The Netherlands: A Parade in Amsterdam, and sightseeing

On Saturday night I walked three hours in the rain through the streets of Amsterdam two paces ahead of a marching band in a parade, carrying the remnants of a soggy cardboard costume and trying to avoid fresh cow manure. And I think it was a fantastic introduction to the city.

This week I'm in the Netherlands visiting Zach and his brother, who are artists-in-residence through early December at the European Ceramic Work Center (EKWC). My arrival coincided with Amsterdam's annual museumnacht (museum night) when dozens of museums stay open all night and host special events. Zach arranged for a room at Hotel Acro, only a block from the museumplein (museum square) so we could be in the middle of all the activity. Not only would we watch, but thank to Yasser Ballenaub, one of Zach's fellow EKWC artists, we could participate! Yasser constructed 20 fantastic cardboard costumes for the museumnacht parade sponsored by the W139 gallery, and Zach signed us up to march with him.

(Photos)

Where to Stay (time permitting I'll fill in more details later)

• Hotel Acro: clean, utilitarian, and in a great neighborhood near the museumplein. Private double ensuite E90/night, substantial continental breakfast included.
• Winston Hotel: quirky, funky hostel for a party crowd. Not especially clean and a horrible shower, but close to the Red Light District and walking distance from the underbelly of the city. E40/person/night for private room with ensuite. Not sure I'd stay again, but it was certainly a memorable experience.

Where to Eat and Drink

• Brasserie Maxie's
• Szmulewicz: a hidden gem tucked off of the Rembrantplein, none of the other tourists seemed ready to brave the extra 40 meters to find the entry door on the side street. We enjoyed an eclectic internationally-themed dinner with a french poulty pate, a smoked kangaroo salad, Moroccan fish and rice, and chocolate fondue with a large assortment of fresh fruit for dessert. Order the specials if you're adventurous. We did, and were glad.
• Restaurant Pantry
• CafePC
• Stacey's Pennywell: We had really good luck with restaurants off the Rembrantplein. Hoping for an early supper, we walked all through the Red Light District and everyplace we stopped was full of drunken tourists watching a football (soccer) match. A bit of a walk led us back to the Rembrandtplein, where we'd previously enjoyed Szmulewicz. This time we discovered Stacey's Pennywell. Once again, no other tourists came in while we were there – which I now believe is a sign of great food to come. With a nice Belgian witte (white) beer to get started, our leisurely dinner concluded three hours later after pumpkin soup, cod with fresh local vegetables and roasted peppers, and a chocolate nottentaart (nut pie) with rich vanilla ice cream for dessert. Uncharacteristically (for me) we also enjoyed a lush bottle of French red wine with dinner. It was yummy, appropriate to the meal and atmosphere, and didn't give me too much of a headache afterwards!

What to Do

• Van Gogh Museum. A great collection of his work displayed nicely alongsidie pieces by his contemporaries showing collaboration and influence. It was quite crowded when we were there; arrive early to get a bit more elbow room.
• RijksMuseum: Unless you go before December 15, you'll miss the Damien Hirst exhibit “For the Love of God” at the Rijksmuseum. Half the visitors would have preferred to miss it in the first place, I suspect. Most of the Rijksmuseum is under renovation, so only one wing is open for vistors. After wandering through half dozen rooms full of 17th century Dutch masterpieces (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.), visitors wait in line to be ushered into a blackened room with a single display case containing a glittering platinum skull covered with 8,601 small diamonds and a huge pear-shaped 52.4 carat diamond on the forehead. (The skull's teeth are real.) Why did the museum choose to combine these works? They would love for their visitors to guess and let them know through the interactive e-mail and video-response kiosks set up in the courtyard. My thoughts? The skull is an interesting gew-gaw worth a ton of money, but I don't think it will be remembered at great art by future generations. Perhaps the extravagance and excesses in this work are a reflection of the world today...? The juxtaposition with Dutch master works only highlights the insignificance, glitz and hype of the Hirsch piece, in my view.
• Anne Frank House. Because you should.