Photo Picked up by Schmap

A few weeks ago I received a surprise message in my Flickr Inbox from Schmap, a website that creates free maps and guides online (and has a utility to allow you to make your own). They wanted permission to use one of my photos in their newest Amsterdam guide update. Pretty cool, I thought, and they since they aren’t charging people to use their guides I felt it was for a good cause.

Today I received notification that my photo (the one above actually) was included in their new Amsterdam guide. Its pretty buried in the Bloemenmarkt section, but it is there. Here’s the Amsterdam Guide.

Unfortunately, Schmap only creates guides for major cities worldwide, so no Maastricht guide. Yet.

Klik! Animation Festival Favorites Round-Up

This past weekend Dan & I packed up again and took the train up to Amsterdam to attending the Klik! Animation Festival. It was a great experience and allowed us to indulge long hours watching the weird, beautiful, and unique. Klik! is also very accessible if you only speak English because it is held in Amsterdam and because all the films with spoken parts are in English or have English subtitles. Workshops are in Dutch though, so we didn’t attend any of those and there is always the chance that one of the talks will be partially or wholly in Dutch (which happened to us during the Brendan & the Secret of Kells talk).
 
Amanda’s Top 5 Shorts
Dan’s philosophy is that you should try to watch shorts at festivals because you probably won’t see them anywhere else. With that in mind we saw all of the shorts in the juried Open Competition (results are in their news section here).

Like most art festivals, there were several gems, quite a few shorts pretending that Confusing = Art (news flash, it doesn’t), and mercifully few items that were downright terrible. Here’s my Top 5 picks, plus a list of the other notables.
1. Pigeon Impossible, Lucas Martell, USA: 3D Animation & winner of the KLIK Mopti Award. I think I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this. This is the most unpopulated version of Washington DC I’ve ever seen (cleanest too).
2. The Cat Piano, Eddie White & Ari Gibson, Australia: Dark, soulful story about a city of musical cats. Style galore.
3. Paultje en de Draak (Paul and the Dragon), Albert ‘T Hooft & Paco Vink, the Netherlands: Traditional animation. This short about a young boy fighting against cancer designed for kids to help them understand what they’re up against. Very professional. This film deserves to be used everywhere to help give sick kids hope.
4. Variete (Variety), Roelof Van Den Bergh, the Netherlands: A vaudevillian romp about life’s juggling act. For some reason I teared up both times I watched this short.
5. This Way Up, Smith & Foulkes, UK: 3D Animation. A longish and funny story about two undertakers just trying to do their job. Sweet & fun, although it did take a few strange turns.
 
And some other notables…
• Orgesticulanismus, Mathieu Labaye, Belgium: Rather artisy mixed media animation about reinventing movement. The dance sequence in which a single dancer fluidly changed bodies was phenomenal.
• Sorry I’m Late, Tomas Mankovsky, UK: Live stop motion.
• Kudan, Kimura Taku, Japan: 3D Animation. One of Dan’s favorites.
• TV Dinner, Simon Tofield, UK: Gotta love the kitty.
• Les Anges Dechets (Garbage Angels), Pierre M. Trudeau, Canada: Appealed to my love of found art.
• Judas & Jesus, Olaf Encke & Claudia Romero, Germany: Not safe for kids and not really for the devote Christian either.
• Monseiur Cok, Franck Dion, France: 3D Animation: One of the better ones about the struggle of the Worker and destructiveness of war.
• Storyboard, Yasuhiro Sera, Japan: A great short for comics lovers and creators.
• Joystick, Kevin Richards, UK: One of those very artistic pieces of animation, but done in a way that was actually meaningful.
• Western Spaghetti, Pes, USA: Stopmotion: I don’t know what is western about this, but the use of nostalgic toys and items to make a spaghetti dinner was pretty inspired.
• Little Face, Matthew Walker & Ben Lole, UK: Live action with 3D animation. Winner of the KLIK Open Competition.
• French Roast, Fabrice O. Joubert, France: 3D Animation. I really liked the design on the bum.
• El Empleo (The Employment), Santiago “Bou” Grasso, Argentina: Winner of the KLIK! Political Animation Award. Makes you wonder if anyone in this world has what we’d consider a real job.
• Chainsaw Maid, Takena Nagao, Japan: Claymation and Honourable Mention for the Open Competition (to my surprise). Very gory but funny.
• Phantom of the Cinema, Erik Van Schaaik, the Netherlands: Mix media animation. The story confused the heck out of me, but the interactive use of the “screen” was unique and well done. You probably won’t be able to get the feel of it from the trailer I’ve linked unfortunately.
 
