Diamond Museum

The Diamond Museum was surprisingly interesting.  We weren't sure what to expect, certainly not clips of famous movie "Diamond Heists", replicas of most of the well-known world diamonds and definitely did not expect a giant gorilla skull covered in diamonds.  While most diamonds were not real, it was still fun to see and a quick visit, free with our "MuseumKaarts"

The museum starts with the science behind diamonds, how they form from coal and where major deposits are located.  This was a next step in our summer geology lesson, after going to Frank Slide with Aunt Geologist Nicole, learning all about coal, then going coal hunting.

I did not realise Amsterdam is the Diamond Cutting capital of the world, while the diamond selling capital is Antwerp, Belgium (80% of the world's diamonds go through here!).  We learned it is a very specialised skill to cut diamonds and there are only a few places it is done in the world.  The Dutch have records of doing it for over 400 years and some very special diamonds included - Crown jewels!

Practising our diamond cutting skills...

There was also a cool section on real v. fake and how experts tell the difference.

Yes we are fancy, trying on Diamonds...haha...

Nicole, can you take us on a field trip to find some diamonds soon?  In the meantime we'll be catching up on some movies...Pink Panther, To Catch a Thief, Ocean's Eleven, Flawless, any others?

Stadelijk Museum - Modern Art

This was a fun museum and we only got through about 1/2 today.

Great paintings - recognize any of the masters? Chagall, Kandinsky, Picasso, Van Gogh, and more!  Such an interesting collection of classics, new work and even political posters.

Fun activities:
At the museum they are using images on stickers of current buildings and materials to allow families to create the "City of the Future" and we added our own touches. They are capturing the changes with time-lapse photography and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

Connor created a defender of the city against Cyborg dragon enemies.

Easton and Luke created a mammoth 800-story tower.  Unfortunately a ship may have already crashed into the top of the tower.  I added some bridges and highways between other buildings.

Rotterdam

We spend a few hours in Rotterdam on our way to and from Kinderdijk.  This Netherland city is known for ultra-modern architecture blended with the old.

Pictured: 

The Bridge: Erasmusbrug, 800m span over the Maas River, links North and South Rotterdam. The suspension bridge has a 139-metre high steel pylon, which is secured with 40 cables.  Named after St. Erasmus (St. Elmo) Patron Saint of Sailors. Designed by Ben van Berkel (1996)

The Building: De Rotterdam. The three connected towers are 149.1m (489.2 ft) high, with a hotel, offices, apartments and shopes. Called a "vertical city", it has received world architectural acclaim. Designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998.

Much of the city was destroyed during WW2 making it necessary to rebuild. Architects since have choosen new, sustainable and modern materials, as well as tried to retain much of the older structures where viable.  It is quite a beautiful mix . 

Pictured above:
Apartment Building:  The Red Apple 40-storey, 124 m (407 ft).  Designed by KCAP Architects & Planners andJan des Bouvrie.

The Cube Houses (Kijk-Kubus) designed by architect Piet Blom. Located on Overblaak Street, right above the Blaak Subway Station. There are 40 cubes in this group all attached together.  The walls and windows are angled at 54.7 degrees. Meant to provide living space in areas with very little ground space.

De Markthal:  Apartments are arched over the food market of food stands, shops and underground parking. The ceiling a huge art work called the 'Horn of Plenty' by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam.

A statue on Willemsplein in front of Inntel Hotels Rotterdam Centre.

One of four lions guarding Regentessebrug. A fixed bridge built in 1898, designed by DB Logemann

Connor and Easton explore the square between De Markthal and Laurenskerk (Church of St. Lawrence). The Church was built between 1449 and 1525, and it is Rotterdam's only surviving late Gothic building. After the bombing of Rotterdam in the Second World War, the image of the heavily damaged church and the reconstruction works that followed became a symbol of all that the city and its people had endured.

The war memorial ‘The Bow’ (45m high). Commemorates the 3500 sailors who lost their lives on board of Dutch merchant ships in World War II.

One of many clovers that make the walls of the bridge at Regentessebrug

Kinderdijk - UNESCO World Heritage Site

We took a "water bus" from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk.  Most people took their bikes on the boat. There were several bus stops along the river.  The river is a branch of the Rhine River called Nieuwe Mass.  There are a lot of small towns and beautiful vacation homes along the banks.

It was a hot and sunny day, so it was perfect to be on the water. You can also drive here.

On the website it explains: "UNESCO considers the area...to be proof of human inventiveness in reclaiming and protecting the land. The gorgeous windmills of Kinderdijk are part of a unique phenomenon. The windmills and pumping stations drain the excess water from the Alblasserwaard into the river Lek via the Elshout sluices. Subsequently, the river discharges the water into the sea."

There are 19 windmills from the 18th Century and most are fully operational. It is a really beautiful location and full of history.

European Olympic Qualifying Championships

This weekend in Amsterdam, they held the European Track Championships, which are the qualifying events for the Olympic games this summer in Brazil.

This was directly across the street from our flat, so of course we had to check it out.  The boys got to try some events.

Javilin was first, then we did shotput. Here are some High Jump pics, Easton on the left and Connor on the right

 

Then we cheered on the half-marathon runners through the finish line.

These Swiss shirts made me laugh...

and they weren't disappointed: in 1st place...

These are amazing athletes.  The time they complete the half-marathon is so fast it is 13.2 miles or 21 km in an hour!!

The Italian women were 1st and 2nd.

It was a fun festival atmosphere at the park. It made us feel very lucky to live here.

Albert Crup Market Mashup

To me this market was an eclectic shopping stop.  A weird mix of sellers a lot of "Made in China",  some beautiful Liberty of London Fabric, many dutch treats (see Poffertjes), fossils, shampoo, souvenirs and even leather scraps were spotted.  It is the kind of place you might try if you don't need anything except an ice cream or some humus and want to look at random things and interesting people watching as you wander around.

The flags marking the entrance to the street market...note the giant french fries at the entrance...

Dutch Food: Poffertjes (Mini Pancakes)

REVIEWS: 

Kristin "Can we buy more?"

Luke, "Delicious."

Easton, "OH!! Ummmmmm." (Mouth full)

Connor, "The size doesn't leave any room for bad stuff."

Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch batter treat. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, they are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Unlike American pancakes, they have a light, spongy texture. (via Wikipedia)

I wish I could add smells and flavours to these photos.  The delicious"mini-pancakes" are best simply served with butter and sprinkled with icing/powdered sugar.  Although rassberries and nutella go well too I'm told.

When in Amsterdam... Fietsen

It was immediately apparent the first purchase we needed to make was bicycles for the boys.  Luke and I both have bikes coming on the slow boat.  Both Seattle and Portland are much more difficult areas to bike: lots of hills and traffic, but Amsterdam is completely flat and EVERYONE bikes. Bikes here have the right of way over all vehicles and even pedestrians! We've spent some time this week practising in Vondelpark and the boys go almost everyday.
They are getting more and more comfortable on the city streets and there are bike lanes everywhere.