Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Rotterdam has enough art around the street to keep me amused (I'm on a mission to get photos of all the quirky monuments/statues/random art around the city), and to top that off, it has great art museums. A museum is a great way to escape from the rainy weather that characterizes the Netherlands (my friend Dutch Marieke often calls it the "flat-froggy/toady country), and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is no exception. Current exhibitions are the "All eyes on Kees van Dongen" (huge exhibition, almost all of his paintings and a lot of info on his lifestyle), the Yayoi Kusama's Mirror room (which I LOVED!), the Collection H+F Fashion on the Edge, etc.

The museum is not expensive at all (15 euros full rate, 10 euros for students, free on Wednesdays). Part of it is being refurbished (as I said, everytime I come to Europe, SOMETHING is being refurbished) so some areas are closed. You can still see the section of the surrealists and the impressionists, which were the ones I was interested in the most. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Warholes. The patio is beautiful, so whenever it's not rainy, I do recommend going out and having your lunch/snack there.

You are allowed to take photos without flash. Here are some of the one's I took.

Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp)

The Blijdorp Zoo is supposedly one of the most beautiful museums in Europe. It is a little expensive for my taste (18.5 euros, no student discount), but it is definitely worth the time. It's HUGE and it is beautiful. I had never seen toucans, rhinos, flouresecent blue butterflies, nor baby elephants. I was a little disappointed that the polar bear exhibition was not available, and the gorilla's were hidden somewhere in their habitat, but the butterfly exhibit and the oceanium made it better. Here are some photos:

Getting there with no car is a bit of a hassle. You have to get to Rotterdam Centraal, then take the bus that goes towards the Rotterdam Airport (it's either 33, 44 or 40), get off on the Blijdorp stop, cross the street, and then walk to the entrance. There is no direct metro/subway and I didn't see any tram around. Same thing when getting back.

TIPS: I recommend you wear comfortable shoes (it is a long walk inside the zoo). Most of the exhibition is inside, but still bring an umbrella and several layers of clothing for the unpredictable Rotterdam weather. I got really hot walking around the Oceanium or inside some other exhibitions where the temperature has to be warmer for the animals sake, but then stepping out to the cold to continue with the next area was quite a shock. Also, I found food to be quite expensive (about 4-5 euros for poffertjes, seriously?) so bring your own lunch. Although there are several vending machines and small cafés inside.

So, in a nutshell, Blijdorp zoo is definitely a great way to spend the day in Rotterdam. But if you don't have enought time and you want to experience more traditional parts of the Netherlands, skip it. This is not the only zoo in the world.

Music I'm obsessed with right now...

I just got back from the Boijmans van Beuningen art museum and I've got some cool pictures, plus some pictures of Leiden, but while I'm editing them, I'll just share some of the music I've listened to here and other songs that are currently rotatin in my (Keegan's) iPod.

- "Not giving up on love" by Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren and Sophie Ellis-Bextor (remember "Murder on the Dance Floor"?) She is ridiculously gorgeous in the video and the song is super catchy. I like. Here's the link for the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh5R6VBn63E

- "Kickstarts" by Brittish rapper Example. Most non-U.S. rappers SUCK, although some French rappers have their own cool style, but this is a cool pop-y song. BTW, YouTube this South African rapper called Die Antwoord and his song "Enter the Ninja" and you'll find an example of the LAMEST thing ever on Earth! Anyways, enjoy the video. I highly recommend it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9yGcKlYAiw&ob=av3e

- "You've changed" by Sia (she's Australian). Cool song, great stop-motion video. I have to say I'm not a huge Pop fan, but for some reason, the Pop music that's popular in this side of the globe is not lame, not corny, not mushy. I'm sorry but I hate Mexican (and almost all American) Pop music, even though it's not bad music, it's just too lovey-dovey for me. Here's Sia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLPPlRDOZx0

- "Bang Bang Bang" by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. Je te plumerai la tête! This dude is a genious and I can't get tired of this song. Seriously!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzE5dS6fnFk

- "Waiting for the End" by Linking Park. You can't go wrong with LP. Wow. That's all I have to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU6sdX1PkFg

- "Fuck You!" by Cee Lo Green. Don't know why this song came out in Europe before it did in the U.S. I had already memorized the song and video by the second week I was here in the NL and just a week ago I saw it was starting to chart in Billboard. Keegan hadn't heard the song either. Oh, well, its fucking smart, and fucking amazing. And I love the video. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU

- "Impossible" by Anberlin. This is the second Anberlin song I've listened to, and so far, I really like their style. "Feel Good Drag" is one of my favorite songs and some sort of personal song, and it's featured in the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, which makes it even more exciting! (I'm a hard-core Rockband-GuitarHero addict; me on the guitar or voice and my brother on the drums, we kick ass! LOL jk)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjE_2fFMnG0&ob=av2e

- "Alors on Danse" by Stromae (Belgian). This is just a really catchy song. Nothing too amazing about it, just catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHoT4N43jK8

- "Pack up" by British Eliza Doolitlle. This just sounds like a song my friends would love! I like the rythm. It's altogether cute and I find the lyrics very smart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzY0-I4Gq5w&ob=av2e

And some songs that aren't that new or that European, but are constantly in rotation:

- "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold. Keegan turned me into a huge A7X fan and now I can't get tired of them! I might tattoo a death bat on my ass, JK!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bGzWyHbu0

- "Give me a Sign" by Breaking Benjamin. Sigh! Love it...
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=give+me+a+sign&aq=f

- "Letter from a Thief" by Chevelle. God, this is one of my favorite songs and I've played it non-stop for the last what? 6 months? Second 0:19... damn, he's hot! :P (sorry, babe!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caSWa3vtUlk

- "Lay me Down" by The Dirty Heads. Every time I listen to this song I get theary eyed 'cause it makes me think of Keegan and I miss him like hell! It kinda reminds me of us, in a weird metaphor... And with verses like "it's hot outside, lemme go swimming in your eyes" or "it's just tequila and the beach, it's quite salty when we kiss"... darn, it's such an unconventional love song! Love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYxiIspEBc

"Dog Days are Over" by Florence & The Machine. Not a new song (released in 08, re-released in April '10) but it's everywhere right now, and her voice is unbelievably beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU&ob=av3e

- "Neutron Star Collision" by Muse. I'm no Twilight fan (it's OVER THE TOP Teeny-Bop corny, although I've watched the first two) but this song is just, wow... wow... it's powerful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTvgnYGu9bg&ob=av3e

- "Cooler than me" by Mike Posner. It's been my BlackBerry ringtone since July but now I'm getting annoyed by it because MTV NL plays the video like, 20 times in 2 hours. Doesn't mean I don't like it, I do, I'm just now starting to get tired of it. BUT I have a different version of the song on my iPod, so that makes it bearable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_H1KDjW9Y&ob=av3n

and finally...

- "Roger that" by Young Money. My brother and I LOVE this song, especially Lil Wayne's part. I miss my lil fucker, so I listen to this song constantly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifyF1Iy89fQ&ob=av3e

And that's my eclectic "Two Months in Rotterdam" playlist... add some Brandon Flowers, some new Pearl Jam, and some Vampire Weekend and off you go! Let's go sightseeing.