The Big Weekend Out...

Hello everyone, once again,

We managed to cover a lot of ground this weekend and the best, at least on a social level, is yet to come. The I Amsterdam Card is a fantastic idea, the only difficulty is squeezing in as much as you possibly can in a relatively small amount of time. The choices of destination are many, so many it seems almost impossible to see it all even in the maximum amount of time at 72 hours.

I'd like everyone to keep in mind that I am only going to give you an overview of where we went and what we did over this weekend. I know that I will not do justice to these places, their beauty, significance and allure in such a short description of each. All of these places, collectively and individually, are truly incredible and every fleeting moment was a privilege.

On Saturday we hopped a tram early in the morning over to the Troppenmuseum. Even moving at a steady pace we could have easily spent twice as much time there as we did. The Troppenmuseum displays thousands of artifacts from cultures spanning the greater tropics. From Southern Mexico to Northern Africa, it is an anthropological journey through time. The highlight for me was the Che Guevara exhibition that explored the image of the man himself and its permutations and significance through so many cultures.

After that we made our way across to Museum het Rembrandthuis. Rembandt's former residence has been restored and houses a substantial collection of original paintings and etchings - it has been designed to reflect the original interiors and furnishings of Rembrandt's time. The wooden interior stairwells, white wash walls and timber furnishings gave a distinct feel of a time long past. How can you even describe that experience? Then there is the knowledge that the artwork that hangs in front of you is centuries old - and has an allure and beauty that still speaks as strongly in our time as it did in Rembrandt's.

After a short pit stop for a much needed refuel we went to the Museum Willet-Holthuysen. This building is in its original condition as it was in the 17th century and of course furnished as such. Marble stairwells, painted glass windows and magnificent chandeliers - this place is what a real mansion looks like. No expense spared, everything is so grand and opulent. There were plenty of period pieces on display from Delfware to carvings and tapestries, the games room even boasted a painted ceiling. I'm looking for someone to pimp my mansion. Although not my usual choice of excursion it was certainly worth the time spent.

Continuing on, we visited The Foam Photography Museum. Featuring several contributing photographers from across the world, including some that have not been exhibited in 40 years, the main exhibition was from renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey. We were both very moved by the images featured representing the brutality and consequences of modern war. Although having a certain beauty, the subject material was what I can only call a mind fuck. Stomach turning, heart-breaking and enough to cause serious anger and hatred all in one blink of an eye. Something I will not soon forget.

After a long and tiring day we ended with a calming canal cruise aboard one of the Holland International river boats. We had of course seen many of the canals around the city but from this vantage point it is easy to gain a new perspective. The pace of it is a definite change from the myriad of people wandering the city. The most amusing part is when you realise you are taking photos from the boat of the bridge over the canal as opposed to the boat from the bridge over the canal. Ha. With no less than 70 photos we have plenty to show you of the canals and the sights.

By the time we got home on Saturday we were both quite knackered, called it an early night and were prepared to go off and do much of the same tomorrow.

Sunday arrived and we were off by tram once more this time over to the Historichmuseum (I just love how that is one word). The Museum walks you through the history of Amsterdam and The Netherlands from its origins right through to the modern day. Again we could have spent much more time here than we did. From the first courts and trading, the agriculture and engineering - the journey through the country and city's growth was incredibly comprehensive right up to the modern day. Including a collection of armor from Amsterdam's Nightwatch (portrayed by both Rembrandt and Van Gogh) to memorabilia from the 1928 Olympics, the range of experience was both culturally and historically wide reaching.

After the Historichmuseum, we walked up to the Old and New Church's (Kerks) which are both a short distance from Dam Square. The New Church, although not actually open when we walked past, largely holds exhibits and touring exhibitions the last of which featured Istanbul's culture and art. The Old Church, which was also holding an exhibition of world photography, is the oldest monument in Amsterdam built in 1250. The buildings themselves were both equally impressive, the Old Church - with its distinct Gothic style - had my preference of the two as far as churches go (and no, this was not because it was in the middle of the red light district - one of Amsterdam's great ironies).

Next, after a short rest, we were off to the Theatremuseum. The Theatremuseum focused on more recent history as opposed to past history of theatre in Amsterdam. Many of the exhibitions displayed production notes, set and lighting design, and video installations of the featured works. There were also exhibitions/installations from various prominent local artists. The museum was also a comprehensive library and resource centre for practitioners and students of theatre.

Soon after that, we made our way to the Houseboatmuseum. As the name suggests, this is an actual houseboat that sits on Prinsengracht. The boat is a former freighter, dating from 1914, which was later converted to a houseboat and lived in up until 1998. It now serves as an example of one of the 2500 houseboats moored and lived in on the canals of Amsterdam.

