Aug 29 (Friday) – The Kröller-Müller Museum and Castle De Haar, Then back to Amsterdam

We are headed to the Kröller-Müller Museum, located in the Hoge Veluwe Nation Park in Otterlo.  Along the way we saw large swaths of heather in bloom.

The Kröller-Müller Museum was created by a husband-and-wife team that collected a vast collection of art of many types and genres.

The Workshop Boat by Monet

Prayer by Julio Gonzalez

Still Life with Cabbage by James Ensor

The Card Game by Fernand Leger

Entrance to Port of Marseille by Paul Signac

And the museum has the second largest collection of Van Gogh’s in the world.  The guide pointed out a number of Van Gogh’s…

Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Van Gogh

Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun by Van Gogh

The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh

Country Road in Provence by Night by Van Gogh

Four Sunflowers Gone to Seed by Van Gogh

Pine Trees at Sunset by Van Gogh

Olive Grove by Van Gogh

The Ravine by Van Gogh

Cafe Terrace at Night by Van Gogh

and some Picassos.

Little Owl by Picasso

Violin by Picasso

and we had a discussion about how abstract paintings are developed.  That was particularly interesting as it appears the artists actually have a specific item in mind that they transfer into an abstract.  This one is a cow. 

We also looked at some of the more futuristic works.

 

Composition by Theo Van Doesburg

The Storm by Bard Van Der Leck

After we finished the tour, we headed out to the grounds where there were a number of interesting pieces. 

This one is a Rodin…

and this one reminded us of a rubber duckie floating in a pond. 

These were in the front of the museum.

The reflections on this one were interesting. 

And we saw this one on the way out of the forest. 

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More  Kröller-Müller Museum
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Then we were off through the countryside to our next site to visit, the Castle De Haar.  The complex was surrounded by a massive brick wall and a moat. 

And it had a grand gate house. 

When we got there we got a quick lunch at the restaurant that was in what looked to be the original stables area.

Then on to the castle itself.  The castle looked like it came from a fairy tale with many towers and turrets. 

The castle was surrounded by a moat/lake.

A small chapel.

There was a Grand Canal with a fountain.

The grounds were beautiful with many flowering beds.

Because we had run into major traffic getting here we were quite late and had very little time to tour the castle.  And because of the limited time, Mary knew she wouldn’t be able to manage the stairs well and would be very slow.  So, Paul did the tour of the house.  This is the main entrance to the castle.

The very grand and ornate Main Hall.

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Video of main entrance
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Random photos around the interior. 

Some Bedrooms.

And a very nice looking bathroom.

The kitchen.

While Paul was exploring the castle, Mary spent the time wandering the lovely gardens.  The Grand Court.

The Roman Garden.

The Rose Garden.

And just lots of other gardens and waterways.

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More Castle De Haar
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We ended up leaving about a half hour later than originally scheduled.  Didn’t bother us to much until we ran into near gridlock in Amsterdam city center, so poor Erwin was left dealing with the traffic. 

Some photos we took while driving into Amsterdam.

Our hotel is the Park Plaza that faces directly onto the main plaza in front of the Centraal Train Station.  We have a good view.  Looks like a really busy plaza.