And two to avoid at all costs…
• Natural Selection: Rise of the Proletariat, Michael Mallis, USA
• Sagan Om Den Lille Dockpojken (Tale of Little Puppetboy), Johannes Nyholm, Sweden

 
Feature Films
We also had to chance to see Brendan & the Secret of Kells, on its Premiere weekend in the Netherlands. This is a story about how the Book of Kells can be (fictional of course). While the overall story was very simple, it is sweet and holds up well. The real reason to watch this film, however, is the phenomenal design work that went into its eight year creation. The animation team took pains to create a world using styles and techniques from the Book of Kells itself and medieval art in general. It was a bold move (using angular and repetitive shapes; sometimes ignoring perspective), but one that was executed beautifully. I recommend anyone going to see it if you have the chance and like Celtic design. The film certainly has me itching to draw Celtic knots again.

Finally we saw Mary & Max, an award-winning full-length claymation that was also a Netherlands premiere. It is an extremely dark story about two broken people a world apart in age, distance, and circumstances, but brought together as penpals. Definitely not for children, but worth going to see if you find it in your area. It is an Australian animation & is in English.
 
At the end of the day one of the most disappointing things about animation festivals is that so many people will never see many of these animations outside of another festival. That’s one of the reasons I’ve links what I could here (thank you interwebs). If you get the chance to attend an animation festival, check it out. There’s usually a little something for everyone.

Did you attend Klik! or have opinions on the films listed above? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

How to Visit Amsterdam in Three Days

While Dan’s parents visited last week, we spent three days in Amsterdam. We explored several museums, toured the city on our own and with a guide, and took a bus tour to the Alkmaar Cheesemarket & to see some windmills. I think it was a good trip and with some adjustments, it could be a great one for others.

This Amsterdam trip is best suited for adults since it includes a trip to the House of Bols and a walking tour of the Red Light District. It is pretty casual so you have plenty of time to pack in more museums if you want.

Day One

When you arrive in Amsterdam, be sure to drop off all your baggage at your hotel or hostel. While most won’t allow check-in before 1 or 2 pm, they will usually hold your bags for you until later. We arrived after noon, so we were able to check-in right away, but did have less time for exploring.

On the first day, it’s nice to just walk around and get to know the city. We used a Rick Steve’s book walking tour to explore the center of Amsterdam, but you can find free and cheap self-guided tours of Amsterdam both online or at the VVV.

Along your tour, you might find the Nieuwe Kerk & the Amsterdam Historical Museum. The church isn’t very interesting unless you like to visit historical churches, but it is a good place to pick up a Museumkaart (no line). Its also located on the famous Dam square where the first Amstel Dam was built. The Historical Museum, on the other hand, is very through, has English translations, and is worth a good visit. Give yourself an hour (more if you don’t have the Museumkaart) to explore before walking down to the Bloemenmarkt.

The Bloemenmarkt is a flower street market and the best place to buy tulip bulbs in Amsterdam. Most shops will close up by 5 pm, but a few will be open a bit later. After the Bloemenmarkt, enjoy the dinner of your choice.

Day Two

Day two is museum day. The major, public museums in Amsterdam are all clustered together on the Museumplein so it is a good idea to visit several at a time. If you want more time for each or between them, many are open late on Friday. We visited the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and House of Bols. All three were good, but for quick thoughts:
- In 2009, the Rijksmuseum is still being renovated but a significant portion is still viewable. Many exhibits include English translations.
- The Van Gogh Museum really is better if you spring for the audio guide but it can be long winded. Many exhibits include English translations.
- House of Bols requires visitors to be 18 years old and you get a cocktail & two shots of flavored Bols liquor included in your ticket. Its pretty interactive. Everything is in English as well as Dutch.

