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JMGEUR 10-4-00 15h38 |
| Amsterdam has
been nifty for the last 2.5 days (It's 15h45 now and I arrived in the AM). I've seen Four museums so far, including Rijsk and Van Gogh. Rembrandt and Van Gogh are both truly amazing. Let's back up for a moment...You folks haven't heard about the Louvre or Versailles yet. The louvre is HUGE. used to be the biggest building in all Europe for some years, but now it's just the biggest (Art?) Museum. Even before you get inside and check out Venus and Mona...you've got to just adore the building itself. some of the rooms are well deserving of your time independent of what the house. Okay, I thought Mona was just as unintriguing as I'd expected (self-fulfilling?). Venus was a real treat.. I spent my time in the Louvre with a Canadian girl I met in the hostel. By the time we arrived at the Louvre (by metro!) I was regretting the invitation, but hey...I could have enjoyed the Louvre with Barry Manilow as a traveling partner; it was great. A couple Roman busts, and victory unfolding her wings were probably my favorites from the 4 hours I spent there. Did I mention it was HUGE? You could spend 4 days and have plenty left I think. Getting to Versailles required traveling by train for a bit out of Paris. One moment I'm studying up on Versailles for my arrival; the next, a woman is urgently telling me something in German from just outside the train door as it has momentarily stopped at a station (they do that). Well, I quickly got up and headed toward her (as you can get that much from motions, even if your German's crummy), but alas...the doors closed on her foot (as she failed to stop them) and then she just smiled and waved. I thought this odd, and probably not a good thing. I was confirmed an instant later as all the lights went out. I was now alone on a dark train headed to God-Knows-Where. I laughed and got out a flashlight. It stopped with 4 minutes and I found my way out onto a service platform, where I walked (in the direction the train had been heading - hoping for a conductor) and was delighted to meet a nice gentlemen who gave me great directions in French as to how to not only catch the CORRECT train, but in exactly where to walk so as to avoid having to get another ticket. (didn't matter-this train took my Eurail anyway). Touring Versailles was fortunately both less surprising and more aesthetic than my travels there. VERSAILLES WAS SUPER. Louis XIV knew how to live, bless his Too-Late-For-The-Renaissance-So-I'll-Be-My-Own-Man heart. Lavish, HUGE. THE Palace in the center of the culture to be modeled. My guidebook: If you've ever wondered why your US Passport has French on, Versailles is why. =) The grounds themselves were just superb. vast far beyond need, and so picturesque. Notre Dame, in case you missed it, was just great too...inside out out. Sacred Heart didn't do much for me once I was inside, but it's a nice looking exterior and the view from the top of that hill is super (if a bit chilly at times) Back to Amsterdam, I'm stumped for words to describe my appreciation of Van Gogh and Rembrandt. Dutch art is nice, but Rembrandt is just beyond my vocabulary. Van Gogh's work is amazing, but I'm not certain that I would want to have met him... Where to next? I'm headed to the Train station from this cafe to reserve a spot on a train somewhere. The leading contestants are Prague, The Rhine, and Barcelona. I'm leaning back toward Spain, since It's been a bit chilly today and I think maybe I should stay south for a while till the world warms up bit. |