Amsterdam Day 3

 Friday 17th October Amsterdam Last Day

I really had no plans for today I set out towards what is called the nine streets, an area with more boutique type shops, art and craft galleries and cafe’s. I found the Tulip Museum and a Cheese Museum, who would have guessed?

I got a few tulip themed souvenirs and then continued my wandering, to find something to photograph, or spend my Euros on.

Not sure who He is, Siri says it is a public sculpture in Amsterdam, Oh and another Cheese shop!

There are a few of these decorated bicycles around the place, some advertising shops, this one was particularly nice for such a kitsch object.

I noticed these plaques on the footpath, later when I had the opportunity to take some more notice in my hotel room, it was a bit confronting, I think you can work out what they say, here lived, where they were taken to and where they died, Auschwitz. I had decided not to go to the Anne Frank house, but here WWII got to me anyway.

On the same street was this beautiful dooor and surrounds.

And another cheese shop.

A florist/plant shop with a beautiful display outside.

I think this truck may have seen better days , it almost looks homemade, but I love how they have squeezed a the wee electric car into the space.

Ion this canal they seem to have a bit of space to get out of the driver’s seat on the left hand side, that is not always the case, I saw one young man inching around the left side of the car to get in to his seat, I think I would have tried to scramble across inside.

The little electric cars are becoming popular, they are easy to park in a tight space, and so the skipper from the canal cruise informed us, they do not need to pay for parking which runs out at 7.50 Euro per hour.

Decided that I might go to the Moco (Mdodern Art) museum after all, so headed there with the help of google maps, came a cross some sculpture. It is a monument  for Voortrekker Peter R. De Vries, an investigating journalist and crime reporter assassinated in 2021.

Just along the road were these little beasties, rather a wonderful idea, there are lots more in the grass, and on the others side of the wee triangle of green space.

Then here I was at the Moco Museum. An interesting building for modern art, when you consider the modern Van Gogh Museum, but I always like the juxtaposition of Modern and old.

A Banksy by an Art Nouveau window for instance.

It was a great museum, or gallery really, with Names like Banksy, Basquiat, Warhol, Haring, Kusama, Hurst, plus some digital art it was a very interesting mix. There was also a temporary exhibition by Robbie Williams.

This one by Icy and Sot, Iranian activist and artist brothers, When one bird soars the others will follow, signaling a great migration toward freedom

There were rooms you walked into with lights changing colours and this one that was like being in a kaleidoscope 

I was interested in this one by Invader, ceramic tiles on panel. 4164 Invaders in 83 cities, 6 continents, 1 in outer space, and counting…the invasion is here. Invader is a self proclaimed unidentified free artist, with a secret mission to space invade the world. We had seen some of these plaques in France, so was good to put the name beside the artist.
Outside there was more stuff

There is the back of the Rijksmuseum in the background.

Not sure what it is made of but you could move the drawing pin like things around to make your own patterns.

Time for lunch, hamburger, and wedges, which were V shaped pieces of potato. Very yummy and then the tram back to the hotel for a short nap.

After that nap, I thought I should go for one final wander around, this was about 3pm so couldn’t justify staying in my hotel room from that time on, so wander I did, 

Someone is looking after the birds with all the lovely nesting boxes, house boat gardens.

And then I walked by the church, seen previously, it was open to climb to the top of the scaffolding to help raise funds for the restoration, I just had to and it gave spectacular views over the rooves of Amsterdam, at times a little scary, it was pretty high when you consider the heights of the buildings you look down upon, a big highlight of my time in Amsterdam. 

That was the scaffolding, one came down, you went up the same on the other side, you can just see a couple of people on the viewing platform. A magnificent experience.

Goodbye Amsterdam.