A 17-year-old girl hated Monet’s portrait of her, it’s now worth millions and sits in a Netherlands museum
By Eileen Ogintz
ZAANDAM, The Netherlands — Guurtje van de Stadt, who was only 17 and living in this small town north of Amsterdam, hated the portrait that her wealthy parents had commissioned so much that it was banished to the attic. The painter was an unknown French artist named Claude Monet
It was 1871 and Monet and his family had come from France to Zaandam to escape the Franco-Prussian war. The paintings he did in his four months here weren’t received well in Zaandam. In fact, the local constabulary put the stranger under surveillance, although their periodic reports showed no unusual activity other than Monet’s painting landscape and buildings in the area.
It wasn’t until 1926 when Monet, the founder of the Impressionist movement and now world famous, died, that the van de Stadt family recalled that portrait in the attic. Now worth millions, it is on display at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands.
Hers was the only portrait Monet painted while in Zaandam, a city of about 150,000 today and a 20-minute train ride from Amsterdam. The other 24 paintings were landscapes and on a walking tour of the charming city center we see reproductions of these famous paintings and some of the sites that inspired him including a distinctive blue building. We visited the Monet Atelier in the city center. Aspiring artists can sign up for a workshop.
It’s the first morning of our AMAWaterways river cruise on the Rhine River that will take us through Germany, ending in Basel, Switzerland after seven days. There are about 130 passengers aboard the AMASerena (the maximum is 164) and a very accommodating crew of 50 from around the world.
AMA has for more than two decades offered river cruises sailing Europe’s major rivers, Southeast Asia’s Mekong, Africa’s Chobe River, Egypt’s Nile, and this year Colombia’s Magdalena River.
Just this spring, the company launched AMASintra, its third ship on the Douro River in Portugal and next year, AmaSofia on the upper Danube River, and the AMAKaia on the Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.
For those who think river cruises are for sedentary seniors, think again. AMA offers biking and hiking shore excursions, active wellness walks, and on-ship exercise options from the small fitness room to a resistance band class to chair yoga to a core strengthening and morning stretching.
In fact, the last time we cruised on an AMA ship, it was a trip that was a partnership with the outdoors company Backroads with our daughter and son in law. Besides the ship excursions, we were able to ride Backroads bikes on various routes with Backroads staff to make sure we didn’t have any problems.
And in addition to gourmet offerings including a multi-course Chef Table with wine pairing, there are wellness, vegetarian, and vegan options.
At the Chef’s Table last night — which actually is a separate restaurant space that can seat about 28 guests — we feasted on heirloom tomato with Ricotta lime mousse, King Prawn ceviche, coconut and curry soup, pan fried Atlantic Halibut with spinach saffron sauce, Cassis sorbet, Argentinian sirloin with Gnocchi and for desert, salty caramel chocolate tart with Mango sorbet and fresh berries. The portions thankfully were small and the wines delicious which had been sourced from Germany. Today at lunch we were treated to a delicious created-your-own Vietnamese Pho.
There are specialty cruises as well. This one focuses on wine with wine host John Aver, a retired California vintner, offering wine talks and tastings about the region. This afternoon, for example, he discussed German wines as we sampled three of them. His wife Carolyn, with whom he ran their vineyard for 20 years, said they are now “happily retired,” and aren’t planning to do another wine cruise. However, their fans may not let them quit. There are 60 people aboard who were members of their wine club. “We had such a blast the last time,” one woman opined. “We had to do it again when we heard it was with John and Carolyn.”
There are specialty cruises that focus on music on the Danube River, a partnership with Smithsonian Journeys starting next year with experts on board, and Festival Delights Cruises complete with regionally inspired tree trimming, caroling and gingerbread house decorating as well as visits to the famous European holiday markets.
On this morning’s walking tour, we also visited the tiny wooden house built in 1632 where Russia’s Peter the Great stayed when he came in 1697 with 250 countrymen to learn about shipbuilding. There was worry about celebrity even then. Though the 6-foot 8-inch Peter wanted to remain anonymous, everyone in town soon knew about his visit. He moved on after eight days to Amsterdam where it was easier to stay anonymous, our guide said.
We also had the chance to sample local delicacies in picturesque cafes—cheese, a Bitterballen (a fried dough ball filled with a creamy meat sauce), sweet pickle, and a cheese pastry all washed down with a small beer. As if that wasn’t enough, our last stop is for Poffertjes, the famous Dutch mini pancakes that are served with butter and powdered sugar. Rembrandt supposedly was a big fan.
Now we are too.