Typical Dutch breakfast, then on to the Rijksmuseum, afterwards, exploring in the rain and hail….
The breakfast room in our hotel looks out over the canal.
The breakfast room also gave us a little preview of the museum… A huge copy of Rembrandt’s Night Watch takes up most of a wall.
The Rijksmuseum
While waiting to go inside
Sleeping Beauty
The real Night Watch by Rembrandt. They have done a lot of work to carefully preserve it and have found out that at one point when the painting was moved that a portion of the right and left sides of the painting were cut off so that it would fit between two doors.
This early copy of the painting shows a substantial amount was cut off the left side and a little from the right.
Still life with a dead frog…
The art history library at the museum, see the cool spiral staircase
The detail on these inlaid flowers was amazing!
I thought it was wonderful that the museum had many different kinds of art not just paintings and sculptures.
After the museum we ate lunch at Cafe Hans en Grietje
The restaurant was upstairs, a very narrow winding stair.
Next we explored Amsterdam a bit, and took shelter under an arcade when the hail started.
We missed the Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer at the museum. But there she is, above my bed in the hotel room….
Tomorrow we go out into the countryside to see windmills at Zaanse Schans, cheese made at Edam I think, and Volendam & Marken. This will be our last day before we head home.
I could go to the Riijksmuseum over and over. There is just so much to see. I love all the old Dutch Master painters. Hope you enjoy the windmills tomorrow.