day two in Amsterdam, Rembrandt and the Golden Age masterpieces

Posted on February 27, 2019 by julesparis2013

The primary reason for my trip was to visit the Rembrandt exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. Weeks earlier I had purchased my ticket online, so I was all set to go.

Sunday morning was glorious. While church bells pealed across the city, I strolled the near-empty streets in search of a place for breakfast. Compared to Paris which was, and still is, in the grips of a pollution alert, the air was fresh, cold and clean. The cawing of gulls overhead reminded me that the sea is not far away. Like Venice, Amsterdam is a watery city comprising a river, a major seaport, and over 100 kilometres of canals. It connects to the North Sea via the North Sea Canal.

by Janwillemvanaalst

The Cold Pressed Juicery makes the tastiest and healthiest raw food, cold pressed juices and superfood smoothies. I grabbed a protein bar and a banana smoothie made with coconut, dates, tahini, brazil nuts, cacao, bee pollen, maca, chia seeds, vanilla, cinnamon and cashew milk. Yummy (and filling.)

Then I walked northwards to spend the entire afternoon at the Rijksmuseum.

For Art Nouveau and Art Deco fans, there are fabulous examples all over Europe. Walking tours are popular, and one day I will partake in one, probably in Belgium; Brussels is an important Art Nouveau center. Here’s the Gunters & Meuser building, constructed in 1917 in the Amsterdam School style of architecture (1915-1940).

Here are two random examples of Art Nouveau glass art (above and below), inspired by natural forms and structures, as well as the curved lines of plants and flowers. It amazes me that this prized example below is unprotected and accessible to all right out in the street, as if it were a trivial door, an inconsequential gate.

Art Nouveau is a total art style. Most popular between 1890 and 1910, it embraces a wide range of fine and decorative arts, including architecture, painting, graphic art, interior design, jewelry, furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass art, and metal work.

The art movement had its roots in Britain, in the floral designs of William Morris, and in the Arts and Crafts movement founded by the pupils of Morris.

By 1910, Art Nouveau was already out of style. It was replaced as the dominant European architectural and decorative style, first by Art Deco and then by Modernism.

back from Amsterdam, part 1

Posted on February 25, 2019 by julesparis2013

So so lucky with the weather. After a 4-hour train ride crossing the north of France, all of Belgium and the bottom half of Holland, my train arrived at Amsterdam Centraal at 2:30 pm on Saturday. The train trip back was only three hours. I returned to Paris at 7 pm this Monday evening.

Dragging my small suitcase across cobblestones, alongside canals and over bridges, I walked to my hotel located in the Jordaan district. I quickly checked in, then headed back out again. Everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather.

I walked for 4 hours doing what I love best: wandering, taking photographs and popping into candy and cosmetic shops while enjoying the sunshine and vibe of this small city.

I don’t know what Jordaan district I ended up in, but towards 5:30 I spied a pizzeria called La Perla. Famished, I walked straight on in.

From my seat at the window ledge, I watched the street scene, drank ginger beer and ate my delicious pie.

Certain areas are what I call “feel-good” places. This district was one of them. If you could see the cute little houses with wooden benches out front, tulips adorning the windowboxes, and the general conviviality of the residents, you’d feel good too. I know I did. And then suddenly it got dark around 6:30 pm and the temperature dropped dramatically.

I scurried back to the hotel for a cocktail (in reverse order, as I had already eaten.) The bar at the hotel was warm and welcoming. I perused the cocktail list and chose a concoction of cognac, crème de framboise and champagne.

A nightcap on the house: espresso and Grand Marnier generously topped with thick fresh cream, not a jot of sugar. Yum.

And then upstairs to lie on my bed in front of the television.

My hotel room on the top floor was completely silent. Sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons I travel is to seek quietude.

I stayed at the Hotel Mercier.

part four – The Hague

Posted on August 22, 2017 by julesparis2013

I think I’m a wanderer at heart, a gypsy-spirit … no, I know I am. Truly happiest with a knapsack on my back and a camera slung around my neck. I could travel forever.

