Netherlands | Daydream Tourist

Feb 23

My Rijksmuseum Layover in Amsterdam

I like to book my international flights with a long layover in an “extra” city. This lets me sneak out of the airport and enjoy a new place for the day before moving on to my actual destination. If you can get past the jet-lag, this is great option because really, nothing starts off an incredible trip to Turkey like lunch beside Notre Dame in Paris!

So when I visited Israel last year, I made sure to take care of some unfinished business in Amsterdam with a layover specifically designed to see the re-opened Rijksmuseum. The renovations went far beyond repairing the structure; the museum today presents a truly innovative approach to art and culture! It was well worth the extra stop in Amsterdam.

The Rijksmuseum’s “Night Watch”-themed reopening countdown clock teasing me back in April 2013.

Jun 16

4 Comments

The Airport Rijksmuseum: Best Layover Ever

Lay-overs can be excruciating. The anticipation of arriving at a new destination or finally getting home makes it hard to keep reading your “airplane book” on the ground. You can only browse the duty free stores for so long. And really, how many laps can you walk through the terminal before that starts to get old? For the art lover or curious traveler, salvation from airport lay-over boredom can be found at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport which contains a mini Rijksmuseum! It’s actually worth planning to have a lay-over in Amsterdam just to check it out!

viewing Rijksmuseum, SChiphol aiport amsterdam

There is always time to fit in a little more art when you travel! Travelers visit the mini Rijksmuseum at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.

Jun 2

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Painting with Light: Vermeer’s Interior Scenes

The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art-focused travel blogs to post on a common theme. This month we picked an abstract topic – Light. Check out all the creative stories below!

I timed my last international trip perfectly. My entire 12 hour lay-over in Amsterdam would be devoted to seeing the newly renovated Rijksmuseum. It was definitely worth powering through the jet-lag to visit this incredible collection in its elegant new galleries!

Vermeer, "Woman Reading a Letter", Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Johannes Vermeer, “Woman Reading a Letter”, 1664, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

While looking at the Dutch masterpieces in the main gallery including Vermeer’s Woman Reading a Letter, Mr. Tourist asked innocently, “So why are Vermeer’s paintings so famous?”

Without even hesitating I answered, “It’s how he painted light.”

Aug 22

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Guest the Artist – Old Church Edition

I liked playing “Guess the Artist” last month so I have another good one for you.

old church painting

May 20

Windmills: Then and Now

Last March we did a lot of driving through the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France. Looking forward to the stereotypical windmills and tulip fields, I kept an eye on the landscape. Things were decidedly more modern than I expected.