Moments of Transcendence

Having abandoned trying to get tickets for the Rijksmuseum online last night, we left the hotel promptly after breakfast and took the number 2 tram into town, getting off at museumplein. We headed straight for the museum gift shop/ticket office midway between the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum. After queuing for 5-10 mins we were able to buy two tickets for immediate entry into the museum.

The museum building is very beautiful from the outside, founded in 1798 the present building dates from the 1880's. The entrance is very bright, modern and spacious, with guide maps available in multiple languages, but not Scots Gaelic i noticed. The museum was absolutely heaving with people, it was easy to see why they recommended booking tickets online. Top tip, don't go overloaded with stuff, a packable waterproof and a small front facing rucksack/bag is ideal.

Although I really wanted to see the Rembrandts we decided just to follow the floor plan and work our way around it methodically. Art galleries can be disorentating, but we managed to follow the gallery numbers not too badly. Many of the displays and artifacts were a reminder that the Netherlands was once a global power, and that much of its wealth and power were acquired via the same colonial expansionist brutality common among its neighbours. I was struck by the fact that the museum did not shy away from the horrors of the Dutch empire, they laid it bare for all to see, to see and be horrified. I suppose that was the point. Look at who we were they seemed to say, and look at us now, we can be better. Some truths, even the most painful kind, are best not hidden away.

We eventually reached the Rembrandts, although it was a bit of a struggle to actually see The Night Watch because of the crowd around it. It was also more than 20 feet away behind glass walls. The other Rembrandt's were more accessible, and it was wonderful to be so close to them, to see the genius of his talent in every brushstroke. The Jewish Bride was beautiful, Van Gogh came to see it in the Rijksmuseum and said that he would happily give ten years of his life to go on sitting in front of it for ten days. I especially liked the self-portrait of Rembrandt from late in his life. Looking into his face you get a strong sense of a life behind those eyes, all the joys and sorrows, the eyes tell the story.

We really enjoyed our wander around the Rijksmuseum, and there was so much to see, but it was tiring and so we headed to the museum cafe....but the queue was so long we abandoned that idea and went outside to one of the street vendors for some chips and coffee, it was a bit pricey but just what we needed.

We jumped on the tram and went into town without any clear plan of what to do next, the weather began to change, it was getting windy and cold with darkening skies so we didn't want to wander about. I saw the church of St Nicolas that the captain of our canal cruise had mentioned the other day. So we walked across to it. It was the first Roman Catholic Church built in the city when catholics were allowed to worship in public post-Reformation. It was very beautiful inside and everything that church buildings from the period were meant to be, awe-inspiring, with incredible architecture and beautiful decoration, the stations of the cross were especially nice, as was the ceiling of the cupola.

As we were sitting some members of the choir came out to rehearse for the service later that day. without the aid of any microphones, thanks to the clever architecture their beautiful and harmonious voices filled the building. although it's not my faith tradition or music that I am very familiar with I could have sat and listened to it all afternoon. People kept coming in and sitting quietly listening, and i could understand why, the architecture and the music were doing the same thing that great art does, leading us into a moment of transcendence, a sense that there is something more, something greater, something beyond us but nonetheless connected. In that moment I understood how Van Gogh felt sitting in front of The Jewish Bride.

We left the church, glad to have come.Les mer