Strolling around the neighborhood near my hotel one sunny Sunday morning, I came across an inviting café-bookstore. Music-filled, lots of wood and divided into different sections, you could buy and read books, drink coffee and eat little cakes all day long. The place had such a pleasant laidback vibe, I returned every day for the rest of my stay in The Hague.

I sat in this cozy corner and read these two books (after purchasing them.) Cappuccino was brought to me on a little wooden platter.

What was funny was this name directly above my head (watching over me?)

Jongbloed in English is Youngblood, the name of my father’s publishing company (in Toronto). He would have been tickled pink to see this.

***

Part Three – cannabis and coffeeshops

Posted on August 20, 2017 by julesparis2013

THE HAGUE – Just down the road from my hotel was a large-windowed store with people going in and out all day long. Sometimes there was a long queue of people waiting to get inside. “What on earth are they selling?” I said to myself. Then I learned that it was a store selling hashish, marijuana and other cannabis products. I was intrigued. In this small permissive country, you can legally buy pot. Rather than skulking in dark alleys, trading is carried out in broad daylight. Even on Sunday mornings!

Every day I passed this shop, and every day I became “curioser and curioser”, to quote Lewis Carroll. One warm, sunny evening – my last evening in Holland – I strolled past the shop. My curiosity piqued, I stepped inside.

Here’s how the conversation went –

“So how does it work here?”

“Are you looking to buy hash or grass?”

“Errr … grass, I guess.” There was a really strong, funky, fuggy smell in the shop.

“Do you want to try just a single joint for starters?”

“OK.”

“Loose or pre-rolled?”

“Pre-rolled.”

“With or without tobacco?”

I wimped out. “With tobacco.”

“And what effect are you looking for?”

“Oh, definitely mellow.”

“OK, well I recommend one of our best-sellers. It’s called Strawberry Kush and if you smoke half of it, the effect is the equivalent to drinking two glasses of really good wine.”

“Sounds good. But say, can I travel with this? Because I’m leaving Holland tomorrow.”

“Where are you going, back to the States? In that case, the answer is no.”

“I’m not American.”

“You sure sound American. Where are you from?”

“Canada.”

“Oh, well,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “Same thing.”

Bristling, I replied – “Is Holland the same thing as Belgium or Germany?”

“No, but Canada and the States is the same land mass …”

“The U.S.A. and Canada are two distinctly different countries.” I said decisively.

Changing the subject, I asked, “I’m leaving tomorrow for Belgium and then back to France where I live. Can I travel with this?”

“To Belgium, yes. You can legally carry 3 grams in that country, in Holland 5 grams. But in France, I don’t know.”

So I bought a spliff of Strawberry Kush. It cost six euros, 50 cents and came in its own little carrying case.

Packing in my hotel room the next morning, I must have put that spliff in five different places – first in my cosmetic bag, then in the inside pocket of my travel bag, then in my knapsack, then in my eyeglasses case. I didn’t know what to do with it, other than smoke the damn thing, but it was 10 am on a Wednesday morning.

My concern was that my bags would pass through a scanner on my way back to France, and it would show up on the X-ray machine. I imagined sniffer dogs, an alarm going off, border police frogmarching me into a little room where I’d be strip-searched and humiliated. And the worst, I’d end up with a casier judiciaire (criminal record.) You can’t be employed with one. I’d lose my job, be forced to go on welfare, I’d end up on the streets, all my worldly possessions in a storage unit …

Stop! For god’s sake, Juliet, get a grip! I pulled myself together. I think I’ve seen too many movies. We’re talking about a single joint mixed with tobacco and two grams … two grams of marijuana! Surely the police have more important things to look for … like, er, terrorists???

But down in the lobby of the hotel, I googled “Legality of cannabis in France” and what came up was ILLEGAL ILLEGAL ILLEGAL. I was surprised. Wow. Chill out, France, what’s the problem?

Here’s what I learned – Possession of cannabis is illegal in France and can lead to severe punishments. In French law, there is no difference between cannabis and any other drug. Drug-related offences are taken very seriously and France is known for having one of the harshest drug policies in Europe.

