Tue, July 10 - Van Gogh

At seven the alarm went off and we slowly got up and dressed.  We have  tickets to the Van Gogh Museum at 9:45, and crossed the busy street toward to central train station to get a all-day transportation pass.  We caught a number 5 tram which took us out towards the museum area, away from the dense tourist activity near our hotel and through pleasant apartments and  shopping areas.

We got off the tram near several museums and found the entrance to the Van Gogh.  We had a bit of time and so went in search of breakfast.  We passed the Stedelijk Museum of  Contemporary Art and Design and entered their spartan but well-designed and colorful cafe for cappuccinos, croissants, yogurt and honey. 

Design Museum Cafe

Van Gogh Museum

Thus fortified, we entered the Van Gogh and found that I hadn’t printed out both tickets, just mine - something that has worried us for a couple of months - but wonderful Isabelle, our ticket taker, grabbed an i-pad, looked up our info, and admitted us, adding a note that we had already paid for audio headphones!

We strapped on the units and went through a tunnel to the first floor of the museum.  It was really crowded- it being the height of the tourist season - and being able to turn off the crowd noise with the headphones was great, but still one couldn’t stay very long in front of any one piece which was frustrating at times.  At one point a little tractor-like machine entered a room and the guards shooed us all to the next  to change a light bulb, it turned out, which made for standing room only - more like a packed subway than a museum!.

We explored the 2nd and 3rd floors which examined VanGogh’s relationships with other contemporary artists and his family, and returned to our hotel at 11:30 to rest.  Room Service brought us an enormous, very delicious, hamburger (best we’ve ever had outside the US).

We thought we’d better go to the Central Railway Station across the plaza and investigate how to use our tickets that we bought several months ago to go to Delft tomorrow.  

"I Am sterdam"

Great Crested Grebe

The station was chaotic with people going every which way.  We found some schedules posted and think our train leaves from track 2a; we’ll get here early on Wednesday and try to get on the correct one.   We left the station and thought we’d try to find the cute B&B we stayed at five years ago, the Tulip B&B.  We finally reached the correct canal and Nieuwmarkt Square and there was the Tulip with one of the owners sitting in the open front window!  We told him that we had stayed there five years ago and he said he remembered us and we discussed their former wonderful cat who had fallen asleep in Bob’s suitcase!  The very good tiny Italian restaurant is still next door, although we were not hungry enough to go in for a meal.

We went back to the Barbizon and at 7:30 went to the pleasant bar, ordered a Negroni and a Cuba Libre and split a plate of asparagus risotto and watched the. World Cup Belgium-France match.