The Allard Pierson Museum

 

This is a place that I discovered completely by accident, browsing trough internet and looking for other museums in town beside the obvious biggest tourist attractions. It is situated right in the centre of the city, next to glitzy Hotel l'Europe in a beautiful palatial building that used to be central bank of the Netherlands. It hosts excellent collections and stories about ancient civilisations - particularly Egypt, Greece and Rome - and I must say that this is slowly becoming my favourite museum in town (also location helps, since its easily accessible no matter from where I am arriving). I wrote earlier about this place when I visited exhibition about Art Deco and right now they have another one titled "From the Nile to the Amstel" which basically re-shuffles permanent displays into a coherent story that connect civilisations from earliest hunters to Amsterdam. 

I actually don't need any particular reason to go there - it was a cloudy Saturday and somehow I just wanted to get out of the house; to spend few hours in Allard Pierson Museum was the most natural and appealing thing to do. Obviously I was not the only one, because there were quite a few curious visitors roaming around. I took a great pleasure browsing the collection and was enchanted for two hours - as it usually happens, I started with the beginning but eventually drifted off my own way. It doesn't matter that I am familiar with history of ancient civilisations, its just a pleasure to explore and enjoy the displays.

At certain point I drifted into the attic where I have never been before. This is where they keep copy casts of world's most famous Roman and Greek statues and that was quite interesting experience, to see them all stored in the attic (which also in itself is very interesting place with a spectacular view). I have also discovered a beautiful place called "Collector's Cabinet" which is all about famous archeologists from the past who were connected to this place - it is a very elegant, quiet corner that has somehow escaped my previous explorations and I was thrilled to find it.