Depending on the amount and the circumstances, you could be lucky to get away with just a slap on the wrist. But chances are, you’ll end up receiving a substantial fine, or even a prison sentence.

This was becoming far too sturm und drang. I could either go into the garden of the hotel and smoke the thing right then and there, or flush it down the toilet. Coz the thing was this: I had purchased the joint to smoke with my friend back in France, not on my own, alone in Holland. I headed for the lavatory.

part two – the magnificent Mauritshuis

Posted on August 18, 2017 by julesparis2013

A jewel in the heart of the city. The Mauritshuis is one of the reasons I travelled to The Hague.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is Vermeer’s most famous painting. A girl wearing an oriental turban and a large pearl earring. Johannes Vermeer was a master of light. This extraordinary work of art was painted 352 years ago in 1665.

The collection inside the Mauritshuis is made up of paintings dating from around 1400 to 1800. There are Flemish, German and French works, but the vast majority are Dutch dating from the seventeenth century. This was the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great prosperity boasting famous painters such as Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Vermeer.

Fans of Donna Tartt will enjoy this painting of the chained bird on its perch. Tartt wrote her last novel, The Goldfinch, around this little masterpiece. In 2013, on loan from the Mauritshuis and as part of a travelling exhibition, this painting and others travelled to the Frick Collection in New York City. Carel Fabritius’s The Goldfinch, created in 1654, is a small but potent painting.

Well, they say that Vermeer was a master of light, but look at this splendid panel of artwork entitled Old Woman and Boy with Candles, painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1616.

This one I especially loved –

Luminous! (It’s actually brighter in real life than it appears here.) As if lit from within. Entitled View of Delft and painted by Vermeer, this is the most famous cityscape of the Dutch Golden Age. Looking at Delft from the south, the city has an air of tranquillity. Reflecting this in his composition, Vermeer made three horizontal stripes: water, city and sky. Look at the interplay of light and shade and the clouds, as well as the reflections in the water and the two women standing in the forefront. This painting, 357 years old, is a masterpiece.

Right beside the museum is a lovely restaurant and gift shop. Looking at all that art makes one hungry and thirsty!

All this was for me. Just kidding!

Of course you have the world-famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam with its own important collection of the Dutch masters. But what makes the Mauritshuis special is its smallness and intimacy. The Hague is a lovely small city to visit.

Den Haag, Holland – part one

Posted on August 17, 2017 by julesparis2013

These days, boarding a train at Paris’s Gare du Nord train station involves passing through a phalanx of machine gun-wielding policemen, sniffer dogs, scanners and metal detectors similar to those used in airports. However, in my line-up the scanner wasn’t working, so they just waved us through. And I thought, “What’s the point in having a scanner if it doesn’t work?”

The reason for this heightened surveillance is primarily to dissuade potential terrorists from climbing aboard a train armed to the teeth with weapons, which is exactly what happened two years ago (the horror!)

In August 2015, a deranged Islamist nearly opened fire on passengers inside a Thalys train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris. Thanks to the courage, strength and alacrity of three American men, two who were off-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces, they tackled the terrorist and managed to subdue him. Later, these heros were awarded France’s highest decoration for bravery, the Legion of Honor, by then-president François Holland. This is worth mentioning because these brave men averted a possible bloodbath. Again, the horror! To think that you could be sitting on a European train, or a train anywhere for that matter, calmly flipping through a magazine or chatting with your companion when suddenly a crazed lunatic shouting “Allah Akbar!” and wielding an assault rifle bursts into your compartment. But this is what is happening today. Islamic terrorism in Europe (and elsewhere in the world) is defining the beginning of the 21st century. And it is tragic. Governments need to work harder to eradicate this horrendous phenomenon.

Seat prices are cheaper if you book months in advance. I booked myself a First Class ticket, Paris to Rotterdam, for 62 euros. Travel time is two hours and 37 minutes. A snack and lunch are included in the price of the ticket. If you’re travelling solo, ask for a “place isolée” or “place solo” (same thing) which means a single, window seat.

