Day 12: Amsterdam and Van Gogh

source url Painterly © 2018 Bo Mackison

Buy Raw Alprazolam Powder The light in Amsterdam is a painterly light, indeed.

follow url Amsterdam Centraal Station was designed by Pierre Cuypers who is also designed the Rijksmuseum. It’s an impressive work of architectural art. We were racing the clock as we walked by Centraal Station, on our way to our timed admission tickets at the Van Gogh Museum.

https://domainebregeon.com/n9st1jpi Van Gogh Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

see url And here we are — two buses in busy Friday afternoon traffic — but we all arrived in time to claim our tickets. This museum is BUSY.

https://www.vertaglia.com/dr83jrhsl21 Van Gogh’s Sunflowers ©2018 Bo Mackison

source site No photographs allowed — though their were plenty of visitors taking photos while pretending not to be taking photos. This copy of Sunflowers was one of the few permissbale photo stops.

go to link Van Gogh ©2018 Bo Mackison

go here Of course, there was no limitations on photos of prints in the gift shop, so I made do with a photo of a copy. But mostly I enjoyed studying the many paintings. There is an extensive display of his self-portraits — so many self-portraits because Van Gogh would not have had the money to pay a model, thus he painted himself. For free.

https://annmorrislighting.com/oxrm0lcoip0 Bob the Artist ©2018 Bo Mackison

enter site Bob found a “Bob the Artist” book and was more than content to share.

Buy Diazepam Teva van Gogh Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

go here The van Gogh Museum’s new entrance hall opened in 2015. The curved glass structure, positioned between the museum’s two buildings, connects the spaces while providing shelter for waiting visitors.

https://www.jacobysaustin.com/2024/05/4t5f5ya3l5 Mirroring Cube ©2018 Bo Mackison

https://aguasamazonicas.org/e1u73fasn1 A mirroring cube between the entrances of Stedelijk Museum and van Gogh Museum, it reminds me of The Bean in Chicago’s Millennium Park with people talking photos in the reflective surfaces.

follow site We walked past the Rijksmuseum  and through its center tunnel. It was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885. It consists of two squares with an atrium in each square. In the center is a tunnel with the entrances at ground level and the Gallery of Honour on the first floor.

The Rijksmuseum ©2018 Bo Mackison

The Rijksmuseum is on the Museum Square near the van Gogh Museum.

Amsterdam is famous for its canals and its lovely light. Well deserved.

Painting the Town Red ©2018 Bo Mackison

Painting the town red.

 

Amsterdam ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

Light on the Canal ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

Van Go ©2018 Bo Mackison

A decorated bicycle near the Amsterdam Harbor.

Last Toast ©2018 Bo Mackison

The last toast; tomorrow we fly home.

Day 12: Celebration Buffet on the Viking Sky

Buffet Cocktails ©2018 Bo Mackison

While we sailed our longest leg of our cruise at sea — 23 hours from Hamburg to Amsterdam — this delightful buffet offered us sustenance of the finest quality.

No words are really needed…

All the Fine Chefs in a Row ©2018 Bo Mackison

…except for commendations to the many chefs aboard the Viking Sky that made the food a cruise highlight.

©2018 Bo Mackison

Who’s that looking at me? Gah!

Dessert anyone? How I wish I had just a single sample now!

Cheers!

Day 12 Sailing from Hamburg to Amsterdam

Hamburg on the Elbe ©2018 Bo Mackison

October 5, 2018

The trip from Hamburg to Amsterdam is a half day plus all night plus another half day affair. We leave Hamburg around 2 PM on October 4 and we arrive in Hamburg around 1 PM on October 5. It’s a quiet time after many days of constantly being on the go. We cruised the Elbe, past homes terraced along the banks of the river.

Lighthouse on the Elbe ©2018 Bo Mackison

Lighthouses dot the shore at frequent intervals.

Sheep on the Shore of the Elbe ©2018 Bo Mackison

Near the mouth of the Elbe, sheep graze on the river’s flood plain.

Tidal Chart of the Elbe

There was a conversation in the Explorer’s Lounge about tides in this part of the world, so I looked up tides and took this screenshot. The red dot on October 4th signifies the tide is going out and will be at low tide at 8:35 PM.

We were happy to sit back and enjoy some down time, not that there is ever any “nothing to do” time. Just a look out of any nearby window proves there is always something to see of interest. But Bob read a book — his second on the cruise — and I worked on my travel journal. Then we toasted to a “cruise well enjoyed.”

North Sea Sunrise & Netherlands in the Mist ©2018 Bo Mackison

By the time the sun was rising, we were approaching the Netherlands.

North Sea Channel, IJmuiden, Netherlands ©2018 Bo Mackison

IJmuiden is the newest city in North Holland, and was christened a city in 1876, when the North Sea Canal was officially opened, connecting the Amsterdam harbours to the open sea.

IJmuiden is located at the mouth of the 27-kilometre-long North Sea Channel that links Amsterdam with the sea.

Locks ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

All ships traveling between Amsterdam and the North Sea must pass through the locks at IJmuiden. The four sea locks form a barrier in the mouth of the channel, which offers protection against flooding from the North Sea.

