Wander With a Purpose : Day Four: Amsterdam

Today we got up, ate chocolate sprinkle sandwiches for breakfast (yes that's right: chocolate sprinkles sandwiched between two tasty, fresh pieces of bread), and then took the train to Amsterdam. When we arrived, we saw that there is a carnival set up in Dam Square -- a ten day long dance festival is going on in Amsterdam right now, so we assume the two are related. We took the tram to Museum Park where we posed in front of the iconic " I AMsterdam" sign before heading into Rijks Museum.

I'm a sucker for art museums -- gallery after gallery of beautiful history displayed in intricate frames on decorative walls ... amazing. I'll let the artwork speak for itself:

Golden Calf by van Leyden -- One of my favorites of the day. I love the colors and all the detail. It is a depiction of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

Good Samaratin

Again -- look at all the detail and colors! The religious artwork in this museum was gorgeous.

Manjushri's Gesture -- the start of the Asian art collection. I love how tranquil the buddha's are.

Buddha Amina, Buddha of Paradise ❤️

This one isn't so tranquil -- it is called Angry Spirits; they defend against ignorance (I think I might bring some of these with me everywhere I go ...)

This library puts the beast's library (from Beauty and the Beast) to shame. And it smelled wonderful -- like old books.

Why yes, that is a self portrait of Vincent Van Gogh.

Night Watch by Rembrandt -- it seems small in this photo, but in real life it is huge.

Rembrandt's self portrait.

And last, but certainly not least: Waterloo.

We took a break in the middle of art viewing to eat lunch and visit. I enjoy people watching -- so many varieties of people: children on school trips whose noisy laughter echoes through the main hall and galleries, tourists wandering aimlessly, listening to headsets and searching for text in their home language, natives who smile politely as they walk directly to their favorite pieces of artwork, old couples, young couples, siblings, friends, strangers -- kind of like watching pilgrims on the Camino.

After we left the museum we went to Dam Square where I tried a oliebollen, which is a traditional Dutch pastry usually eaten on New Year's Eve ... except I won't be in the Netherlands on New Year's Eve, so I ate one today! We went in a few touristy shops (I'm on the search for an I AMsterdam poster -- though I don't think they exist) and then headed back to the train station to catch a ride back to Rotterdam.

Back at Vera's apartment, we ordered (a personal favorite for both of us) sushi!! Now we are relaxing with full bellies ☺️ Here are a few more pics from today:

Sprinkle breakfast sandwich!!! I know you're jealous ...