Below is the mid-morning snack I received. As I was drinking coffee and reading my book, I was listening with one ear to four New Yorkers sitting across the aisle from me. In their late sixties or early seventies, one of them was telling the others that during her visit to the world’s largest genealogical library in Salt Lake City, Utah, she had been researching her family history. “My maternal grandparents came from Minsk,” I heard her say. Funnily enough, the book I was reading – East West Street by Philippe Sands – covers precisely that region and era.

“Have you read this book?” I said to them, explaining that I had overheard their conversation. A discussion ensued and we chatted amicably for the rest of the journey.

From Rotterdam I took a local train to The Hague (Den Haag), only a 20-minute ride. As I sat amongst the locals listening to the guttural Dutch language, I did a double-take. A man sitting across from me was wearing wooden clogs. Real, farmer-type clogs with a leather strap across the top of his foot. I wanted to laugh and take a photo, but that would have been too rude.

At Den Haag train station, I picked up a street map and meandered the narrow streets (dragging my suitcase behind me) in search of my hotel, the Parkhotel Den Haag. A 4-star hotel, it was perfection; better than I had expected. My room overlooked the inner garden and the only sound was the cawing of sea gulls overhead. Den Haag is a seaside town located on the North Sea coast. Those gulls were constant and at one point, days later, I imagined myself in that famous Hitchcock film. (I’m not a fan of large, uncaged birds.)

He looks quite vicious, don’t you think?

Here’s the hotel garden where I spent a few hours each morning (with coffee) and each evening (with a glass of wine) working on my memoir (rewriting some segments.) I have a new editor in Vancouver and he’s a taskmaster.

Bicycles

Be forewarned that Holland is a nation of bikes, and at certain times of the day crossing the road can be perilous. So stressed was I by the flotilla of bikes bearing down on me at breakneck speed, not to mention the clanging of oncoming trams, I was a nervous wreck on my first day.

the Rijksmuseum

Posted on December 30, 2014 by julesparis2013

My birthday gift to myself was a day at the magnificent Rijksmuseum. And it wasn’t just the art that was the gift, it was the time. The luxury of free time – to wander leisurely from room to room, stopping in front of a painting, a tapestry or an exquisite silver goblet and gazing at it for as long as I desired, studying every detail and reading the information notice beside it. Antiques show us where we come from.

Museums are, of course, an education. But it’s usually not until adulthood that we appreciate the treasures held within. I visited the best of them as a child and teenager. In an effort to instil aesthetic values in their children, my English parents, bless them, took my sister and me all over Europe. We attended operas and visited museums and galleries. I was bored stiff. Opera perplexed me and museums were old and dusty. I remember gazing at gigantic tableaux of naked people, usually cowering before a snarling beast or something ominous from heaven, and all I could wonder was….where were their clothes? Perhaps if the symbolism of the painting had been explained to me, I would have understood something. But symbolism and metaphors are not easily grasped by children.

Below is a portrait painted in 1652 by Johannes Verspronck. The sitter’s name is Maria van Strijp. As you can see by her jewellery and the finery of her clothing, Maria was an affluent woman. She lived in Haarlem, North Holland and was the wife of a wealthy cloth merchant. Verspronck‘s painting style shows attention to the depiction of clothing and jewellery. His precision is not stiff, but beautiful and quiet.

Cartwheel ruffs. What an odd accoutrement. Ruffs were highly luxurious garments, a potent symbol of status and wealth. Anyone who could afford to wear and maintain a ruff was clearly not doing any manual labor. They were made from starched linen and edged with lace. The fabric was put into a figure 8 pattern, called goffering, and sewn with gossamer threads.

Portrait of a Woman by Frans Hals, 1635Portrait of Feyntje van Steenkiste by Frans Hals, 1635Look at this magnificent cabinet veneered with tortoiseshell and ivory.

Delftware is blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands from the 16th to the 18th century.

From a distance I thought this painting was a Bruegel, but it wasn’t. It was painted by Hendrick Avercamp, a Dutchman born in Amsterdam in 1585. As one of the first landscape painters of the 17th-century Dutch school, Avercamp is famous for his winterscapes. Many of his paintings feature people ice skating.