Last but by no means least - the Van Gogh Museum. Again, it is impossible to do true justice to the sheer beauty within these walls. Not only is there an extensive display of Van Gogh's works, there are many of his pupils, colleagues and contemporaries works (such as Picasso and Monet, just to name drop) featured throughout the floors of the museum. As you completed circuits of the museum's floors, you visually experienced the development of an extraordinarily brilliant and incredibly troubled mind. I mean, really, how does one describe the emotion of a brush stroke on canvas with a few mere words. The museum also featured an exhibition of
Max Beckmann works, from his time in Amsterdam 1937-1947.

After 2 very long days, the time is about 11:40pm and tomorrows festivities are already well under way. This Mandag is Queensday, in Amsterdam it is the equivalent of Australia Day, ANZAC Day and New Year's Eve all rolled into one celebration. From our open window the atmosphere sounds like Oktoberfest - what can only be described as folk music is filling the air. Although we are due to work in the morning, if all goes to plan by midday we will be partying on down with an entire city. Everywhere from the Dam to Museumplein, Muntplein to Leidersplein, shops are covered in orange balloons and streamers and stocked with food and beer ready for the city's biggest day of the year.

There are plenty of photos from the weekend ready to be posted, but for now we are going to call it a night. Just a little rest for the wicked and the wicked does it all over again.

For now, peace and regards once more,

Jim and Ness

FYI: Firstly, in Dutch when you hear your tram conductor say Van Gogh, you actually hear "Van" followed by what can only be described as the sound of a large amount of nasty phlegm being dislodged from one's throat. Secondly, if American's are by definition stupid (no thanks to George Bush) then elderly Americans are complete morons. My case and point is in a conversation between two 60 or 70 plus American ladies discussing a Van Gogh still life of a vase and flowers as, "...Pretty, but such a shame they are wilting."

Bird's Eye View...

Greetings all,

As Ness managed to get a rare day off work, we decided to take another leisurely plod through town. Some 45 minutes later we ended up some way south west of our starting point at the Albertcuyp Street Market. Not only are the buildings part of the history of Amsterdam city, these markets have been running in the same fashion for over a hundred years. As most markets do here they sell everything from Aubergine to Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

Not in any real hurry, we made our way in the general direction of home and did a bit of window shopping through the streets surrounding the Damrak and Dam Square area. We wandered into this shopping centre/plaza, a rather up-market facility with shops from Hilfiger and the likes, called Kalvertoren. Although this in itself was nothing special, we realised the lift in the building went passed the shops on the highest level and discovered a small cafe at the top. From inside the cafe (The Kalvertoren Cafe and Brasserie) we had a breathtaking 360 degree view over the rooftops and across the city. It never ceases to amaze the kind of things that you find when you're not looking for them. Anyway, here are a few of the photos we shot from Kalvertoren:




Until next time, would somebody please explain to me why my Uien is Extra Groot? The mind boggles.

Peace and Regards,

Jim and Ness

LEST WE FORGET

I love a Skull and Crossbones...

Hello again,

As we wandered back from the markets at Waterlooplein the other day, we stumbled across this church in a little square almost completely surrounded by buildings. At one entrance stands a stone archway that is embellished with Skull and Crossbones. Here are a few pic's.

Although much more impressive close up, you can make out the skulls over the black section of the arch.

Yours truly at the arch

I still find it incredible that between all the modern facades and refurbished buildings still stand these grand old places that have been around for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

Until next time, raise your Heineken "H" gang sign to the air and drink one to absent friends,

Regards as always,

Jim and Ness

[With your left hand, point your second and middle fingers down so they 'walk' away and curl your thumb up to make the cross in the H - Careful not to accidentally flip someone the Grolsch "G" sign]

Waterlooplein Sunset...

Dag!

After a rather overcast morning in Amsterdam, the sun decided to show itself and warm things up around midday. It had been a rather long week of work in the Scenic Amsterdam office - we both worked all of Friday and were kindly treated to a sumptuous Italian meal that evening.

We decided to have an easy Saturday, nothing too strenuous, just a stroll through the markets. The closest to us is just one street away on Lindengracht, on every Saturday and Monday morning. We sampled the local Wurst, looked around, strolled a little more. Eventually we had made our way to the other side of town to the Waterlooplein Markets, which are on every day other than Sunday. After doing a little more souvenir shopping and around 5 hours had passed, time does seem to get away from you easily here, we slowly made our way back home again.

