Today we awoke to our first day of rain since we have arrived in Amsterdam. But it is Sunday and we have some plans that involve a slow start and an easy pace. We are going to go to the RIJKS Museum and then do the Heineken Experience.
We first got out the umbrellas, sorted the lunch (yes we are making peanut butter and jam sandwiches for our lunches in the room) and headed out the door. Our first stop is the RIJKSmuseum. “The museum shows in the Philips Wing the very best of the Dutch Golden Age. It provides an exceptional opportunity to see all the highlights of the collection together: the beautiful doll’s houses, a wealth of silverware, the best Delftware and the icons of Dutch history. Included are paintings by Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Vermeer and Rembrandt. Over 400 masterpieces give an impressive picture of the miracle of the Dutch Golden Age. “
As soon as we walked into the first gallery I was stunned by the beautiful paintings on display. The paintings and the lighting was such that the pictures appeared to be 3D. I found the bright colors and use of paint so well done that I really just wanted to stand and stare. And this was the first painting I saw. I will talk about some of the other exhibits we witnessed shortly but for the moment I am going to talk about the paintings. Rembrandt was obviously one of the artists we enjoyed as we walked through the various galleries but he was definitely not the only painter on display. The most ‘have to see’ painting was the Night Watch by Rembrandt. Since I was not able to take pictures in the Gallery I am really restricted in sharing ones from the internet that I have found. However I have tried to find a few pictures just to give you an idea of the incredible talent and art we experienced today.
As well as the art, we enjoyed studying a ship model (a battle ship) that must have been 10 feet tall and proportionally long. The detail in the model work was incredible and minutely detailed.
In another room we were able to study silverware exhibits of everything from plates, ewers and ornaments. The details in the silversmith work were clear and intricate.
Then we enjoyed exhibits of ceramics and china which included works brought in from China as well as works done here. We saw samples of plates, vases, bowls, cups and platters. Also we saw displays of plaques where the detailed painting was obvious. In one case the description talked about how the plaque had been painted in an upright position and it was noted that it was done so well there was no running of the paint visible.
Finally we walked through the room exhibiting doll houses. Now these houses stood about 6 feet tall and were equally long with 3 or 4 floors. Inside each room were miniature furniture and other appropriate furnishings as well as small dolls appropriately dressed in period garb. The details in decorations of walls and floors as well as everything else made these doll houses breathtaking. I am sure I would not have the skill or patience to put so much detail into the development of the doll houses and interior decorations.
We finished our tour (and yes we were there for over 2 1/2 hours) with the goal to head on to the Heineken Experience – a tour of the Heineken plant.
Heineken International is a Dutch brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. Heineken is a Dutch beer, made by Heineken International since 1873. It is the flagship product of the company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H. Elion finished the development of the Heineken A-yeast. This is the yeast that is still used for the beer. The original brewery in Amsterdam, closed in 1988, is preserved as a museum called Heineken Experience.
We had a joy of going through the self-guided tour with a specific path to learn about the history of the company (how it was founded and evolved), the key people to develop the company and the beer and finally the processes for making beer. We actually got to tour the historic brew room where the beer is processed. As part of the process the water and barley are processed to create wort. Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. As part of the tour we were given small sample of wort to drink and it was interesting. (a bit sweet actually)
As we carried on we went through the stables where the draft horses are kept as well as the wagon with kegs of beer to be delivered. Apparently these horses still go out and draw the wagon for deliveries in Amsterdam and the horses names are Karel, Freddy and Charly.
A new experience is the Brew U 4D experience where we were taken into a enclosed room and given an adventure of how beer is brewed from the point of view of the grain. As an video narrated the process, the floor jumped, swayed and moved to match the experiences of a grain of barley. We were splashed, sprayed and heated. This was a fun idea that someone had it was very interesting to experience. No, we did not come out bottled or drunk.
From this physical experience we went to the tasting room where we were given a small glass of beer and give a lesson on how to enjoy and taste the beer as we drank it.
We finished the tour by going through a series of games and activities which really did not interest us so I only mention them. What was great was that as we exited this section we arrived at the tasting bar where we were given two glasses of beer each to sit and enjoy. It was good beer I assure you. As we sat at a table with another couple, who are from Finland, we had a great conversation. Dumas and Tiia spoke good English so we exchanged a lot of information about each other’s country and now I wish we had time to go to Finland, so it is will have to happen one day. We learned that ice hockey is definitely a common interest in both cases and currently Finland’s team holds the world hockey title.
After this it was time to head for home. Wes is a bit tired, but he is doing really well. We started a bit late today but we have been going steady until 4 pm and by the time we got back to the hotel it was 4:30. The good news is that the rain had stopped and it was looking sunny so tomorrow hopefully will be sunny.
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