After dinner, wrap up the evening with a walking tour of the red light district. The Randy Roy’s Red Light District Tour is lead by an American woman who has been living in Amsterdam for 20 years and will run you 12,50 euros per person. It was an interesting tour, but rather awkward with the In-laws along. If this isn’t your thing try one of the museums in the evening or try visiting a café with live music.

Day Three

By day three you’ve been doing a ton of walking, so taking one of the several half-day bus tours out of the city will give your feet some time to rest and you the chance to take in some of the countryside. The Alkmaar Cheesemarket tour that we took was good (the market was smaller than I expected), but it is not available all year. You could also try a tour to Delft, a Windmill-oriented one, or (if you visit in the Spring) the Keukenhof flower show. There are several tour organizing companies in Amsterdam and you can also book some via the VVV.

After you return from your tour (bring snacks, we didn’t have time to lunch & got back around 2 pm), you can visit the Anne Frank Museum. The museum has restricted entry, so it is advisable to purchase advance tickets online through their website. Don’t try to do it through the VVV (like we did); they only have tickets available after 6 pm.

To kill time we visited the Woonboot (Houseboat) Museum. For about 3,75 euros you can tour this small private museum on an actual houseboat. It was neat, but I don’t know if I would pay for it; at least not again. They don’t take the Museumkaart, but do take the Holland Pass.

Some times during your visit, it is worth taking a canal tour. Lover’s has been recommended to me, but I haven’t tried them. Look for one with smaller boats and real tour guides to avoid getting a canned recording in six different languages.

Have you visited Amsterdam? Share your favorite attractions and activities in the comments.

How to Get Into Dutch Museums Free (Kinda)

If you like museums and live or plan on visiting the Netherlands, you should do yourself a favor and pick up a yearly Museumkaart. We finally purchased ours and I really wish we had done it sooner. I can think of several museum trips I’ve taken that would have free with this card.

The Museumkaart allows you to get into some 400 public and non-profit museums in the Netherlands (more in the North than in the South) for free and usually allows you to jump the line as well. In busy cities like Amsterdam that can really save time (the Rijksmuseum being one exception). Here in Maastricht, the Bonnefanten & Natural History museums both take the card.

The downside is that there are some significant exceptions to the card, including the Anne Frank House, the House of Bols, and the Royal Delft Factory. Most, if not all, privately owned museums do not honor the museum card or will only give you a small discount. Other cultural institutions such as zoos and national parks are not included either. We found that we quickly started to make decisions about what museums to visit based on whether we could use the card there.

The Museumkaart is 35 euros for adults 25 years+ and 17,50 for anyone younger. The cards are per person. The first time you purchase one you’ll have to pay an additional administrative fee of 4,95 euros, but afterward you simply can renew your existing card. They can be purchased online or at many of the participating museums. One guidebook we have recommends clearly explaining that you want the yearly card since “kaart” in Dutch also translates to “ticket”.

Is It Worth It for Visitors?
I’d say probably, if you like museums. My in-laws purchased the cards and at least broke even during their 2-week trip. Even if you don’t, the woman we purchased our cards from recommended trying to resell them. Just don’t write in your name and information.

Tips for Getting Your Visa

Expat Women, a blog helping women handle expat life, released an excellent list of Do’s and Don’t for getting your visa regardless of what country you want to go to. If you’re coming to the Netherlands from the USA, you probably will not have to endure a Visa interview, but it is still always better safe than sorry when it comes to giving yourself enough time to register and, if necessary, re-register for you visa.
 
Click Here to read more of Mark Johnstone’s Arcticle.
 
In the spirit of moving to the Netherlands, here’s a couple more from my experience:
 
DO get your birth certificate and marriage license (if applicable) Apostilled before you start your visa. It takes a month to get such a document back and you’ll save time.
 
DO be extra patient in the summer or avoid August all together. Many people in the Netherlands are on vacation during July or August so everything, even immigration paperwork, slows way down.
 
DO stay on top of your employer for paperwork. If you are entering the US based on a job, your employer will need to provide proof of your employment and salary. It can be troublesome to get, especially in the summer.
 
DO start your pet paperwork with at least a 3 month lead time if bringing a cat or dog.

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