peesent that year including a short break in a fancy(ish) boutique hotel (whatever that means). There were only 4 Vermeers – including the Lacemaker on loan from the Louvre – with other Dutch genre paintings. We were staying across the road and got there early but the crowds soon built up and by the time we’d seen all the paintings it was almost impossible to move there was such a crush. We returned one evening at the end of the day and it was much quieter and we could wander back and forward revisiting paintings we particularly liked. It was at this exhibition that I learned to love Dutch genre painting.
    My second exhibition was in Dublin. Many more Vermeers plus some others and with timed tickets well managed in good sized rooms so no problems seeing everying and revisiting paintings.
    With the Vermeers we’ve seen in other Galleries I’ve seen a good number of his works, but not all of them as you now have (albeit on tiptoes?)
    To be honest I’m not a fan of “blockbuster” exhibitions. Too much to see and too many people there to get a proper look. I remember visiting the Gaugin exhibition at the Tate in London, also many years ago. It was impossible to take everything in and we got completely “arted out” before we’d seen everything. And I ended having one of my first ever hypos (it wasn’t’t long after I’d been diagnosed as diabetic and before I was on insulin)
    I’m still jealous, mind 😂

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  13. That Rijksmuseum sounds like a nightmare and definitely not the sort of place I would enjoy. I like the Houseboat Museum though and the Canal Museum looks lovely.

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  15. I am sorry that you experienced that hassle at the Rijksmuseum. I have never been able to abide crowds and am even less able to cope with them since the pandemic. I am certain I would have made the same decision as you did and just cut my losses to go and explore elsewhere. The sculpture garden looks really interesting. Your posts are really wanting me to revisit Amsterdam as you are reminding me what a wonderful city it is.

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  16. I did like the cork egg, Anabel. Queuing to see the Mona Lisa in Paris wasn’t any better an experience. We try and wait for a gap but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. It’s just that you need to be close to look at texture or I probably wouldn’t bother.

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  18. I feel quite exhausted following in your footsteps around Amsterdam ! Your post is an excellent tour guide of where to go! Love all your photos and all the interesting places you visited. Thank you.

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  19. Wow, you both fit a lot into one day! It’s a shame the Rijksmuseum was so crowded. It’s completely understandable why so many people want to visit, but it really spoils the visitor experience when it’s that busy. The Moco Museum’s sculpture garden looks fabulous and a lot of fun! The canal museum looks really interesting, too.

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  20. I must have been there when it was off season..I went in September. I’d love to see this exhibit! The Girl..is masterful..ever watch the movie? It’s so great to just wander around. The city is beautiful

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  21. The Rijks Museum can be a nightmare, especially during ‘special’ exhibitions. Have you ever been to the van Gogh on a Friday evening? It is great. Usually very quiet as the tourist trips are gone and the teenagers are all preparing for a night out rather than being dragged round a museum. There is always music and lovely food in the cafe. One of my favourite things to do.

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  22. Four museums in one day? Do you not suffer from ‘museum foot’? I do. One is normally plenty for me. Especially after your experience in the Rijksmuseum. This is another reason why I’ve largely given up on big cities. Big tourist centres that is. Even Barcelona is somewhere I largely avoid now, apart from smaller museums and the less touristy areas. Must be getting old!

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