Harish Davda: Amsterdam

Day 4, our last day in Amsterdam. Again, Clemencia, my wife, and I started at Amsterdam Central Station. We took number 14 tram to the area where there are a number of museums, near Museumplein.

We visited Van Gogh Museum in the late morning for two hours. Vincent Van Gogh, who was a post-impressionist painter, influenced the art world because of his work which was exceptional in the way he used beauty, emotion, expression and colour. Visiting this museum was one of the highlights of our visit. Reading about his life and the challenges he went through, for example, leaving school at the age of 15 and going to work, painful relationship with women, financial difficulties, etc led him to find an outlet through his art. Van Gogh suffered from mental illness and at the end took his own life. He was only 37. This quotation, in some ways, sums up his life.

“As for me, I am rather often uneasy in my mind, because I think that my life has not been calm enough; all those bitter disappointments, adversities, changes keep me from developing fully and naturally in my artistic career.”

—Vincent van Gogh

Although van Gogh's paintings were sold at high prices, and he was successful, he never enjoyed his fame and financial success while he was alive.

Flash photography was not allowed at the museum. I took some pictures with my smart phone. The quality isn’t particularly good! Most of the paintings below were done in the last year of Van Gogh's life, many from the window of the hospital where he was getting treatment for his mental health.

Disappointing Falafels!

Not recommended!

After a few hours at the museum, we went for a vegetarian lunch. We had a Falafel Wrap. I have to say it was disappointing. The presentation was terrible. The table on which our lunch was served was on a slant, the chairs were uncomfortable. On top of this, the chilli sauce was salty! The top of this chilli sauce bottle came out and I ended up with half a bottle of red sauce on my hand! I ran to the toilet and realised that the water tap was wobbly. The tap wouldn't stay in the basin. Somehow I managed to wash my hands. The paper towel dispenser was empty. My assessment of this place: bad food, nil ambience, bad service. Don't go there!

After lunch, we visited STEDELIJK Museum of Modern Art and Design. Wonderful experience for 1.5 hours. A good mixture of art and design display. We could have very easily spent 5 + hours there. Here are some photos, again, taken by my smart phone: