Two museums and an 'interesting' walk

Ian started the day with a walk to some of the places we saw yesterday so he could photograph them in the early morning light.

On his return we caught the tram from Central Station to Waterlooplein to visit the Museum Willet-Holthuysen. This house, built in 1685, was the home of Louisa (nee Holthuysen) and Abraham Willet from 1824 until Louisa's death in 1895 when she bequeathed it to the city. This couple belonged to the wealthy merchant class and throughout their lives were collectors of paintings, glass, silver and ceramics. The house is gradually being restored to the grandeur of the time they lived there, including many items from their wonderful collections.

A painting of the house (the middle one) in 1865

The beautifully restored garden

Garden sculpture

Item in Abraham Willet's collection

Donated to the Royal Antiquarian Society
in 1861 by Abraham Willet

After a snack lunch eaten as we sat on a bench in the sun beside a canal, we caught the tram back to Central Station and commenced the Rick Steve's 'Red Light District Walk'. As we followed the route up Warmoesstraat, around the Oude Kerk and along the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal, we saw sights we have never seen before! These included a condom shop; shops selling cannabis seeds, mind-bending natural ingredients and the aparatus to smoke them; the statue of 'the unknown prostitute'; a  bronze breast in the pavement; shops displaying all sorts of weird clothes and other gear; Banana Bar with its Art Nouveau erotic artwork; and of course women displaying themselves in the windows of small street-front rooms.

Bulldog Cafe - a colourful place in the Red Light District

Banana Bar, with Art Nouveau paintings

Seeds with magical properties

In the course of the walk, we came to the Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) and stopped for a tour. This is a restored 17th century canal house where a secret Catholic church was hidden in the upper storeys. The church was built in 1663 after Amsterdam officially became Protestant, at a time when Catholics were forbidden to celebrate mass in public. The upper storeys also housed a confessional and the living quarters for a priest.

Our Lord in the Attic church

Dinner tonight was at the restaurant next door to our apartment building, Het Karbeel - a cosy friendly place - where we both enjoyed 'kipsatay', skewers with large pieces of succulent chicken smothered in peanut satay sauce.