Amsterdam Jewish Museum Exhibit Avant-garde Husband Wife Painters

When in Amsterdam…visit the Jewish Historical Museum. The museum recently unveiled the first exhibition of Else Berg and Mommie Schwarz. The Avant-garde husband and wife painters were representative of the Dutch modern art scene 1900-1913. They lived in Amsterdam and the Netherlands from 1910 – 1942.
   
Else Berg Self Portrait 1917
Mommie Schwarz Self Portrait 1917



The exhibition, the first of its kind, explores the lives of the two artists through their paintings. The paintings show Berg and Schwarz influence and subjects changing through their paintings during their lives together.The couple met in Berlin in 1908, travelling to Paris before becoming part of the Amsterdam and Bergen art scenes. The Bergen School was a Dutch school of expressionist painters who used cubism with characteristic dark colours.

 In their early art 1900-1913 their paintings were characteristic of this expressionist style with colour and intense hues.

Woman in Red Pinafore- Berg 1913



In 1914 the pair took a trip to Majorca, Spain where their style changed again. Landscapes became composed of entire impressionist colour segments.

Majorca - Else Berg 1914
From 1922-1931 the couple travelled together and apart throughout Europe. They visited Belgium, Czech, Yugoslavia, France and Italy. Berg painted more magical themes while Schwarz depicted more formal issues with his paintings developing strong structure with dark colours, influenced by the Bergen School.

Sardine Fishers - Schwarz 1923


From 1931-1940 Schwarz liked to paint harbour views and fishermen. Berg moved to a style more akin of the populist realist movement of the day with images of ‘people and environment’.

Belagebrug - Schwarz 1936


As Amsterdam became occupied by the Nazi-Germans the couple sent many of their paintings to friends. They returned to Amsterdam in 1942 for an unknown reason and continued painting. Schwarz would paint the view of Sephati Park from their studio window. Painting in dark colours depicting the mood of the time. Berg on the other hand painted children playing care free in the park.



On November 1942 the couple were captured and sent to Westerbork and then onto the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp where they were murdered on their arrival.

The exhibition runs March 23 until June 24. It is a beautiful life story of two artists who shared a passion for each other and for painting.



View of Sarphati Park - Berg 1942
When in Amsterdam....enjoy!

When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

Holland's Keukenhof Gardens Open: Happy Spring!

Flowers on Thursday: Tulips

When in Amsterdam...visit the Keukenhof Gardens. It is Spring everyone! Yesterday marked the official beginning of the new season. Today the gates have been flung open of the Keukenhof Gardens.

The Keukenhof Garden is a 32 hectare park filled with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other spring bulbs. 7 million bulbs are hand planted at the park every year. The Park is open from March 20 until May 18 every year (dates updated for 2014).

Located at Lisse, which is in between Amsterdam and The Hague. This area is famous for its bulbs. During spring the tulip fields flower creating field after field of colour. Yellow tulips have already sprung up and now the others are slowly popping up with the warmer and longer days.

When in Amsterdam...visit to the Keukenhof 2011


The Keukenhof Gardens is something that you must do at least once in your life if in the Netherlands. The photos never do justice to the wonderful display of colour.

Do the Keukenhof yourself
The best way to get there is on public transport. Go to the Keukenhof website and buy a combo-ticket. This ticket includes park entrance and also return bus from Amsterdam airport to the Gardens. From Amsterdam Airport you can catch a train straight to Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Large Group Tours of the Keukenhof
All large companies take coach loads of tourists to the Keukenhof each year. Most tours are around the 50 euro per person mark. Tours and Tickets is the largest agency in Amsterdam. Be sure to check the reviews of these companies on websites like tripadvisor to make sure it is for you.


Small Tours Tours of the Keukenhof
Paying a bit more will get you more. Private tours and small group tours do trips to the Keukenhof gardens in season. They normally incorporate other stops such as Haarlem or windmills to add to a full day Holland experience. Omy Amsterdam Tours is a small company that takes groups of up to 6 people. Once again check their reviews on websites to makes sure that this is for you.


Our Number One Tip is to go early. The Keukenhof Gardens is the largest tourist attraction in the Netherlands. Over the 60 year history of the gardens more than 44 million people have visited. There are normally many traffic jams around lunch time onwards as buses and  cars try to reach the park along the narrow roads of normally quiet, rural Holland. CNN Travel, the American News Station listed Keukenhof as one of the world's top attractions to see in 2012.

Keukenhof Gardens Holland
When in Amsterdam...enjoy!


When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

Neighbourfood Market in Amsterdam

When in Amsterdam visit a market. Today we visited the Neighbourfood Market at the Westergasterrein.
Neighbourfood Market Amsterdam

We arrived around 10am. The bad weather meant many stalls were still setting up so we walked to the nearby Bakkerswinkle for a cup of tea and a fresh juice.

