Tulips from Amsterdam

[beelikej]

I had an extra long weekend and spent two days of it in Amsterdam. On Thursday evening I went to see Eddie Izzard's Force Majeure Worldtour, together with my brothers and sister in law. I had managed to get us seats in the fourth row!
Friday was brotherdearest's birthday so I stayed the night in his and his girlfriend's new apartment. In the morning he and I took a tram to the restored Rijksmuseum; we didn't go in, but there was enough to see on the outside. On the square behind the museum was a presentation of the Tulipmuseum; that was gorgeous.
Afterwards we bought groceries and prepared food until our family arrived with presents. We had cake and dinner (very tasty ovendishes, if I do say so myself;) before the rest of the guests joined us for the party. I got a lift back home with my mom and J.


THURSDAY, APRIL 18

View from the train.


Funky tower near the subway station Wibautstraat.


Funky tree near my brother's house.


The four of us after seeing Eddie Izzard on stage at the Heineken Music Hall. For those of you who don't know him and for everyone else who could do with a bit of a giggle, here's a selection from some old shows: Noah's Arc - Glorious (1997), The British Empire - Dressed to Kill (1998), Death Star Cantine - Circle (2002), Superheroes - Sexie (2003) (I love his outfit here;) and The Ten Commandments - Stripped (2008). (Bonus vid: Eddie speaking Dutch on Craig Ferguson's couch:)


While the other brother and my sister in law traveled back to The Hague by train, brotherdearest and I took the metro to his apartment. This flying pig is part of the awesome art on the Amsterdam underground:)

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

The Rijksmuseum (best known for Rembrandt's Nachtwacht (The Night Watch) - Build in 1885, designed by P.J.H. Cuypers. In the past ten years (10!!) it was closed so the building could be restored to its former glory. (Some of the glorious interior had been covered up when it was considered too pompous and distracting from the art, tsk, tsk).


Look at those marvelous details!


This lion biting into the drain pipe is my favorite:)


The wall of the atrium / entrance.


Brotherdearest and me at the back of the building.


Funfact: the style of the building is similar to the Amsterdam trainstation, designed by the same architect. The city centre is right in between:)


Love the statues on top representing the different arts.


There are some lovely statues in the backyard as well.


Heehee, didn't know I had that much gray in my hair. Made this photo myself, looking at the Iamsterdam letters on the Museum Square:)


ALL THE TULIPS. Next weekend is dedicated to the tulip. Look at the variety in colours and shapes! (Some of the flowers were leaning over as a result of the storm from the day before, still pretty though - click on the photo for a closer look)


Okay, one more. To me this is the most basic tulip. Thank you, Tulip museum for sharing!


The Van Gogh Museum is also being restored and is currently closed; it will reopen on May 1st.


After going round the Museum Square, we walked back to the Rijksmuseum once more.


Such beautiful details.


This guy looked a little threatening, but he never released that disk;)


In the 'bicyletunnel' under the museum there was an awesome band playing; two accordeons, a horn, a violin and that ancient bass together sounded like a huge classical orchestra. My hands hurt from applauding.


From the family and party I'm only sharing this adorable photo; my nephew trying to play the sitar (while he knows he's not allowed to touch it *grins*)


So. Does anyone want to come over and visit the inside of that museum with me?

Now I'm back home, I'm going to work on my art for the SPN Cinema Challenge. What did you do this weekend?

J.

Comments

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I want to come and go through the museum with you. Want and able to do so are two different things, unfortunately. :(

I love looking at architecture and I love when they get creative with it. The lion biting into the drainpipe is awesome!!

And I absolutely adore Eddie Izzard! He's so intelligent and funny - so talented!

I spent the weekend being sick with a terrible head cold. Finally feeling better today, but it sucks to spend a whole weekend feeling icky.

Thanks so much for sharing your pics :D and I can't wait for more art from you! ♥

[sillie]

Yaay Eddie Izzard! Love him. Hope you had a good time at his show. :D

Very awesome pictures of the Rijksmuseum. It's so pretty on the outside. Definitely want to visit it sometime soon. :)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

It's always a little weird to see a famous face you're so familiar with in real life. He talked and moved exactly like I expected! ;-)
It's too bad a stage performance doesn't come with a replay button; I had to stay focused all the time as to not miss a joke or reference! Fortunately he also mentioned a couple of golden oldies, which was marvelous for longtime fans, especially because he added twists:) I wish I could remember it all. It was a great evening.

I always get a little uncomfortable inside musea, but this building is so gorgeous, a visit would be worth just to stare at the walls.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Hey, you never know :-p But you better focus on your trip to NJ first; not long now! (I'm so excited about that, I'm living vicariously through all my friends who visit conventions and your the first:)

That biting lion made me laugh out loud. There was so much to see just on the outside of the building alone, I could spent hours trying to discover every detail.

Eddie was awesome! He talks so fast and often about such random subjects that it's hard to keep track when it's a live performance. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for the DVD to be sure I got all the jokes. There was a great bit about King Richard I (The Lionheart) that I just have to watch again.

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better after a snotty weekend! Isn't that just typical of a cold that it catches you on your time off.

Last night I got into the serious fiddling stages of arting: my table is a mess of paper and crayons (don't ask, I'm trying something new again *rolls eyes at self*) but I'm hoping it will lead to something presentable next week. My postingdate is May 1st, eeeep...

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

I saw the contents of the Van Goghmuseum while they were in the Hermitage, but I've never been to the actual Van Goghmuseum or the Rijksmuseum. OR THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE. I feel like a weekend in Amsterdam is in order. Perhaps I can still pinch off a free weekend somewhere!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

The Anne Frank House is on my list of 'must visits' too. I was thinking about going there in the autumn, but if you have time sooner and want company, let me know! (Planning ahead is required I think)