Rijksmuseum manager Pijbes admits: I cycle through the Rijksmuseum

The re-opening of the bicycle path through the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has been quite a struggle. Director Wim Pijbes of the Rijksmuseum was 100% against the path, but it was re-installed anyway.
At one point he said frustratedly: 'I am more busy with cyclists than with Rembrandt'.

The renovation of the Rijksmuseum has been a tremendous success. Since the opening on April 13 2013, more than 2 million visitors went to the Rijksmuseum.
The renovation was celebrated in international newspapers all over the world.

The cycleway that runs through the Rijksmuseum passageway was closed before the renovation, with a promise that it would be re-opened later.
However, the Rijksmuseum management turned against the cyclepath, and a huge political struggle ensued.
In the end, the City of Amsterdam decided the cycleway had to be re-opened - and so it happened, on May 13 2013.

To crown the Rijksmuseum's success, Wim Pijbes was elected Dutchman of the Year by the Dutch magazine Elsevier.
He was interviewed on the occasion yesterday, in the popular Dutch news tv show 'De Wereld Draait Door'. In the interview he admitted the re-opening of the cycle path through the Rijksmuseum has been a good thing.
He even admitted cycling through the passageway himself (just like the tv host himself).