Riyks Museum

Day 2 in Amsterdam and we decided to break with our usual approach and purchase 'Amsterdam City Cards'. Most cities seem to have some variety of discount card or multiple entry card which will get you into multiple attractions for one price. We have decided that most of the time the cards just don't suit our rather slow paced approach to fitting in all the highlights. This time we decided to go for it because the 3 day cards seemed like a pretty good deal, transport was included there were a couple of items on offer that we were definitely planning on anyway.

We started off at the Riyks Museum which was located in a very beautiful and interesting building and featured Dutch masters as well as displays and a great deal of information on Dutch history. We also managed a cruise on the canals which was pleasant and informative. The contrasts here in the heavily protestant Netherlands compared with Germany and France were evident even to the casual tourist. None of that big noting yourself in Amsterdam with ornate palaces and grand portraits. Utilitarian was the name of the game and yes, by all means, portraits but only groups of soldiers or burgers or even family groupings. As long as no one was singled out. It does mean that the artworks on display were more often of normal people going about their business and added significantly to the public record.

We got around quite well on the trams once we got used to the idea that you had to scan your city card when you got on the tram and then again when you got off. Otherwise the card would cease to function after a couple of hours. We could have done without that little extra level of complication, but we made it though without actually having to get a new card so it was ok.Read more