On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Everybody, please send in your holiday photos! I have one set from Albatrossity for Monday, but we typically do the holiday pics for the 2 weeks before Christmas, so there are 9 more slots to fill. If you have just one or two or a few photos, you can either submit them as an OTR post, or you can send email attachments with an email message.
Amsterdam
This round of photos are mostly from the Dutch Masters collection at the Rijksmuseum, the first of several I visited this trip.
This is a detail from Jan Steen’s 1668 painting ‘The Merry Family’. Apparently, it was meant as some sort of warning against this behavior, but they did look like they were having a lot of fun.
This is a detail from a Rembrandt portrait of a sugar refinery owner; I couldn’t get over how wild this shoe is.
The most famous of the ‘Night Watch’ paintings (they were a big thing for local militias). It’s under repair–they’re figuring out how to prevent it from moving gently with the airflow in the museum, which seems to damage it subtly over time. Pratchett fans are welcome to speculate on which Night Watch member is which member of this portrait, as well as the next two.
A detail from a different Night Watch painting in the same hall. The guy with the rifle looks like he is or should be in a Lynard Skynard cover band.
The third big Night Watch painting in the gallery. With these and the other portraits, I find it interesting to look at the people in detail and try and imagine their lives and how they perceived and lived them.
A detail from a Vroom painting of Dutch ships ramming Spanish galleys during the Dutch War for Independence (otherwise known as the 80 Years’ War).
Some of the leaders of the Dutch Revolt. Around here is where my phone ran out of juice, so I enjoyed the rest of the museum in a pre-smart phone sort of way.
A street sign on the way to the Maritime Museum (Scheepvaartmuseum) the next day. The Scheepvaartmuseum is one of my favorites, and will take up the next three sets of photos.
Wee Hours Open Thread
Princess
I love Amsterdam
PBK
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities so I am especially appreciating this series. Thank you Captain C!
WendyBinFL
Love the Rijksmuseum, and it’s wonderful to see Night Watch paintings again! Thanks, Captain C! Astonishing to observe how high those fellows wrapped their cummerbunds! Looking forward to learning about the Maritime Museum, which I’ve never visited. Must admit I got a chuckle out of trying to pronounce the name out loud… didn’t sound like “maritime”…
OzarkHillbilly
Looking at those Night Watch pictures, the only thing I see is a lynch mob. Maybe that’s the American in me coloring all I see.
Yutsano
Paging Professor Thomas Levenson! Professor Tom Levenson please come to the white courtesy phone for an important message!
I’m just in love with the realism and mastery the Dutch artists from the 16th through the 18th century did in their paintings. Especially since with that many subjects they were painting mostly from memory of certain scenes. Although I could imagine a bunch of them gathered about klutzily trying to hold still while getting in the way of each other. This also increases my desire to hop the pond and visit some Dutch friends including an expat who is involved in the art scene there. Plus she’s a reliable Dem vote to boot!
mvr
Thanks for these! They’re really interesting. I really should visit Amsterdam as these photos remind me.
I was there 45+ years ago on my whirlwind teenage Eurailpass trip through Europe. I stayed with my uncle the painter who lived there for many years in a big 3 story house on a canal with a large yard. I kept asking him what I should be doing in the city and he kept being pretty coy about whether there was much to do or see. I remember being a bit embarrassed about doing tourist things like going to museums. I do remember going to one of the them, but it might have been the Stedelijk and not the Rijksmuseum.
This encourages me to get back there.
MelissaM
I saw on the last thread there were suggestions about other cities to visit and I recommend Alkmaar on a Friday morning. They do a reenactment of the cheese weighing that used to take place on the town square, complete with costumes and sleds of cheeses. We were walking into town from the train station and a gentleman with a boat filled with cheese asked if we wanted to hold the cheese, so I got great pictures of my kids with the wheels. He was retired from another job and had a boat, so was conscripted to pretend to bring his farm cheeses in to the city to be evaluated and weighed.
A short walk away from the square is the truck waiting for the cheeses to be loaded back on. We did get some Beemster at a good price. It was all very fun and interesting, and the rest of Alkmaar is a quiet, and very lovely Dutch town.
bjacques
You can get an Amsterdam Card that gets you discounts for the museums here, well worth your while. Haarlem has the Frans Hals Museum with the only painting based on the Tulipmania, and the Teyler natural history museum.
StringOnAStick
Such fun photos; I’m looking forward to all the maritime museum photos.
way2blue
Your close-ups of the paintings are wonderful. And remind me that I didn’t spend enough time enjoying such details of clothing, posture, expressions, symbolism. Next time…
Origuy
I love the humor in Jan Steen’s paintings. There’s always so much going on. It’s been decades since I was in Amsterdam. I’d love to go back.
Captain C
@PBK:
@WendyBinFL:
Thanks! Dutch pronunciation can definitely be a bit challenging for those not used to it (and even for those who are).
Captain C
@OzarkHillbilly: I think their job was akin to that of Vimes’ squad in Pratchett’s works (including assisting with the military defense of the city), but given the religious climate at the time, I can definitely see them not always paying full attention to the details and niceties of the law.
Captain C
@way2blue: Thanks! I find the details fascinating, as they often give an idea of the little elements of daily life at the time.