Amsterdam is beautiful and colourful. It feels busy and quiet at the same time. It feels warm even when the temperatures are low. Getting a glimpse of the interiors of homes and offices while walking in the street contributes to this feeling of warmness (something I had first experienced in a much colder Stockholm).
I visited many good museums. I started the afternoon I arrived with the Anne Frank House Museum. It is an experience moving around the rooms of the secret annexe. Listening to the footsteps of the visitors above us and imagining what it must have been to have to stay quiet for so many hours during the day. The content of the labels for the few objects exhibited are passages from the diary. But what touched me the most was the marks of Anna´s and her sister´s height as they grew up, registered on the wall by their father. Like my father used to do with us.
The table was set and waiting for the special guests.
I believe that the fondest memory is having dinner with two very special ladies before attending a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I was occupying a table for four, the last available, so they asked if they could share it with me. After that, it was as if we were friends and had planned to meet there. We had a very interesting conversation, we talked about trips and family and art and, thanks to them, I discovered Anton Mauve, who had been Van Gogh´s teacher, and went to visit his exhibition at Teylers Museum in Haarlem, a unique place, the oldest museum in the Netherlands.
What a good feeling that accidental encounter has left me with. Dear Marleen, I think of you often. I am now preparing the next journey.
I visited many good museums. I started the afternoon I arrived with the Anne Frank House Museum. It is an experience moving around the rooms of the secret annexe. Listening to the footsteps of the visitors above us and imagining what it must have been to have to stay quiet for so many hours during the day. The content of the labels for the few objects exhibited are passages from the diary. But what touched me the most was the marks of Anna´s and her sister´s height as they grew up, registered on the wall by their father. Like my father used to do with us.Among the rest of the museums I visited, and apart from the city´s known art museums, I thought the Jewish Historical Museum was one of the best I´ve seen so far.
But, as with every journey, the highlights were the small surprises and the things I discovered. Like being greeted by Hopper as soon as I set foot in the country and travelling to Rotterdam especially to see his exhibition. And then, while in Rotterdam, and while visiting the Netherlands Architecture Institute, coming across a very interesting invitation for lunch.
The table was set and waiting for the special guests.
I believe that the fondest memory is having dinner with two very special ladies before attending a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I was occupying a table for four, the last available, so they asked if they could share it with me. After that, it was as if we were friends and had planned to meet there. We had a very interesting conversation, we talked about trips and family and art and, thanks to them, I discovered Anton Mauve, who had been Van Gogh´s teacher, and went to visit his exhibition at Teylers Museum in Haarlem, a unique place, the oldest museum in the Netherlands.What a good feeling that accidental encounter has left me with. Dear Marleen, I think of you often. I am now preparing the next journey.
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