DAY 42 - QUEEN'S DAY! (Part 1) What the heck is it?

April 30 – Trip to Rijksmuseum and the Wearing of the Orange

    

One of the questions I had for Ingrid was "Where is Holland?" and ...exactly where is The Netherlands?" The Netherlands is divided into 12 different provinces with Noord (North) and Zuid (South) Holland being two of them.  The two Hollands encompass two of the most popular attractions:  Amsterdam and Keukenhof.  So it is correct to say that we were in Holland for 5 days total and we loved it!

The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  It was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace. 

The Rijsmuseum opens after being closed for 10 years.

 We were so lucky because Queen Beatrix had just re-opened it after it had been closed for the past 10 years for rennovation.  The museum has on display one million objects, including masterpieces from Rembrandt,  Johannes Vermeer, and Frans Hals.  The lines were tremendously long on the other days we went by, so we thought we would go during the annual celebration called "Queen's Day"  This particular year, however, was to be the last because Queen Beatrix was going to hand the throne to her son Prince Willem-Alexander.

The BBC News states:  "The 75-year-old monarch signed the instrument of abdication in Amsterdam after 33 years on the throne. Willem-Alexander has now become the country's first king since 1890.  Huge crowds of orange-clad party goers are in Amsterdam to pay tribute to the popular queen, who has maintained a recent Dutch tradition in handing over to a new generation".

 Why does everyone wear orange? Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty -- the House of Oranje-Nassau -- dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.  More pictures on that later.

Now, back to the Rijksmuseum....we went early and were one of the first in line.  We spent about 6 hours in the museum.  It was fantastic!  So a few pictures here (very hard to choose only a few as you can see and not all of them got labeled, so it will be a mystery as to who painted them.)

Rembrandt Self-Portrait

One of my favorites as it looks 3 dimensional.

The Library - includes famous books with sketches, drawings, and more

Willhelm Heda - doesn't the food look real?

Carlene will love this miniature doll house

Van Gogh - Self Portrait

.J. Steen - "A poor woman & her child beg from this wealthy merchant & daughter"

"The Milkmaid - J. Vermeer (one of my favorites)

"William, Prince of Orange, and His Bride" - A. van Dyck

                                   
       The figures around the table in this next painting allude to the 5 Senses.

"Merry Company" -Isack Elyas

The woman with the lapdog represents Smell.  The man with the piece of paper is Sight.  The singing couple are Touch.  the red-coated man with the glass of wine is Taste.  And the lute player is Hearing.  On the wall behind them is a painting of The Deluge.  That is a warning:  there is more to life than the mere sensual pleasure.