GOING DUTCH... (A HISTORY LESSON)

So many bikes going passed me,

EXCURSION 1

So Many Bikes Going Passed Me,

From Different Directions is All I See.

There are More on Two Wheels Than there are On Four,

As I Continue to Walk on My Mystery Tour.

Crossing Over Bridges and Through The Back Streets,

Passing Cafés and Bars where People Sit and Eat.

Turning a Corner a Building Waits for Me,

A Building that is Full of Dutch History.

Welcome to The Rijks, Let’s Forget All those Bikes,

There Will be More to See of Them.

As I Head for The Door, I Am Ready to Explore,

This Timeless Museum.

As I Prepare to Leave The Wonderful Rijks,

There is So Much Here not Wanting to Like.

So Here is an Insight of what I’ve just Seen,

Paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Steen.

Items of War from Back in The Past,

Ships Sitting Proud with Their Tall Wooden Masts.

Instruments and Weapons that May have been Used,

And Even Modern Art Which Got Me Bemused.

Now The Arches Beckon Me,

As I Exit The Door onto My Next Journey.

It is Time to Taste some Wine and Dutch Cheese,

On a Boat Cruise with More Sights to See.

EXCURSION 2

Cruising Along on this Beautiful Canal,

The Houses are Leaning Like They’re Taking a Bow.

A Maze of Tunnels, Where do They Go?

Around This City that Nobody Knows.

Every Bridge You Pass Under, There is a Story to be Told,

Of The Past on this Water, Which Never Grows Old.

Houseboats at The Side as The Boat Passes By,

Some Blinds are Closed to Stop Prying Eyes,

Others are Open and Showing Them with Pride.

So Many Directions this Canal will Take You,

A Map Around The City Taking in So Many Views.

But My Boat Trip is Now Ending it is Time to See More,

As I Prepare to Walk on My Mini Dutch Tour.

EXCURSION 3

Dam Square is The Place to Be,

With Things to Do and Lots to See.

The Crowds are Singing and Dancing to The Beat,

With The Street Entertainers Who are Stomping Their Feet.

The Music Keeps Playing,

There are Buildings Surrounding Me.

But One Building that Stands so Proud,

Is Right in Front of Me.

This is The Royal Palace I was Told to See,

By My Friends Luc and Alice Who Live in This City.

Heading Towards The Royal Doors A Fashion Show Begins.

Models Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go,

As They Take to The Catwalk Walking so Slow.

Then Turning Around with a Smile and a Grin,

Ready to Start All Over Again.

With The Music in The Distance,

I Am Now Behind The Doors,

Waiting with Anticipation Ready to See More,

On this Final Leg of My Mini Dutch Tour.

EXCURSION 4

The City Hall of Amsterdam was Built from 1648,

But as The Years went by and at a Later Date,

It Became The Royal Palace in 1808.

So Much to Read and Lots to See as I Move on into History.

The Windows come Alive as I Walk into this Room,

So Much Light Travelling through each Pane,

On a Summers Day in June.

The World is at My Feet as I Gaze Down to The Floor,

Three Globes so Beautifully Carved for Us to All Adore.

One of Europe and African States,

The Second The Northern Sky,

The Third Showing The Americas,

Under The Watch of The Maidens Eye.

Art on The Ceiling The Detail so Divine,

Then Moving around Like Hands on a Clock,

I See Statues Frozen in Time.

But as I Reach what is Twelve O’Clock,

A Figure Looks Down on Me,

A Man with The World on His Shoulders From Greek Mythology,

A Titan, A God, A Statue You Cannot Miss,

A Book Named after Him His Name is Atlas.

So Much to See and Lots to Do As I Leave What is Called,

The Citizen’s Hall.

So Many Paintings Covering Ceilings and Walls,

In Bedrooms, Lounges and The Great Halls.

Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck,

Two of Rembrandt’s Pupils Both Different and Unique.

Jan Van Bronchorst and Jan Lievens To,

All Dutch Artists to See and View.

But The Art that Stands Out for Me,

Are The Chalk and Pen Drawings that Stand Out in 3D.

So Cleverly Done by Jacob De Wit,

Another Dutch Artist with an Eye For It.

So Much Religion in This Room,

Paintings of Moses and Abraham To.

As I Draw Myself in Ready to See More,

A Chalk and Pen Drawing is Right by The Door.

Then Straight Ahead I See Two More,

Then Another One Behind Me Brings a Total of Four.

A Big Chandelier Lit Up and Hanging Proud,

Sculptures on The Ceiling of Angels Looking Down.

Two Large Paintings Either End of This Room,

Both Oil on Canvas and Ready to View.

A Mixture of Colours and Much Detail to See,

Taking You Back into History.

Painting One

He is Listening to His Father-in-Law into What He has to Say,

Jethro is advising Moses to Lay Down Laws to Obey,

And Delegate Responsibilities to His Wise Men Today.

As Painting One becomes Distant to Me,

Painting Two has now Come into View.

Painting Two

Is Solomon asking God for Wisdom,

To Make The Right Decisions and Listen.

His Wishes were Granted but God Gave Him More,

Long Life and Riches, Wise and Intelligence If He Obeyed His Laws.

This is Called Moses Room as I Start to Leave,

And Whether You are Religious or Not,

Embrace in What They have Achieved.

Time Has Run Out for Me,

Now I Have Walked Amongst Royalty.

Kings and Queens have All Been Here,

And have Stood on The Balcony for The Crowds to Cheer.

Prime Ministers and Presidents from All Over The World,

Giving Out Their Speeches to The Young and Old.

But One More Thing Before I Go,

That Many People May Not Know.

Is Who Decorated The Royal Palace Fit for a King and Queen.

From Across The Water this Man Came,

With Advice from His Brother who Helped Him Reign.

King Louis Napoleon was that Man,

Now Here Ends The History Lesson Of…

The Netherlands, Amsterdam.

My Mini Dutch Tour is Now Coming to an End,

As I Reflect on its History and What it Became.

Their Flags on Show on Every Building You See,

The Red, White and Blue Surrounds The City.

I Have Been on A Tram and Dodged All The Bikes,

But There is Still Unfinished Business to Do that I Like.

The Last Few Days I Have Been Going Dutch,

In a Country Which has Grown on Me,

That I Like So Very Much.

Dedicated To Lisa… © Gary Sydney Hankins…22/12/2022