Private
museum tour in LeidenPrivate
museum tour in Leiden
"In the past you have guided me through Leiden. My reason was that I was preparing myself to write columns for Leidse Stijl with subjects on the area of culture and art. That was an initiative of NRC and Intermediair newspapers. I thought your guided tour was fantastic. Robin van Doorn"
Dutch version
Continue with a Leiden walk
The Antiquity Museum / Oudheden RMO now houses a superbly re-designed top floor of prehistoric Dutch objects, telling the story of life and work of our forefathers and foremothers. Below the other floors of RMO contain first-class collections of Egyptian objects, including the touching mummy of a small child. In the central courtyard a complete Egyptian temple has be re-erected, donated by the government of Egypt. Roman objects tell the story of life in an empire stretching to many parts of the known world.
In this RMO Archaeology and Antiquity Museum in which you may explore such diverse objects as stone axes, one spectacular one, recently acquired, is a ceremonial bronze hand axe. A prize posession is a Dutch fishing net from the time of the early Pharaohs. Its Egyptian collection contains the full size temple of Taffeh, donated by the state of Egypt, and good number of mummies, among which that of a baby and various grave objects. Thus the Egyptian collection is arguably considered the fourth or fifth most important collection in the world (after Cairo, Metropolitan NYC, Louvre, Turin, Brooklyn).
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"Dear Kees,
Phenomenal! Touring with you was like being friends with the top curator of a major art museum.
Your mountain of knowledge allowed you to zig and zag with our questions and flow seamlessly back into your captivating analysis.
Thank you for engaging each and every family member. It was a delight to be with you, and we feel lucky to have had the experience.
Sincerely,
Leigh and Daniel Levine and family, march 2018."
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Enter a real Egyptian temple. Your guide in red coat. This central hall does NOT require buying a ticket.
Study hundreds of first-class Egyptian ritual objects.
Baby mummy. The museum staff has recently decided that it does not befit modern sensibility and has taken it away from public view. Politically correct? Good choice?
This is why we LOVE egyptian art: we can relat to it.
Looking down into the only Roman sarcophagus known with interior design carvings. Excavated in Simpelveld, The Netherlands.
On the top floor an outstanding display of Prehistory in the Netherlands area.
And now for something entirely different: a priestly dagger-sword dredged up in Jutphaas, once produced in the bronze age, intended only for ritual display. There are less than 10 comparable ones found up to this point. They were all exhibited together in 1016 and this one was the best!
Dutch/Nederlandse version.
Leiden (sometimes spelled Leyden in English), is situated in the province of South Holland, midway between Amsterdam and The Hague, at a 30 minute ride from Amsterdam.
HOW TO GET THERE
Leiden is easy to reach with public transport, by train. I hold a Dutch Railways rebate card. For this train tour I can offer you a special rebate of 40% for three separate adult railway tickets. This makes it economical for you as clients. I can join you from your hotel or from the Amsterdam train station. Various other options are open to you: a) You can hire a car and drive it yourself, and I will join you starting in Amsterdam and will advise you about the best route. b) We can hire a professional taxibus service at around E 70 per hour for about 4 to 5 hours. On top of that you will pay me as the specialist guide. This is the more expensive option.
As an art historian based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, I can meet you in Leiden for a personalized guided tour of art museums and the historic center.
Together we will experience the beauty and history . Enjoy yourself and learn about history while strolling and discussing the country's history, art and culture. In doing so, we may touch many bases - spanning not only fine art and architecture but also the city's history and current social issues. See client testimonials.
Read a biography.
Drs. Kaldenbach is chairman of the Circle of Academic Tour Guides of the Netherlands and Flanders (CATON)
Starting at your hotel I will take you on a wonderful private cultural walking tour of your choice. My guided itinerary offers you accessable informative conversation in English, Dutch, or German (my French and Italian are more limited).
You may also arrange this VIP treatment for business contacts or friends. Our cultural tour organisation office will take care of a unique and memorable experience.
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach is your private "scholar-lecturer on culture tours" *.
*Martha Gellhorn, Travels with Myself and another, p. 182.
Photo by Dick Martin.
Endorsements
The Rijksmuseum has done me the honor of linking the main Rijksmuseum site to my website. Start at www.rijksmuseum.nl and select Collection. Then choose 'Digital Collaboration' and the 'Digital Vermeer House'.
I conduct Rembrandt walks in Amsterdam for the Netherlands Bureau of Tourism, London and New York City offices. Their clients include important journalists.
The travel site www.luxurytraveler.com has devoted a main feature to my tours and walks.
Read further client testimonials.
About Drs. Kees Kaldenbach:Read a biography.
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach has been featured in television and radio documentaries, including BBC2 TV, NTV Japan, Danish TV and Radio Netherlands World Service. In July 2004 he was interviewed about Leiden artists by Tetsuya Tsuruhara for the leading Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun. In 2004 and 2005 he acted in an advisory role to additional BBC teams. Kaldenbach has written extensively on Vermeer and 17th century Leiden, on Vincent van Gogh and on other art history topics.
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach is your private "scholar-lecturer on culture tours".
Further information is available on his encyclopedic web site: www.johannesvermeer.info
Contact
information:
Drs. Kees Kaldenbach , kalden@xs4all.nl
Haarlemmermeerstraat 83 hs
1058 JS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
telephone 020 - 669 8119 (from abroad NL +20 - 669 8119)
cell phone 06 - 2868 9775 (from abroad NL +6 - 2868 9775)
Reaction, questions? Read client testimonials.
Open seven days a week.
Member of the VVV Tourist information and the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel).
Email responses and bookings to art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach.
This page forms part of the 2000+ item Vermeer web site at www.xs4all.nl/~kalden
Launched April 15, 2006. Updated 15 February 2017.
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