I woke up this morning sore and grumpy...with a slight sore throat. So, I grumped about a bit...then it started to rain again, I puttered about some more. It was about 1:30 or so before I headed out. Got to the Lindberg Tours office (they ran the tour I was on yesterday) where I saw a brochure for advanced tickets. Got one with a discount and asked the lady at the counter for instructions on how to get there by public transportation. She told me to get on the 51 Metro and get off at WTC. I got on the right train, looked at the map and there was no WTC. Urgh. Closely looked at every stop and I didn't see anything called WTC. Went almost all the way to the end of the line, then got off and took the train in the opposite direction to head back.
My intent was to go back to Central Station and ask for directions again, but I saw Tut in the distance at one of the stops almost all the way back and got off (at Zuid). I found it on my own!!
So the exhibit...I had some problems with it. The part that I really wanted to experience...where you get to see the recreation of what the find was like when the tomb was first opened, that bit you were rushed through like cattle. The lights came up and went dim and if you were stuck in the back...you were stuck. Everyone up front is raising up their cameras and cell phones and just stood there. Nobody in the back could see or take photos themselves. It sucked. I got ticked, snuck around to the side, and was a bad person...I took a flash photo. I reasoned that it's not like these are actual artifacts...flash photography was prohibited so that everyone could enjoy the experience...but I wasn't enjoying the experience! If I was a selfish bitch, so be it. And I got a photo of the Treasury...
Anyway, that was the only flash photo I could take. The next room was the burial chamber and I soon figured that if I went around the room the wrong way, I could avoid getting my view blocked.
These are the shrines around the outer sarcophagus all open so that you can see all the way in.
This is the outermost shrine which I thought was pretty cool looking. There were also recreations of the wall paintings.
I don't remember them including the Annex though...although, if I remember from the photos I'd seen, that room was a jumbled mess anyway. There were then rooms where replicas of some of the original items were displayed. Some of them, I'd actually seen the originals of a few years ago in Philadelphia.
These are the two inner shrines that surrounded the sarcophagus
And the sarcophagus. Which was a lot prettier than I imagined it. I think I had only seen black and white photos of it...so this was really cool.
These are the next two mummy cases. The one in front is the second sarcophagus and is really awesome with a ton of inlay and detail.
This is the innermost sarcophagus, made of solid gold with the mummy in it...well not really a mummy, you know the whole thing is a reproduction. Which is cool, because the original was all messed up with unguents used in the funerary preparations. So messed up it dissolved the eyeballs in this inner sarcophagus.
Of course, there was the reproduction of the one thing I still want to see for reals...but was pretty cool as a fake
Honestly, this thing is so pretty, I think it's impossible to take a bad picture of it. It was so lovely and shiny...
These are the lids of the canopic chest that held Tut's innards. They do look very much like the originals. The only thing I saw that I thought "that doesn't look right" was the diadem that was on the mummy's head. I remember it being very thin, but the reproduction appeared to be a lot sturdier.
Here is the shrine that held the canopic chest, that held the little canopic coffins that held Tut's innards.
This is a wooden bust of the young king. Nobody is quite sure of its purpose, although the most plausible theory is that it is a half mannequin (there is a torso there too) used for preparing Tut's wardrobe for the day.
Here is Tut's crook and flail, which were important symbols of the power of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Tut's are the only ones in existence (there were 3 crooks and 2 flails found in his tomb). We see them in images of other Pharaohs, but without Tut's tomb, we'd never see an actual example of them.
Gift shop....what can I say...nothing good. Well, there were official "Dr. Zahi Hawass" hats you could buy, but I really didn't need one. It appears, he has approved endorsing the type of hat he wears so that the proceeds of the sales go to a children's charity. Pretty cool, but too pricey for me.
There were no t-shirts...only baseball caps. The book was not that great and repeated stuff I have in other books. So, I left empty-handed. In the end, it was a pretty cool exhibit...but that beginning bit really pissed me off.
I got back to Central Station around 5 and walked to Dam Square, stopping in several tacky tourist shops along the way. I have a couple of friends who asked for wooden shoes...and I have one thing to say...you're getting little toy shoes because the real things cost around 30 Euro a pair! I got myself a teeny tiny pair to turn into an ornament for the Xmas tree..that's it.
This is the Royal Palace on Dam Square. In my opinion it needs some restoration work as the exterior is all black and dingy from years of exposure to pollution. I think that the pediment had been cleaned up recently...or was it replaced?
This is the other side of the palace, with an Atlas statue on top. Also on Dam Square is the Nieuwe Kerk.
Both the Kerk and the Palace are closed to visitors in preparation for the combination Queen's Day/Inauguration of the new King on April 30. I think this trip will be lacking the religious architectural photography you're used to. I did take photos of Westerkerk, which is near the Anne Frank House, but those were lost in the Great Data Card Disaster. Maybe I'll head back tomorrow to try to take some more.
One interesting aspect of this Church is that it has a sundial rather than an actual clock, which I found cool.
Originally stained glass windows over the main entrance of the church, they were bricked up when the church organ was installed.
I then walked around and looked at shops for a bit, including the Royal Delft shop, which was more expensive than the Delftware I saw when I visited Delft. I also walked down the Flower Market, which was closing up for the evening.
Finally headed back to the apartment for grilled cheese.
Tomorrow is both my birthday and my last day. I'm heading back over to the Princengracht area (by the Anne Frank House, to try to re-create some of my photos). I may actually track down another church while I'm at it, just for funzies. My main goal is shopping though...Flea Market, Flower Market, and funny slippers!
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