The work side of things will settle down a little now as the first tours will be on the way, by the time regularity sets in we will all have to up and leave for Switzerland. What a shame; rolling hillsides, crystal clear lakes, snow-capped mountains - what a price to pay! Enough of that though, still so much to see here in The Dam. We decided to buy ourselves what's called an I Amsterdam card which gives you entries into museums, use of public transport on the trams, a canal cruise and quite a few other perks over 48 hours. All going well, next weekend we're going to make use of that and squeeze in all that we possibly can, including the Van Gogh Museum and Rembrandt House plus a lot more.

Here is a quirky photo of a tree with bears in it right in the midst of the Waterlooplein Markets.


A big hello to everybody back home, we hope all of you are doing well, we sent out a big load of postcards so keep an eye out in the snail mail. No doubt you will all hear from us again very soon, until then,

Regards,

Jim and Ness

[A side note: One of the local shopping centres is called Albert Heijn and I have taken to abbreviating it to "The AH" which will be an obvious reference to some of you. Some of you will just shake your head. Noobs. :)]

The Filmmuseum

Once again, Dag to everyone,

Both Ness and I are working away at the Scenic Tours Amsterdam office today busily preparing documents and information for the 1st tour departure that happens in 3 days time.

On Sunday we made our way to the Filmmuseum of Amsterdam. It is just incredible to see such a vested interest in the arts here. Not only is this place a hub for film and film history it is the largest source of film and film literature that I have ever seen. Dedicated staff spending endless hours restoring and preserving old film reels for the generations to come. The countries of the world should learn by Amsterdam's example.

The museum itself has regular exhibitions and featured artists as well as screening programmes of classic and modern films. We were privileged to be able to see two black and white, silent films accompanied by pianist. Both films starred Mabel Normand (dubbed the female Charlie Chaplin), the first was "Mabel at the Wheel" (1914) featuring a young Chaplin in the role of the villain Snidely Whiplash. The other, which I still can't find or source the title of, was another slapstick adventure featuring a botched jewel heist. I believe both were Keystone films. What an experience to sit in a theatre and see film like that, as it would have been experienced over ninety years ago. The theatre itself was breathtaking too; old leather chairs, art deco fittings and decor and a grand piano in full view of the audience. Awesome.

The Filmmuseum

For anyone interested, the Filmmuseum does have a website: http://www.filmmuseum.nl/

Until next time, regards as always,

Jim and Ness

Saturday in the park...

What else do you do after walking through a museum steeped in history but walk through the Museumplein. Here are a few more photo's...

View of the I amsterdam sign with Rijksmuseum in the background from Museumplein

View of Museumplein from the Rijksmuseum

Ness at the I amsterdam sign, as opposed to on it like the folks in the background

Until next time.

A side note: When in Amsterdam don't get your 'Drogen' mixed up with your 'Bonte was' otherwise your T-Shirts come out half their normal size.

The Rijksmuseum

Dag everyone,

Hope that everyone is going well in their respective necks of the proverbial woods. We intended on doing some museum hopping today but only ended up at one. Largely because we waited 35 minutes to get in to the Rijksmuseum which is around a 35 minute walk southeast of us. The effort however was well worth it.

Some original parts of the building have been standing since the 15th century, but the section of the building that the main exhibition is now held is known as the Fragments building. This is due to the fact that it is pieced together from fragments of other historic Dutch buildings such as the Franeker Tower from the 16th century. The larger part of the Rijksmuseum is currently being restored and refitted, a process due to be complete in 2010. Despite I was a little disappointed that I could not walk the halls of the main building itself, the exhibition well and truly made up for that.

For the first time I stood in front of an actual Rembrandt. What an experience. So many exquisite paintings, fine silverware and even some 16th century weaponry. It is hard to place into words the moments of sheer awe as you stand amongst some simply beautiful history crafted over 400 years ago.

Hopefully tomorrow our next stop will be the Film Museum of Amsterdam. If we manage enough time we might also make it to the Van Gogh Museum very near to the Rijksmuseum. Here are a few photos from today's excursion...

The southeast corner of the Museum

One of the plaques on the exterior walls of the museum

The southwest corner of the museum

Another of the plaques on the ext. of the Museum

A view of the central part (southern face) of the main building that is currently been restored

Kind regards to all, as always, from "The Dam",

Jim and Ness

Pleased to meat you...

Having gone about a week and a half without, I finally managed a decent red meat fix. A nice piece of juicy Argentinian rib eye. Of course Ness worked yesterday, but I got my first full day of work in at the Scenic Amsterdam HQ. With the first run of tours due to depart very soon the days in the office have been rather hectic. Back to the point, after a long day's work, we decided to head out for dinner and ended up finding a little place called San Pedro Staekhouse (yes, that's how they spell it). It is about a 10 minute stroll away on Haarlemmer St. It was a mighty tasty meal - a few pints, a few cocktails... you know how it goes. All in all, rather enjoyable.

