The Netherlands Trip Day 2-（１）: Rijskmuseum/National museum in Amsterdam

You can refer back to the previous articles:

・Day1

Good Morning, Amsterdam!

I didn’t remember when I fell asleep in a hostel. Upon a long flight with some nervousness in a place unknown to me, I was tired to have a deep sleep.

I woke up at 2 am in the middle of night, realizing I was a bit sweaty so I took a shower. Well, the water was too cold and didn’t come out of the shower head enough. Like a stream in woods, I needed to scoop up the water with hands. I managed to wash my fair and body somehow but I felt a bit cold, so I went directly back to my bed to get myself warm. I fell asleep without noticing again and regained consciousness at 7 am. 

Day 2 began with breakfast search: I should have bought groceries to cook breakfast in the kitchen last night…. Anyways, I put my valuables with my Nikcon D750 SRL inherited by my late father into my daily bag and walked into the downtown of Amsterdam.

Into a breakfast journey

April 27 was Sunday, so the city wasn’t that busy in the morning. It was spring when the Netherlanders cherish its national symbol: Tulips, but still cold a bit in the morning. I took out my jacket from deep inside of my backpack (since I thought I didn’t need…) and put it on. I like walking rather than taking public transportations such as trams, trains and buses unless the place to go is too far; I walked to Leidseplein, one tram stop away from Overtoom, the nearest one from my hostel. Last night, on my way to the supermarket Jumbo, I was almost run over by bicycles; I didn’t know that I was on the bicycle-only road where pedestrians are not allowed to walk. In Amsterdam, roads are comprised of the three spaces; for cars/trams, for bicycles and for walkers. I learned well so I watched carefully where I was standing this morning.

People have sandwiches or bread like Croissant with some coffee in Europe and there were many such bakeries in streets. I’m the last person to wait in a long queue often for foods or amusements (that’s way, I’m not that interested in Disney Land!) unless it’s necessary, so I dropped in a bakery without such a long queue. The shop called Simit Sarayi near from Leidseplein tram stop served home-made sandwiches with fresh vegetables and fried meats. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before eating but the sandwich I chose was buns with fresh lettuce and tomatoes with a chicken filet. Again, the portion was too huge…but it tasted quite good!

Walking to the first destination

One of my purposes on this trip is to enjoy genuine masterpieces of arts by Dutch painters, e.g. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Goch. The Netherlands have many museums throughout the nation and one of the biggest ones is Rijskmuseum or National museum in Amsterdam. 

I could buy a ticket online but I would have liked a physical one to avoid miscomunicaion at the reception in the museum. It was supposed to open at 9 am and I arrived at the entrance 10 minutes before the open. Oh, the ticket counter was supposed to start from 9:30 so I had to wait.

The museum itself looked like a palace, so I walked around and took photos on its photogenic facade and building.  A few minutes passed and I realised a lady standing in front of the entrance with a sign saying "You can buy a ticket here".  I doubted she was a ticket tout firstly but soon understood that she was a genuine staff wearing the museum's uniform; I came to her for a ticket.

A miracle happened.

The lady told me that I can buy a ticket from her but she said: "an American lady bought a ticket today online yesterday but she had to cancel it due to her schedule change. She then came here and gave the ticket to me asking to give it to the first someone who wants to buy from you today."  Well, I was the chosen one.

I told her that I was quite happy to hear that but....the ticket showed a female name; Carolyne and obivously I'm male..so I didn't know how to use this. She understood my thoughts and took me to the reception and explained the reason. The reception guy said: You're welcome! It's a lucky day for you. A free ticket! I responded to them: I thank the Carolyne...and you guys to understand!

To be continued...