The centre piece of the Rijksmuseum’s Great Hall is Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night Watch.

Imagine our disappointment when we entered the room in which it is displayed to see this:-

It was cordoned off and we therefore could not see it properly. Apparently minor air movements make the canvas flex, potentially damaging it, and they were measuring just how large the movements were so that they can prevent any future deterioration.

However there was a painting of a similar subject (well, lots of Dutch burghers) just to The Night Watch’s right as you look at it, which I had to take two photos of to get it all and then stitch:-

Vermeer’s milkmaid was also in the Great Hall but the lighting conditions weren’t good and my photo came out blurry.

Also nearby was this still life. Still Life with Cheese by Floris Claesz Van Dijck:-

One of the reasons for our trip to Amsterdam was to visit the Rijksmuseum. Entry isn’t cheap (now it’s €22.50) especially if you’re used to free British Museums but it’s a very good museum indeed.

Building:-

The Great Hall is on the first floor (second floor if you’re USian.)

It has a nicely painted ceiling:-

with illustrations on the areas above the side halls:-

and stained glass windows to the front:-

City Archive Building. Horizontals and verticals galore, plus banding:-

Detailing. Frieze and note lettering above door to left:-

Frontage:-

Entrance. The building now seems to be or at least house a museum on the History of Amsterdam:-

Last August we took a trip up north to have a look around Aberdeenshire.

In Alford at the Grampian Transport Museum we came across this Mini in the shape of an orange, an advertising gimmick for Outspan oranges:-

Orange Mini information board:-

On the way back to Stromness from Birsay we took a slight detour and passed Kirbuster Farm Museum. It being latish we saved a visit for a day or so later.

It’s one of the few attractions on Orkney’s mainland that isn’t a neolithic ruin. It’s a now disused farm in which two brothers had lived out their lives without modernising the place to 20^th century standards.

The first thing you come across is an old kiln:-

Further on is the farm building:-

To the side is a path to the garden leading through this lovely swan necked arch:-

The garden is sheltered and so can harbour trees; a rare sight on Orkney:-

At the bottom of the garden is a burn going under a bridge whcih carries the main road past the farm:-

Beautiful design of a wireless in Wireless Museum, Kirkwall:-

Art Deco Wireless Designs, Wireless Museum, Kirkwall. Bakelite construction too:-

Stromness, Orkney’s second biggest town, has a very good museum.

Due to Stromness’s seafaring past the museum has a bias towards polar exploration which these sculptures in bone reflect:-

There is also a large display of stuffed animals (mostly behind glass) but this turtle was above the door to the upstairs exhibition space:-

The background to one of the display cases was this illustration by Orkney painter Stanley Cursiter:-

Another of Orkney’s – indeed Stromness’s – favourite sons was the writer George Mckay Brown. The museum houses his Chair:-

Hill 62 Trenches museum is on Canadalaan near Ypres (Ieper.) I previously posted on its external exhibits and the trenches on Armistice Day.

The first two here are not typical of German commemoration markers.

German Grave Cross:-

German Gravestone (inscribed Fried Her Lander):-

This is in the more usual German commemorative style. German Headstone (inscribed H Langer and F Schrobsdorf):-

German Wooden Memorial:-

Engine Part:-

Model Tanks and Poilu Bugler:-

Mortars, Grenade Launchers Etc:-

Trench Mortars:-

Wartime Poster in support of Serbia:-

Memorial tributes:-

Trench Art Windmill:-

The museum is situated on the Canadalaan off the Menin Road, near Ypres (Ieper,) Belgium. I have mentioned Canadalaan before, here and here.

The board describes the museum as a Museum Tranchées (Trenches Museum.)

Two field guns flank the museum’s frontage:-

The museum building contains many relics of the Great War but its main interest is a set of relatively well-preserved trenches to the rear of the building where the trees of Sanctuary Wood have returned.

These supports for barbed wire lean against the back of the building:-

View of Trenches:-

Derelict aero engines and shell craters:-

More craters:-

Trench line:-

More trenches:-

A dugout:-

Trench mortar and trenches:-

Tunnel entrance:-

Part of tunnel:-

Tunnel exit:-

The main attraction at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle is a silver swan automaton. The model in itself is a beautiful object:-

Replacement parts:-

Unfortunately when we were there the swan wasn’t in operation. I think it needed maintenance work.

Hoewvere there was an explanatory video of its operation and movement. (The video is also available on YouTube. See below.) The articulation is amazing, the glass rods representinng water in motion are particularly effective. The swan “catches” and “eats” a fish at about 4.50 in the video. Real swans are of course vegetarian:-

I liked this piece of stained glass too:-