The Trip that was: September 23, 2019 -- A day in the bathtub of Amsterdam.

2019

Before you read on, and get into my rantings, I will say I started this post way back in 2019, but you're just getting it today.  I've taken the liberty to add some links, and a video.  And a new beginning, because after the last several months, we're all longing for one of those! Alas, this is the only one I can offer. 

 Now, lets dive in! Starting the day in 2019 with our hop off the bus near our (unintended) destination, and a desire to get some food.  So we stopped into a tiny cafe I had seen before but never tried, Small Talk.  It was lunch time and things were hopping! So we had to go upstairs to eat our pancakes! You can see the stairs, and the entrance at the bottom. There's a reason it's got Small in it's name!

Looking out at the pretty backside of the Stedelijk.

And looking over the bar top where we sat, and down at the first floor. 

With full belly,  it's time to broach the bathtub building topic I mentioned a long time ago, back when I spoke of CoBra and my disdain for such things. But this moves beyond disdain.  This bathtub atrocity causes physical and emotional pain when I ride by it on a tram. You see,  I have a love/hate relationship with the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. I absolutely LOVE to hate the place.  The powers that be took a grand old building, remodeled it and stuck a giant white bathtub on the front of the building. And came up with the least imaginative logo I've ever seen for a "modern" art museum.  See what I mean?

Hideous, right?!?!?  But on this particular day, we got a very late start.  Vacations do that to you, ya know? You think you're leaving on time, but the coffee is nice, the weather isn't, the house is warm and dry...and voila! It's almost Noon and you're still staring at the wall.  Anyway, we jumped on a bus and went to Amsterdam. The innui had left me vulnerable to attack. On the way, Dutchboy says, "There is some sort of exhibition at Stedelijk Amsterdam. Want to go?"  After glaring at him for a full minute, I gave in and said, " If it's photos of men peeing on chairs, I'm leaving." (Yes, we saw that exhibition. It was terrible.  Not even NICE CHAIRS.  Plastic, school cafeteria chairs!!! Can you IMAGINE?!)  With all my ranting in mind, just imagine my surprise, to find the museum was ...nice! They had a lovely base collection on display, and the exhibition was indeed fantastic! Picasso! Chagall! Mondriaan! Van Dongen!

The permanent collection on display included two Van Goghs  that I've NEVER seen displayed at the Stedelijk, and a Lichtenstein, too!

Not all things were nice.  This "altar" is pretty bad.  The artist made an altar and then hung balloons filled with paint from it.  She then shot the balloons with a shotgun. The result looks like a really bad halloween project.

In the center of the gallery, they had built a raised area so that you could oversee the area.  You can see the best of the Stedelijk in the video.  And you're welcome.  I saved you from the pain of the paper mache rocks, the single blue canvas on a white wall, the purple latex mannequin with no eyes and one leg, eating a dog...okay I made that last one up.  Video is also available on YouTube. 

After leaving the museum, we walked down a few streets to the  PC Hooftstraat.   Got money? This is the street where you can spend LOTS of it.  I adore the store front for Hermes.

PCHooft is also the best place to window shop! All the windows are so beautifully dressed. Don't you just adore these lil' fellas??

After all that art watching, walking, oogling and dreaming, I needed a palate cleanser!!! 

Prost!