Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | May 2, 2015 | 19
Travel
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If you’re a culture vulture, Amsterdam is the place to go this spring/summer – as Susie Boulton reports.
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HAT better time to head for Amsterdam? All three major art museums have reopened after extensive revamps, the contemporary arts scene is booming and there’s an exciting EYE film museum across the River IJ. Stylish and quirky hotels have sprouted around the city while übercool restaurants are popping up in newly regenerated quarters. Go now while the pound is at its highest level against the Euro in seven years – good news for any holidaymaker heading for the Eurozone. If you’re kicking yourself for missing the Late Rembrandt blockbuster at the National Gallery in London, all is not lost. This exhibition of a lifetime is having a second airing this month, hosted by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum (rijksmuseum.nl) which reopened to rapturous acclaim in 2013 after a €375 million, decade-long restoration. The transformation is remarkable, both for the building and the presentation of the collection. The only work of art among 8,000 exhibits to be returned after restoration to its original location was Rembrandt’s famous Night Watch, and this masterpiece still retains pride of place at the head of the Gallery of Honour in the heart of the museum. Experts say there has never been an artist so popular for so long; there are certainly few artists of the 17th century so popular that they are known familiarly by their first name. (His full name is Rembrandt van Rijn). By coming to the city where Rembrandt lived and worked for 30 years of his life you can get a far better sense of this great figure in Dutch art, “perhaps the most famous of all Dutchmen” to quote Wim Pjes, general director of the Rijksmuseum. It was in Amsterdam, against a backdrop of tragedy, scandal and debt that Rembrandt produced some of his most distinctive, daring and deeply moving works. From the Rijksmuseum you can follow a Rembrandt walking tour taking in landmarks where the artist worked and lived, and the Westerkerk church where he is buried. The walk takes in the house bought by Rembrandt in 1639 for 13,000 florins (a huge amount at the time) and where he lived for nearly 20 years, until bankruptcy forced him to sell up. It is now the Rembrandt House Museum (rembrandthuis.nl), a popular visitor attraction whose accurately remodelled kitchen,
Best bets for your bucket list buys
new and old: The film museum; inset, Rembrandt and gabled canal houses
If you’re considering cashing in on your pension this year, a holiday of a lifetime could be an investment to consider. Steve Cox, regional manager at Premier Travel, offers his top tips on bucket list holidays.
Discover the art of Amsterdam Travel info
n Numerous flights operate to Amsterdam from the UK, including services from Stansted and Luton (easyjet. com). From 2016 Eurostar will operate a service direct from St Pancras to Amsterdam. n The city’s tourist office website (iamsterdam. com) is packed with useful information. The I Amsterdam City Card (24hr €49, 48hrs €59, 72 hrs €69) gives you free entry to more than 40 museums, free public transport, and a canal cruise. n Whether you’re after a new luxury hotel or shipping salon and studios, with a wonderful collection of his etchings, give a good sense of the 17th century setting in which he lived and worked. n You have two years or more to see the new exhibition at the Hermitage Amsterdam: Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age. There are more than 30 huge and spectacular Golden Age
container, joined-up canal houses or a cosy B&B, Amsterdam has it all. You can even stay in a luxury suite atop a shipping crane in the former docks – with optional bungee jumps! If money is no object splash out on the luxury boutique Dylan (dylanamsterdam.com) or, handy for the art museums, the Conservatorium (conservatoriumhotel.com). More affordable options are the ‘t hotel (thotel.nl), a homely canalside B&B, or for fashionistas, The Exchange (exchangeamsterdam.com). group portraits, some so big they had to be lowered through the roof of the Hermitage. The exhibition is attracting large numbers of visitors and may possibly become permanent. n Van Gogh told a friend he would be willing to give up 10 years of his life for two more weeks in front of Rembrandt’s painting The Jewish Bride “with barely a crust of dry bread to eat”. Just a stone’s throw from the Rijksmuseum (where The Jewish Bride hangs) is the unmissable and recently redesigned Van Gogh Museum (vangoghmusem.nl) with the world’s largest collection of the PostImpressionist’s work. Book ahead or be prepared for long queues. n Completing the trio of major
museums on Museumplein is the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art which has doubled in size, with a colossal shiny white extension (it’s now nicknamed ‘The Bathtub’). Throughout 2015 the BritishGerman artist Tino Sehgal is presenting one large-scale work a month. But don’t expect to see his art on the walls – these are live encounters between visitors and trained ‘interpreters’ of artwork. n Hop across the River IJ on the free ferry from Central Station for the dynamic new film museum. The spaceship-like building has a collection of 40,000 films spanning the entire history of film, four cinemas, free films which you can watch in basement digital booths and a fabulously spacious waterside cafe with expansive river views. n If art and film are not your scene, Amsterdam offers dozens of specialist, quirky collections. There are museums devoted to bags and purses, diamonds, tulips, cheese, coffee and tea, sex, drugs, pipes and spectacles. There’s even a Cat Cabinet – which looks at the role of cat in art and culture over the centuries. Susie Boulton is the author of 25 guidebooks on Europe and a Cambridge history of art graduate. She is an Italian specialist (author of three guides to Venice) and also writes on Mediterranean destinations in general as well as Amsterdam.
“The view from my window, from the elms to the canal outside, is like a fairytale” wrote Hans Christian Anderson on a visit to Amsterdam. The city has more canals and bridges than Venice and the quaint canal houses, often tilting at alarming angles, can make the city look like a pop-up picture book. There is no better way to discover Amsterdam than by boat, and there are trips galore to choose from. In Amsterdam the cyclist is king. There are more bikes here than cars or permanent residents and it’s one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Accidents are rare but if you hire a bike beware of the tram rails.
WITH new legislation in place to allow people to access their pensions from the age of 55, figures show that more than a third of 55 to 75-year-olds are thinking of dipping into their pension pot and would consider spending some of it on a holiday or travel plans. Putting your savings towards a once-in-alifetime holiday is something we’re starting to see more and more. We’ve noticed a particular growing trend in ‘three generational’ family holidays, with customers using their savings to treat both parents and children: cruising and Disneyworld Florida are particular favourites. When it comes to accommodation for family holidays, it’s important to consider the space and facilities available. Try renting a villa and self-catering, as often in destinations such as the Mediterranean and Orlando this is the best value. For UK breaks, self-catering lodges such as at Les Ormes in Jersey offer fantastic accommodation for families: just an hour from mainland Britain, and close to beautiful beaches. If you’re planning a ‘bucket list’ holiday further afield then experience is something to consider, whether it’s visiting relatives in Australia or swimming with dolphins in the Caribbean. Holidays incorporating wildlife (such as a South African Safari, an orang-utan experience in Borneo or a trip to see China’s pandas) are all noticeably popular, while natural phenomenons such as the iconic Northern Lights are equally appealing. Often river cruising can be the best way to see a new destination. You can call at a range of places in one trip, often with exclusive access to ports which larger cruise liners can’t always reach. Cruising within the Rhine, the Seine and the Danube are popular European options, as well as the Mekong Delta and Yangtze for holidays further afield. If you’re thinking of using your pension for a holiday this year, make the decision carefully and seek professional travel advice before booking your trip. We offer a specialised book-by-appointment service, so you can call into your local branch at a time convenient for you, and speak to a specialist for advice. To arrange your appointment, contact our team of experts on (01223) 500007 or visit the website at premier-travel.co.uk. n Statistics based on ABTA.com report from April 5 2015: Pension rule changes means ‘holiday of a lifetime’ beckons for many pensioners. having a lovely
rhine: Dresden
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Picture: Dresden Med