Wednesday June 06 2012
This morning began
rainy, so I it was a good time to head out to Amstelveen, to visit the CoBrA
museum. A bit of background: Cobra was a
short-lived avant-garde movement in modern art that comprised artists from (Co)penhagen,
(Br)ussels, and (A)msterdam. Influenced
by artists such as Joan Miro and Paul Klee, artists who comprised this movement
included Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Constant, and Lucebert. It was quite controversial at the time
because of its radical tendencies toward abstraction. It was great to see some of Constant's
original drawings, as he specifically was a prime contributor toward the
Situationist International movement, following his involvement in Cobra. His most well-known project was New
Babylon. It was a really enjoyable museum,
and filled the void of the closed Stedjelik museum. After my visit, I wanted to grab some lunch
so on the way back to the tram I stopped into this mall-type building. I did some browsing/shopping but didn't buy
anything.
Took the tram back,
had a quick nap, and by this time the sun had come out. I decided to go visit the old Olympic stadium
and housing from 1928. It was
interesting to see the juxtaposition of the extension of Berlage's Plan Zuid
and the newer modern Olympic housing. I
stopped for a rest along this really serene small island populated by bikers
and runners.
I also saw the remains
of Aldo van Eyck's Municipal Orphanage, constructed in the 80s and now is empty
and deserted. I don't know what they're
planning on doing with the buildings now.
On my way back to the
apartment I grabbed dinner at Burger Barn, which apparently makes the best
burgers in Amsterdam. I could vouch for
that. So good.
Tonight I have to
gather my belongings and get ready to head to Utrecht tomorrow! It has been a great time in this city; I can
honestly say I've seen and walked the whole thing!
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