Amsterdam - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 64

can request a free blue notebook to learn more about the house's
h i s t o r y .
Tassen Museum (Hendrikje Museum of Bags and Purses) —
This hardworking little museum fills an elegant 1664 canal house
with 500 years of bag and purse history—from before the inven-
tion of pockets through the 20th century. The collection, with lots
of artifacts, is well-described in English and gives a fascinating
insight into fashion through the ages that fans of handbags will
love, and their partners might even enjoy. The creative and surreal
bag styles of the 1920s and 1930s are particularly interesting (€6.50,
daily 10:00-17:00, three floors—one houses temporary exhibits
and two hold the permanent collection, behind Rembrandtplein at
Herengracht 573, tel. [phone], www.tassenmuseum.nl).
s Hermitage on the Amstel —he famous Hermitage Museum
in St. Petersburg, Russia, loans art to Amsterdam for display in the
Amstelhof, a 17th-century former nursing home that takes up a
whole city block along the Amstel River.
Why is there Russian-owned art in Amsterdam? The Hermi-
tage collection in St. Petersburg is so vast that they can only show
about 5 percent of it at any one time. Therefore, the Hermitage is
establishing satellite collections around the world. The one here in
Amsterdam is the biggest, and it will grow considerably in spring
of 2009 as the museum takes over even more of the Amstelhof. By
law, the great Russian collection can only be out of the country for
six months at a time, so the collection is always rotating. Curators
in Amsterdam make a point to display art that complements—
rather than just repeats—what the city's other museums show so
well (€7, generally daily 10:00-17:00—but call or check online to
confirm, Nieuwe Herengracht 14, tram #4 to Rembrandtplein or
#9 or #14 to Waterlooplein, recorded info tel. [phone], www
.hermitage.nl).
De Hortus Botanical Garden —his is a unique oasis of tran-
quility within the city (no mobile phones are allowed, because
“our collection of plants is a precious community—treat it with
respect”). One of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, it dates
from 1638, when medicinal herbs were grown here. Today, among
its 6,000 different kinds of plants—most of which were collected
by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries—
you'll find medicinal herbs, cacti, several greenhouses (one with
a fluttery butterfly house—a hit with kids), and a tropical palm
house. Much of it is described in English: “A Dutch merchant
snuck a coffee plant out of Ethiopia, which ended up in this garden
in 1706. This first coffee plant in Europe was the literal grand-
daddy of the coffee cultures of Brazil—long the world's biggest
coffee producer” (€7; Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-17:00,
July-Aug until 19:00, Dec-Jan until 16:00; Plantage Middenlaan