Haven't really done much more of the tourist destinations yet but with the National Museum Weekend being this weekend we have plenty of options open to us. I am lucky enough to have more work on offer to me for next week, Ness will be no doubt working hard - as always. We are both doing great, well settled now, our only concern is making the choice as to what Museums to choose to visit out of the many on offer. Ahhh, such a hard life.

The view from the North side of Oude Schans

Until next time, Peace and Regards as always....

More photo's from Amsterdm...

...and here are some more photo's.

Madam Tussaud's at the southern end of Damrak

One of the soldiers at Rembrandt Square

A building that leans, one of the cafe's on Jodenbreestraat

One of the Lions on the corner of the National Monument

Live from "The Dam", Spreekt u Engels?

Goedemorgen from Amsterdam,

Having walked our way around the most part of the city over the long weekend, we are getting around with more confidence now. There is still so much to explore and experience, we've barely even scratched the surface. We managed to make our way to several of the local markets here that sell just about everything from Mackerel Sandwiches to Magnets. I'm still amazed how close and well situated everything is.

The first really touristy thing we have done was to make our way to the Heineken Experience [that, and take a massive amount of photo's], a haven for the beer lovers of the world. The old brewery is such a grand place and even if your not a beer person there is still plenty of interesting things to see and do. We even caught a glimpse of the Heineken Horses that still to this day deliver beer along the cobbled streets of the city.

This weekend coming in Amsterdam is the National Museum weekend, so we hope to make our way to a few that are on the top of our list such as the Rembrandt and Van Gogh Museum's. There are just so many Museum's here it is hard to pick a place to start.

There is so much more to tell, but for now here's just a few of the first round of photo's.

One of the many buildings along Prinsengracht

Ness on Prinsengracht

Jim at the Monument on Rembrandt Square

View along the Damrak (Centre of the city)

The Amsterdam Royal Palace on Dam Square

The Tuschinski Theatre

I think everyone knows why I took this photo...

Couldn't pass up that photo, so many of the coffee shops and cafes have rather cool and clever names. We passed another a few streets from Damrak dedicated to Jim Morrison and The Doors.

Hope everyone is doing well, both back home in Aus. and those traversing this wide world of ours. Plenty more photos and posts to come so stay tuned for another knee slapping, rib tickling, Mackerel smoking episode of Ness and Jim in Amsterdam. Tot Ziens, for now.

Dag!

Ness went back to work today and it seems that we have come a long way with relative ease. Any worries were nothing more than that. We've avoided jet lag and mostly settled into our apartment that we will call home for the next 2 months, we even found our local grocery shop.

I had no idea how spacious and well appointed the interior of our apartment would be. The view of the front of the building is deceptive. Our apartment is on the 1st floor [Useless fact No.1: Most of the buildings in Amsterdam are only 4 stories tall so they do not have to have elevators]; wooden floorboards, split level living area, sauna, spa - all the mod. cons. as they say. We are told that we are in the most sort after part of the city.

So far we've only explored the area within about 10 minutes walking distance, but plan to get much further tomorrow. Being Easter weekend it will give us good a chance to get to see the several places of note around the city. Although I'm sure it will take us more than just a few days to make our way to all of the magnificent places, it is just incredible that all of this is possible within a walking distance of 35 minutes. We even have a weekly market less than a minutes walk from us (Noorder Markt).

I have no doubt there will be a plethora of photos to post the next time I make an entry, so until then, Doe voorzichtig.

From Amsterdam with love....

Hello everone,

We made it! After almost 40 hours in transit, flight changes we didn't know about and an hour and a half tarmac delay in Hong Kong we are finally here in Amsterdam. All in all, the flights were OK, if not a little uncomfortable - and finally I understand why people complain about airline food. For the moment we are just settling in, haven't actually got our apartment until later this afternoon but are about to go for our first wander through the city streets.

On first view of coming into the city it is just spectacular, the architecture steeped in hundreds of years of history, the canals - truly incredible. I'm going to keep this post brief, for now, but watch this space for more very very soon.

Regards to everyone.

P.S. T & A - will be great to see you guys soon, looking forward to it.

Europe, here we come...

It's just under 36 hours until we fly out of Sydney. I'd like to send a huge shout out to all of the people that have helped us in getting there especially our families and Nicole at Scenic Tours.

Here are a few photo's of where we are staying in Amsterdam:

View of Lindenstraat

The Scenic Tours office on Keizers-gracht

(about 2 blocks and 3 minutes from Lindenstraat)

Our little townhouse on Lindenstraat, No. 4, ooooh

The next post will be coming to you from Amsterdam, so, until then peace and regards to you all.