Modern skaters today. This rink is in front of the museum. Notice the chairs. I don’t recall seeing that in other countries. Ah, the ever-pragmatic Dutch!

Amsterdam – Part II

Posted on December 28, 2014 by julesparis2013

I haven’t a clue who these people are. They looked so happy, I thought I’d take a picture.

I wanted to visit the Rembrandt House Museum where the painter lived and worked between 1639 and 1656, but somehow never made it to that side of town. Instead I visited the Museum Van Loon for a peek indoors at the home of an Amsterdam patrician family. This 17th-century canal mansion, one of the most splendid in town, has retained the atmosphere of an extremely grand family home. In 1602 Willem Van Loon was co-founder of the Dutch East Indian Company. As I wandered from room to room staring at the family portraits on the walls, I wondered what had become of the Van Loon family. Where are the family members today, if any?

Many of Amsterdam’s canal houses were built during the height of the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age. In 2010, the canal district was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Contrary to the tightly-shuttered windows in France, many of the tall windows here are unshuttered and uncurtained. This means that at night you can walk past and see people going about their business inside, completely unperturbed that passersby like myself might be looking in. And guess what they were doing? Sitting on a couch reading a newspaper. Watching TV. Typing in front of a computer. Preparing dinner.

As mentioned earlier, winter nights fall swiftly at 4:30 pm in Holland and you suddenly find yourself plunged into darkness. The city is dimly-lit by old-fashioned streetlamps. In fact, most rooms and interiors are dimly-lit too. I think this fondness for dim interiors is a Flemish particularity that I noticed in Antwerp, Belgium last year. It’s at this moment, if you’re walking around outside, that you should pay extra attention when crossing the streets because energetic cyclists will bear down on you. Other than that, I felt perfectly safe walking around this area in the dark (other areas, near the train station, might be less safe.) I’ve always loved walking at night. Especially on crisp, clear, cold nights.

Amsterdam – Part I

Posted on December 26, 2014 by julesparis2013

I found Amsterdam to be a romantic city with its canals, old-fashioned street lamps, picturesque shops and cozy coffee houses. Night fell swiftly at 4:30 pm and the decorative lamps cast a golden glow over the canals and cobbled streets. It’s a compact, walkable city, however a word of warning – beware when crossing the street! Squadrons of cyclists advance at a fast clip. I nearly got myself run over more than once.

Christmas wreaths hung in windows and adorned doors. As I walked along admiring them, I thought to myself “In France, they’d be stolen overnight, along with the bicycles.”

There’s a sense of virtuousness about the Dutch. They look virtuous as they cycle vigorously along (whole families sometimes, the children in a little cart attached to the bicycle or riding on the crossbar), fresh-faced and smiling, their bodies lean and fit. They also employ a no-nonsense pragmatism in their politics. Amsterdam has the most liberal and tolerant policies with regards to prostitution and soft drugs. Prostitution is legalized. There’s a common sense to this. By working in a controlled environment, prostitutes are protected from violence and exploitation. As for health issues, they must undergo regular medical examinations to prevent the spread of STDs. This sounds safer and saner than what one sees in Paris – male and female prostitutes lurking behind trees in the Bois de Boulogne.

As for legalized hash and marijuana, the benefits are a safer product, elimination of dealers and illicit revenue going towards criminal organizations and drug cartels. Although that happens too.

As is the custom in all northern European countries, coffee and cake (koffie en gebak) is a morning and afternoon ritual in which to enjoy almond and butter cookies, apple turnovers, gingerbread, streusel, different cakes and fruit-filled pies. Coffee shops and tea salons abound.

My hotel, called Sebastian’s, was perfectly located at number 15 Keizersgracht, a long road that runs parallel to a canal and winds around the city. A 10-minute walk from the train station, the hotel has soundproofed rooms equipped with comfortable beds and a deluxe espresso machine. Small shopping streets, lined on either side with boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants are just up the road. I was charmed the whole time I was there.

Juliet in Paris

A journey starts with a single step.

Category Archives: Holland