The Neighbourfood Market is a new market in Amsterdam. The market is held on the third Sunday of every month in the Westergasterrein in the Westerpark complex. The market runs from 10am to 4pm.

Cooks, growers, bakers, and food lovers unite at this fantastic market. Many of the stalls hold organic produce. There was so much to try. The setting is wonderful. Full of light and warmth, world's away from the cold and wet that was outside.

Neighbourfood Market Amsterdam


Our pick of the market was the following:

Dolmas (Dolmades) from de Groene Griek (the Green Greek). This stall sold organic olive oil but it was the dolmades that caught my attention. Dolmades are grape vine leaves that are wrapped around a morsel of normally rice, pine nuts and fresh herbs.These were no tasteless tinned rolls that normally get around northern Europe. These were fantastic little morsels of flavour.

De Groene Greek Stall at the Neighbourfood Market Amsterdam



Tapas from Pintxo. This stall had a great selection of Northern Spanish Tapas. Pintxo does catering events. The sausage was a definitive stand out but all that we tried were wonderful.

Pintxo stall at Neighbourfood Market Amsterdam

There was so much to try. Cupcakes, freshly made cakes, English meat pies, gourmet toasted sandwiches fresh produce the list goes on. Thanks to the organizers. After a bit of exercise we look forward to next month's edition.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!





When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

Flower Thursday: Tulips and Daffodils from Amsterdam

When in Amsterdam....buy flowers. Amsterdam is famous for tulips and bulbs. There is even a song Tulips are from Amsterdam. The Keukenhof Gardens are about to open (22 March) and Floriade a once in 10 year flower event is in on in the south of the Netherlands, Venlo this year.

During Spring we are going to bring you Flower Thursday. This is a day to show one of the great things about living in Amsterdam, affordable flowers.

This week we thought we might start off with the famous tulip and the daffodil. Spring is here and the bulbs are popping up. At least the Netherlands does not have the Ground Hog and Mole problems that England and many eastern states of the US have, as When in Amsterdam learned on the tours this week.

If you are visiting Amsterdam for more than one day. Go to the nearest street market or the Floating Flower Market here in Amsterdam and put them in your hotel room. A wonderful thing to see when you wake up.

Tulips and Daffodils(we think)
The flowers we bought that are picture above cost €3.50. Less than a pint of beer,or a Starbucks coffee, or a packet of cigarettes.

When in Amsterdam...buy flowers and enjoy!


When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

Angelina Jolie visits Amsterdam

When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

When in Amsterdam... has heard about the Hollywood Actress Angelina Jolie's visit to Amsterdam today. Jolie was in Amsterdam to visit the the Hauge to go to the International Criminal Court. Local television network AT5 was on the spot to catch her non-court activities. A private canal boat tour with her children was the order of the day. AT5's footage shows Angelina in a beautiful Saloon Boat.

Not a bad day to visit Amsterdam but a bit cool for a boat. That is unless you have access to a covered boat.

Looks like she was staying at the Hotel Amstel.This is where royalty of blood or popularity stay when they are in Amsterdam. Queen Elizabeth II, King Carlos of Spain, Orson Welles, The Rolling Stones are some of it guest list.

14 Caret gold taps and baths that fill in two minutes are part of the Hotel Amstel's features.


When in Amsterdam... enjoy!

John Fogerty Amsterdam Concert 2012

When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

When in Amsterdam John Fogerty is coming to Amsterdam in 2012. Mojo the concert promoter announced today that Fogerty will play a concert in Amsterdam on July 13 2012. Pre-sale tickets for the Forgerty concert go on sale March 24 2012. The concert is to take place in the Ziggo Dome where Madonna and Pearl Jam will also play this summer. It must be noted that this venue has still not been completed. We will see.

Fogerty is famous for his membership in the Creedence Clearwater Revival the famous American roots rock band. Fogerty has had a solo career since the mid 1970s with his best known hit Centerfield an anthem to the All American Baseball spirit.

Last year Fogerty started to play Creedence songs at his concerts so he may perform these rock classics in Amsterdam this year.

When in Amsterdam....enjoy!

Amsterdam: narrow, tiny, thin, smallest house

Thin house in Amsterdam
When in Amsterdam... - Blogged

When in Amsterdam…on a walking tour be careful when the tour guide talks about the small, tiny, thinnest, narrowest house in Amsterdam. Have a look at what we found on a beautiful Spring Day.

 Most Narrow house in Amsterdam

Tiny house in Amsterdam




The Smallest House in Amsterdam




You have now seen a four small, tiny, narrow, thin houses. One of these houses has a rear, back entrance that is below. Have a guess which house and remember, When in Amsterdam...enjoy!




The back of the narrow, tiny, thin, smallest house in Amsterdam