New Lock Construction ©2018 Bo Mackison

New locks are being built to accommodate the newest generation of large ships.

Forward on Deck 10 © 2018 Bo Mackison

 

Entering the Locks ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

 

Botel on the Elbe ©2018 Bo Mackison

Wanna stay near the water? How about on the water? Here’s what the Botel’s website has to say about its boat-hotel.

“The Amstel Botel is Amsterdam’s floating hotel. Stay in our hotel with unique design in appearance. We are located in the center of Amsterdam just 3 minutes walk from the Central Railway Station and 18 minutes ride from Amsterdam Airport, which offers a splendid opportunity to discover Amsterdam’s history, culture and beauty. The Amstel Botel has 175 rooms, smoking and non-smoking rooms available, all with toilet/shower, hot/cold water, safe, AM/FM clock radio, writing desk, telephone.”

Yea or nay?

Canal ©2018 Bo Mackison

A’Dam Lookout is an observation deck with a panoramic view of Amsterdam. Visible is the city’s historical center, the port, the surrounding landscape, and the famous canals which are listed on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Amsterdam Canal ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands ©2018 Bo Mackison

The white low slung building is the EYE Film Institute Netherlands, a museum that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. The museum’s extensive collection includes 37,000 film titles, 60,000 posters, 700,000 photographs and 20,000 books.

And soon we will be arriving at the terminal of Amsterdam.

Day 11: Red Chairs in Hamburg

Red Chairs Formation © 2018 Bo Mackison

I shop in my hometown’s shopping malls as infrequently as possible–perhaps three times a year. So why was I enjoying myself while spending a morning in Hamburg’s Europa Passage shopping mall?

Europa Passage in Hamburg ©2018 Bo Mackison

Yes, we were waiting for a large book store to open so we could indulge in some board game purchases for the game players back home. But I also spent a long time admiring the mall’s furnishings. Just look at these tables and red chairs!

And since it was raining, this was a great way to stay dry.

Day 10: Hamburg’s Maritime Museum and More

International Maritime Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

From journal notes October 3, 2018:

We returned to the Viking Sky after our walking tour and ate a late lunch, and we still had six hours before our planned excursion to the Reeperbahn. Checking Google maps, we discovered Hamburg’s Maritime Museum was only a 10 minute walk from where the ship was docked. There was plenty to look at on our stroll to the museum.

The Sumatrakontor (left photo) Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat designed a mixed-use building with a facade that parts like a pair of red curtains. Located in the HafenCity development area of the city, the ten-story Sumatrakontor is clad in stone that mimics the red colour of brick buildings nearby on the harbor.

The Elbphilharmonie (right photo) has a glass facade with wave-like rooftop and rises up from the former Kaispeicher building on the western tip of the HafenCity. It houses two concert halls, the Westin Hamburg, and luxury apartments. Between the old warehouse and the glass structure is the Plaza – a public viewing area that extends around the whole building.

Speicherstadt (Warehouse City) ©2018 Bo Mackison

As we walked across the harbor, we could see the warehouse district. Named as a UNESCO site in 2015, Speicherstadt — with its buildings and network of streets, canals and bridges — is considered “an extraordinary example of representing one or more eras of human history.”

From Hamburg’s website: Speicherstadt (Warehouse City) is the world’s largest complex of warehouses and spans an area of 64 acres. Built into the Elbe river between 1883 and the late 1920s, the complex is supported on thousands of oak poles. The neo-gothic brick architecture of Speicherstadt contrasts the neighbouring HafenCity with many of Hamburg’s modern steel-and-glass constructions.

International Maritime Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

International Maritime Museum, which opened in 2008, houses the 40,000 item collection of Peter Tamm (1928-2016) former chairman of the board of Axel Springer AG.

The 9 story museum is in the Kaispeicher B (quay warehouse B), the oldest preserved warehouse in Hamburg, built in 1878-79 and renovated extensively for the museum.

What a great use of an old building. We began our exploration on the ninth floor which was filled with thousands of miniature ship models. The exhibit has what was the first piece of the collection–a small model given to Tamm by his mother when he was sick and needed to stay in bed.

And we spent an hour exploring the eighth floor which housed Maritime art, including several cases of bone ships.

Outgoing Fishing Vessel by Georg Hambuchen ©2018 Bo Mackison

The museum has the largest collection of bone ships. These have an unlikely story — many were created by prisoners-of-war who used whatever available materials were at hand — bones from their meals, their own hair, etc. — to create ship models. They were fascinating to study in a macabre sort of way. Testament to the creative spirit, I do believe.

Jules Verne Print ©2018 Bo Mackison

We walked through most of the other floors, but spending three hours here allowed us to give many exhibits a cursory glance. Favorites included the exhibit on cruise ships, including artifacts from the great sailings on the Queen Mary and LEGO replicas of some historical favorites.

Well worth our time and a great value too.

Harbor View ©2018 Bo Mackison

Another walk back to the ship and dinner, then off to have a beer in the oldest brew house in Hamburg.

Groninger Brewhouse claims to be the city’s first wheat beer brewery. We went with a group and those indulging in the beer tasting seemed well satisfied. I can only vouch for the good flavor of the pretzels!