Our Second Day in Amsterdam

This post is part of our Europe travel series. If you missed it, you can read the first part here and the previous post here.

On our second day in Amsterdam, May 16, we headed to the Van Gogh Museum in the morning. The gates were not open yet, but a long line had already formed outside. Like us, everyone in line had booked their tickets online.

Vincent Van Gogh was a 19th-century Dutch painter known for his Post-Impressionist style, which focused not just on objects or scenes, but on the emotions they evoked. This new approach opened a whole new chapter in art. However, during his lifetime, Van Gogh’s innovative style was not widely recognized. Despite creating over 900 paintings, he managed to sell only one of them while he was alive. Today, his works are worth tens of millions of dollars.

Van Gogh’s brother, Theodorus van Gogh, was an art dealer in Paris and cared deeply for Vincent. For a while, he brought Vincent to Paris, where he met French painters and learned new techniques that helped him develop his style. Lacking money to pay models, Vincent often used his own face as a subject, painting himself in many different ways.

Van Gogh had a great fondness for sunflowers. He painted them in various ways to decorate his studio, especially for his friend Paul Gauguin, creating vibrant and expressive arrangements that reflected his love for the flowers.

Among Van Gogh’s paintings, his favorite was “The Bedroom”. This painting depicts his own room in Arles, with its simple furniture, colorful walls, and personal objects. Van Gogh aimed to convey a sense of peace and comfort through the composition and colors, making it one of his most intimate and cherished works.

Van Gogh had a deep appreciation for the lives of the poor, and one of his most remarkable works reflecting this is “The Potato Eaters.” This painting depicts a humble peasant family sharing a simple meal of potatoes. Through the rough textures, dark tones, and expressive faces, Van Gogh conveyed the hardships, dignity, and humanity of their everyday life, making it a powerful example of his empathy and social awareness.

Van Gogh’s work was also influenced by Japanese art, especially woodblock prints. The bold colors, strong outlines, and simplified compositions of Japanese prints inspired him to experiment with new techniques and perspectives in his own paintings.

Van Gogh regularly wrote letters to his brother, Theodorus, describing his thoughts on nature, his paintings, and his personal struggles—both financial and mental. Many of these letters have been preserved and are on display in the museum, offering a fascinating glimpse into the mind of this remarkable artist.

Van Gogh struggled with mental health issues and spent about a year in an asylum for treatment. During that year, he created around 150 paintings. Sadly, it was there that he ended his life, passing away at the age of just 37.

After his death, his brother Theodorus (Theo) van Gogh carefully preserved his works, believing that Vincent was a great artist and that his paintings would eventually receive recognition. Tragically, Theo also passed away just six months after Vincent.

It was Theo’s wife, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who took on the monumental task of bringing Vincent’s art to the world. Despite many hardships, she organized exhibitions and introduced his works to a wider audience. Her efforts are detailed in the book The Secret Life of Sunflowers, which chronicles how she single-handedly ensured Vincent’s paintings gained the recognition they deserved. Her dedication ultimately laid the foundation for the Van Gogh Museum, allowing people from around the world to experience his extraordinary art.

During our visit, the museum was also hosting an exhibition of paintings by Anselm Kiefer, a contemporary German artist. He is known for creating works using unusual materials such as dry branches, grass, ash, and clay, giving his paintings a striking texture and depth.

When he visited Amsterdam and saw Van Gogh’s paintings, he was inspired and created some of his own works influenced by that experience.  

We had thought that two hours would be enough to see the museum, but even after spending another hour there, we didn’t feel like leaving. Learning about Van Gogh’s life and struggles made us feel deeply moved. We ended up sitting in the museum café for a long time, talking about the paintings and reflecting on his remarkable journey as an artist.

Later, we headed to the Floating Flower Market. Originally starting as small stalls on houseboats selling tulip bulbs, the market now offers a wide variety of goods, including different types of bulbs, plants, flowers, and wooden souvenirs. Walking through the colorful stalls, it was easy to see why this market is such a beloved attraction in Amsterdam.

 

That afternoon, we stopped for lunch at an Indonesian restaurant called Sampurna. When the Dutch East India Company was active, many Indonesians worked in its colonies. After World War II, some of them migrated to Amsterdam, which is why the city now has many Indonesian restaurants. One popular dish served at these restaurants is the Rijsttafel. We had expected each item to be served in separate bowls, but that day they arranged all the varieties on a single plate. Although it was a little disappointing, the meal was still delicious.

After lunch, we went on a canal cruise. The captain guided us along the canals, pointing out the buildings on either side and sharing their history. We had hoped to escape the afternoon chill, but the sun was still quite strong, making it a sunny ride.

By the time we got off the boat, it was around 3 p.m. From there, we headed to the Jordaan District, one of the most beautiful areas in Amsterdam. The neighborhood is lively, filled with cozy restaurants, charming boutiques, and bustling streets, making it a perfect place to wander and soak in the local atmosphere.

In the Jordaan District, we visited a restaurant called The Pancake Bakery, which is housed in a building originally built in the 17th century as a warehouse for the Dutch East India Company. Inside, the small rooms are connected one after another, and the front room has large windows that let in plenty of natural light. The pancakes there were absolutely delicious and definitely worth trying!

From there, we went to the Anne Frank House. During World War II, the Nazis persecuted and targeted Jewish people. To escape arrest, some Jewish families went into hiding. One of these families was the Frank family. Anne Frank, who was just 13 years old, wrote a diary during this time. Through her diary, the world has come to understand the hardships faced by Jewish people during the war.

Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, owned a business. The company operated on the ground floor, and the upper floors contained several rooms. To hide from the Nazis, the Frank family — along with another family and a doctor — eight people in total — took refuge in the rooms above the office. Their hiding place was concealed behind a movable bookcase.

For two years, they lived there in near silence. They avoided making noise, flushing toilets during the day, or opening windows. Only a few trusted employees knew about their hiding place and secretly supplied them with food and essentials, risking their own lives.

Anne wrote in her diary about their daily routines, fears, and dreams. From their hiding place, they relied on the nearby church bell to know the time, since they had no access to natural light. However, during the war, bells like this were often melted down for weapons production. The bell near their hiding place was removed, leaving them unable to track time.

Before visiting the house, I had read The Diary of Anne Frank. Seeing the actual rooms where she wrote her diary and where the family hid was deeply moving.

Unfortunately, their story did not have a happy ending. They were discovered and sent to concentration camps. Of the Frank family, only Otto Frank survived. He later published Anne’s diary, which has since been translated into many languages around the world.

After leaving the Anne Frank House, we walked quietly through the nearby streets. By around 7 p.m., the chilly evening air had returned. We had dinner at Taj Indian restaurant before taking the tram back to our hotel.

In just two days, we had seen nearly everything we had planned in Amsterdam. The city turned out to be even more beautiful and meaningful than we had imagined. If we ever return to Amsterdam, we will stay for at least four days one full day for the Rijksmuseum, another for the Rembrandt House and the Holocaust Museum, and perhaps an evening canal cruise instead of one in the hot afternoon.

That is how we spent two beautiful and memorable days in Amsterdam. The next day, we headed out to explore some nearby places. You can read those memories here.