Museum Willett-Holthuysen

A fun day in Amsterdam with a few friends. One of them is an occasional tour guide in a small museum in Amsterdam along one of the main canals. The museum, the Willett-Holthuysen house, is an interesting and grand house, typical of many big houses built along the main canals of Amsterdam in the Golden Age. The 19^th century occupants, Abraham Willett and his wife Louise Holthuysen, did not have children and were avid art collectors. They decorated the house in a sumptuous manner, and it is an example of the best of 19^th century taste. 

Paintings especially made for the walls of the hall and corridor

 

 The Main room for parties

 When Louise died in 1895, she left the house with the art collections to the City of Amsterdam to be kept as a museum. I did not know of its existence, but it is well worth a visit and quite interesting. Not everything in it is original, but the house is in the process of being restored to its former glory. 

 A dining room (seen through a glass partition), and chairs in the main reception room or ball room, upholstered in blue silk

A very special "white collar" meeting!

The stables used to be behind the garden at the back of the house, accessed via another street. They have long since gone, but the garden has been extended and now also covers the site where the stables used to be. It is quite a formal garden, but there is no guarantee that it looks like the 19^th century original.

 Two views of the gardens

Our guide was very entertaining and larded his talk with anecdotes about the house and its inhabitants.

The huge bed in the bed room

When we had seen everything and thanked our guide for a most interesting tour, we set off for lunch. It was a beautiful day, overcast but pleasantly warm. So we chose a restaurant and cafe on the corner of the river Amstel and one of the canals, with a view of the Munt Tower, and had lunch,....followed by drinks, ...and more drinks, ...and drinks with “bitterballen” a Dutch speciality, ...and more “bitterballen”. In spite of the many tourists flocking through Amsterdam, the terrace of the cafe was relatively quiet and we did not leave our nice spot till 8 o’clock, realising we had sat there for almost five full hours, enjoying each other’s company, the view, the boats on the river, the splendid weather and of course the food and drinks.

 The Tower of the "Zuiderkerk"

 Some of the less touristy canals

 

I walked back to the station, along some of the most picturesque and oldest canals in Amsterdam. Nearer the station I unfortunately had to walk through the red light district. I was shocked that the beauty of this wonderful city has been completely ruined by the many sex shops, coffee shops, fast food places and shops selling tourist rubbish. The sweet smell of pot was sickening and there were so many tourists that it was hard to walk. The Old Church, the Museum Ons Lieve Heer op Solder, all obscured by tourists. They were everywhere, sitting on the quays, legs dangling, eating chips, smoking. The only way nowadays to see the city in all its beauty is walking through it very early on a bright Sunday morning. Then, when it is quiet and the city is still asleep, it shows its unique charm.

Nieuwmarkt

From the train:Even fumes from factories or power stations are beautiful in the setting sun