Days I forget which ones right now: Rijks Museum, Van Gogh Museum, and the Red Light District

In the past two days we visited first the Rijks Museum and the Van Gogh Museum. The difference between the minute and careful brushstrokes of the classic 17th century Dutch painters and the big swirly, textured brushstrokes used by Van Gogh and this contemporaries made for an interesting contrast. I think I personally like Van Gogh better. His work seems so much more vigorous and life-like. From Rijks, my favorite was, I think, Vermeer. Reading the Girl with a Pearl Earring might have something to do with that, but I really do like the way he paints women. There is a great deal of Rembrandt there too. I like the way he does wrinkles, but sometimes the amount of contrast he uses is so overdone it sets my teeth on edge. The still lifes there made me wonder how much time was spent arranging the composition until it was just so. How many lemons did the artist have to peel partially until it was the way he wanted it? Or even worse, how many time did they have to hang those dead birds until they looked right? That would have been pretty gross and smelly. And inching those platters and knives until they were just barely balanced on the edge of a table?
For dinner one night we had Dutch pancakes. They seem like a cross between crepes and pizzas. For dessert we shared an apple pancake with cinnamin and some whipped cream. I think they made it by actually spreading the pancake batter in a circle then dropping in thin slices of apple and sprinkling the cinnamin on top and baking the whole thing that way. Maybe when I get back I'll find a recipe for it.
Speaking of dessert, we made apple pie for dessert tonight and it turned out quite well, despite not really having a recipe. It was fun to bake again. Today we spent walking around Utrecht for the most part.
Oh right, yesterday night we visited the red light district. For most part, the people there were tourists. It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. We were told that over the past decade or so the drug cafes have gradually been replacing brothels, but there are still quite a few brothels. Red and neon colored lights were everywhere and reflected off the water in the canal. There really were girls sitting in windows like objects on display. They just happened to be moving, animated objects. It was kind of disturbing to think of it that way, and I found it somewhat embarassing to really look for any amount of time, so I spent a lot of time studying those reflections or the less risque displays.