Paintings, Perches, Praises

The first photos are of our room at the Eden Hotel. The laugh is the “view from the room”. We are on the 4^th (5^th actually) floor and our window is more of a skylight. I cannot see out it without standing on tiptoes…but the canal is out there!



Canal is across the street beyond the trees.



Twin beds pushed together. Less than 12 inches at the end.



As you can tell, this is my side.

We slept in a bit but were off to the Van Gogh Museum early. We stopped along the way and had a muffin and tea. The little kiosk on the grounds had plastic sheeting surrounding the tables and blankets on the chairs. It was cold!

 I was impressed that the grounds are fitted with purple benches, purple trash cans and purple lamp posts. Amber took my photo…. Pat Posed Pensively on Purple Perches…or something like that!!!

We went on to the museum and queued. As we waited Amber struck up a conversation with two women who suggested we go to the Dam area for lunch. A large group of preschool/kindergarten from the Montessori school got in line. This was a field trip for them. I told Amber that we take Indiana kids to the pumpkin patch and the Dutch take their children to see Van Gogh!! The museum was well done; the art was separated by his evolving styles. He was self admitted to an asylum at one point and it was rather apparent which paintings were done in that period.

In the gift shop I bought myself a murano glass ring. I bought Ricque and Kim murano glass bracelets when I was in Rome and often wished I had one of my own…so now I have something of the glass!

From there we went to the Rijksmuseum where we saw the works of many artists. There were several Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings. The displays also included silverworks and porcelain. Antique delft and many Japanese pieces were included.

We took the tram (electric streetcar) to the Dam Centre and walked up and down streets to find a restaurant. When we asked for some directions, a man told us to stay on the right side of the street. We settled on an Italian restaurant. Amber had prawns and mussels. I had a Panini and Tiramisu and tea. We shared a bruschetta.   (40 Euros or $60 for lunch!). As we left, we asked about shopping. The server told us to stay on the side of the street where we were…not to cross. We stopped in a few shops as we made our way back to the tram. I found a tulip vase in delft so I was very happy. The shop had antique delft as well as new so the prices ran the whole gamut!!  The tulip vase is a unique shape and some were over 200 Euros. Mine was a fraction of that!!

(The reason for keeping on this side of the street is that on the other side is the homosexual community. This was evident by an information kiosk. The societal mores of Amsterdam are quite liberal.)

Back on the tram we stopped off at the Flower Mart. Amber wanted a shopping bag for our return. She had a specific one in mind so went off to find it while I tarried at the first flower vendor. I bought more tulips!! Some are for gifts. I planted four or five dozen last fall so am not even sure where mine are coming up this spring. However, two different vendors have told us the same thing. It is ok to plant tulips now as they have been dormant but give them lots more water. So as soon as the plants begin popping through the ground, I’ll get these in with them!  That should be in a few weeks! The vendor told me that tulips originated in Turkey and at one time, it was illegal to take them out of Turkey. I saw in the Rijksmuseum that before the fall of the economy...back in the 1800s I think....one tulip bulb sold for 15,000 guilders. From the article, it was obvious that that was a lot of money. Now tulips are a mainstay in the Dutch economy. The vendor also told me that in the summer, there are thousands of people in the flower mart.

Because we have seen so many bicycles…and jumped out of the way of a bunch!..I wanted to see if I could get some accessories for my bicycle...which I seldom ride. I wanted a bell, seat cover and fender shields. I found a bell so I’ll look online for the others. The first day here, Amber and I did not realize that there are pedestrian lanes and bicycle/scooter lanes as well as vehicle and tram. The trams are electric streetcars and do not stop at red lights. (Note: Speaking of Red Lights, there is quite an article in the tourist book about that district in Amsterdam! And...cannabis seeds are for sale at the flower market. Like I said...liberal!)

Back on the tram to Leidespleine and then we had a short walk to the hotel.  Because we had a big lunch we are planning on a “snack” supper and an evening of packing. We fly out at 8 am (2 am Indiana)…airport at 5:45 am. We have an 8 hour flight, a too short layover in Detroit and then arrival in Indy at 1:25 pm, Indiana time.  I don’t see how we will make the transfer in Detroit since we have to go through immigration and customs. I anticipate taking a later flight to Indianapolis…but miracles still happen!

This part of the journey has been lots of fun but much harder physically for me. I've walked a lot and taken 6-8 Aleve every day.But it's been worth it! Amber and I have been together for 17 days and are still having a great time!! The most difficult day was when we were lost "in the wilderness" but that was stressful because of being in the Mara afraid we would run out of fuel, not a problem with one another. We both wondered but at the time, neither of us verbalized our concern. What if we had run out of fuel? Would we have sent Kennedy? Would we have gone with him? Would we all have stayed in the vehicle hoping someone would come? There were wild animals out there and no shade in the equatorial midday sun. We know the scripture about not worrying but in the moment, we were concerned. We are grateful to God that none of those options became realities. We were protected and that little bit of fuel in the tank became much like the little bit of oil the widow had. It served us well. To God be the Glory!!