Rijksmuseum

Our second day of a two day stop in Amsterdam meant we had the morning to go see the world famous Rijksmuseum. It’s the home of the Rembrandt masters and one of the most important museums in the world.

It’s located in central Amsterdam on the Museumplein, which includes the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedilijk Museum, and the home of Gustav Mahler at the Concertgebouw.

The heart of the museum is on the 2nd floor in the Gallery of Honor. This is where all the important Rembrandts are located like The Night Watch, painted in 1642.

Four hundred years later it is the centerpiece of the museum. It is so precious they don’t even let you into the same room as the painting.

Around the same time Bartolomeus van de Helt painted the Militia Company of District VIII, whicj was essentially a bunch of rich guys standing around pretending to be guarding Amsterdam. The painting is about 40 feet wide.

In 1635 Willem Heda painted this beauty. He was known for finding the right shades of grey for each and every metal object he painted. Just look at the range in this painting.

In 1659 Willem van de Velde painted the Battle of Dunkirk WITH A PEN. If you look closely at the back of each ship he even captured their registration.

But the real beauty of the Rijksmuseum is The Library.

This is a room inside the museum that displays over 1km of books on its’ shelves. Completed in 1881, it still serves as a source for researchers art questions. There are an additional 5kms of books stored underground.

Once we left the museum we headed out to Schiphol Airport for our flight to Prague, which is where we’ll pick it up next!