A museum all about ships. There was so much material that it filled an entire four-storey building.
I really liked this museum. It had a high-end feel, the building was beautiful and well-maintained, it had rooms and rooms of great exhibits, and they even had a replica of a wooden sailing ship docked in its own port at the back. It was almost a theme park! It's the kind of museum I would bring my kids to -- if I had any.
From the outside it seemed like one huge box of a building, but as if meant to surprise, once we went through the main door a huge courtyard opened up, and suddenly this old building was made modern by a mesh-canopy of steel and glass. This brought the beautiful, sunny day inside as well. Brilliant.
The first thing we did was to see if Jack Sparrow was in the ship at the back.
Oh to be a kid again. Even at my age I felt a bit of excitement going in to see what was inside. Short of climbing the masts we could do and see anything in and on the ship. It wasn't built to actual scale but it was a great look at what life was like for people who spent months and years crossing the sea way back when.
Going back to the main building, they had an entire room filled with shipping memorabilia and armchairs next to albums full of old photos. As if to say 'this is not just about entertaining, this is also about reminding', it was a great way to emotionally reconnect with the past.
Then there was a room full of ship figureheads and sculptures.
A room full of navigation equipment and how the stars were used as GPS.
A room full of old (and a few not-so-old) ship paintings that would make most museums envious.
And room upon room of interactive exhibits for the kids (and some of us adults). Wished these were around when I was young.
I really liked this museum and wouldn't mind going back just for the heck of it. Thanks to my new museum card I just might.
Labels: Amsterdam, Museums
