Springtime in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark and Museumplein
Walking in the month of April alongside a quiet stream in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark (Vondel Park)and under a canopy of pink blossoms in the Museumplein (Museum Square) gave us a delightful impression of springtime in the beautiful city of Amsterdam.
We stayed two nights in the city, settling in at a boutique hotel at the edge of Vondelpark. After enjoying a light breakfast at our hotel, we got an early start and walked through Vondelpark headed towards our end destination, which was the Rijksmuseum (Rijks Museum), the national arts and history museum of the Netherlands.
Our plan was to tour the Rijksmuseum and then take a canal tour to see Amsterdam from the perspective and level of its interlocking canal system. A day earlier, we made a satisfying trek outside of Amsterdam to tour the wonderful Keukenhof Gardens.
We found Vondelpark to be a lovely urban space and happened to catch sight of a grey heron in the park, which added to our pleasure. The park was founded in the 1860s by an association of local citizens who purchased several hectares of land as a place for “riding and strolling” at what was then meadow and marshland at the outskirts of the city.
In 1867, two years after the park was opened, a statue of writer and playwright Joost van den Vondel, created by sculptor Louis Royer, was situated in the park. People afterwards began calling this area Vondelspark, and the park took the name officially in 1880. Just prior to this time, more land had been acquired and the park became its present size of 47 hectares (120 acres).
Towards the close of the 1800s, bicycle traffic became popular and created some conflict issues in the use of park pathways. After going through an on-again off-again period where bicycle traffic in the park was tested, and as the use of horses diminished, use of the park pathways by cyclists became an extension of park use as well.
While staying at our nearby hotel, we walked through Vondelpark on both mornings and once in the evening. Within the park, I enjoyed watching some of the cyclists travelling along the paths at a leisurely pace, sitting upright on their bicycles and dressed in their work clothes, scarves tucked neatly at the neck and a satchel or briefcase draped over the shoulder or nested in the basket.
“So this is Amsterdam,” I thought, “a city for cyclists.” Later, enjoying supper at a small café in the heart of the canal district, we marvelled at the huge number of bicycles lining streets in every direction while people dined at their local restaurants.
Along with a few photos taken in Vondelpark, the Cookie Buxton photo gallery displays images taken while strolling across the gorgeous Museumplein. We made our visit to Amsterdam in April, in 2013, and the daffodils and blossoming trees were simply stunning at that time.
The Museumplein in Amsterdam South is home to the Concertgebouw (Concert hall), which anchors one end of the square, and to three major museums – the Rijsksmuseum, at the end of the square opposite the concert hall, and the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelink Museum.
The images taken through wrought-iron garden fencing towards the end of the photo gallery are photos of the grounds within the fenced Rijksmuseum gardens.
Text and Photos: NK
Copyright: NK/cookiebuxton
Photo date and locations: 2013 – Amsterdam’s Vondelpark (Vondel Park) and Museumplein (Museum Square)
Photograph Gallery
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