Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank's House . . .

The Van Gogh Museum which opened in 1973 holds an amazing collection of 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 500 letters written by Vincent Van Gogh. A dutch post-impressionist painter, Van Gogh was a super talented artist. His unmistakable tumultuous style of swirling brush strokes and vivid use of color is full of passion and emotion.

Sadly, Van Gogh although full of talent was a tormented soul suffering from bouts of mental illness. And at the age of only 37, Van Gogh committed suicide. In his short life Van Gogh produced some amazing artwork and it's sad to me that he died before his work could be recognized and appreciated.

The Van Gogh Museum is open daily and at the top of my must see list is: Bedroom in Arles, Wheatfield and Crows and Sunflowers . . . To have an insight into the artist behind the paintings the Van Gogh Blog posts entries of his letters to describe his own thought process as he painted.

The Rijksmuseum in its neo Renaissance style was highly recommended by Fellow Slow Traveler, AnnieNC (Churches in Venice), and so it is on my must see museum list as well. The Rijksmuseum contains the world's largest collection of paintings by Dutch masters to include Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals. One painting that is on my must see list here is Rembrandt's "The NightWatch". Rembrandt is famous for his use of light and movement in his paintings and I'm excited to see his work in person. The museum is currently undergoing refurbishment, but a nice collection of their most famous Masterpieces will be open for viewing in their Phillips Wing Saturday (until 6 pm) through Friday (until 8:30 pm). Many thanks to Annie for putting the Rijksmuseum on my radar.

And finally, not necessarily a museum of art, but a very important must see on my list, is the Anne Frank House. For two years, Anne Frank and seven others hid from Nazi persecution. They hid in a secrete annex behind a swinging bookcase. The 13-year old Anne, who began her now famous diary in July 1942, provides a unique account of growing up under persecution and of a life in confinement. Fellow Slow Traveler, Jane (Casey, Italy and Other Good Stuff), who visited earlier in the year recommend that I purchase my tickets on-line to avoid the long queue. Many thanks to Jane for the very helpful tip.

There are 50 museums currently listed in the City of Amsterdam but with only two weeks I will not be able to see most of them. These three are on my must see list but if time permits there are others that I would also be interested in seeing: Houseboat Museum, Madame Tussauds, Stedelijk Museum and I may even hit the Sex Museum just for fun. Just kidding! I had not heard of this museum until fellow Slow Traveler, Girasoli (Shave Ice & Gelato) mentioned it to me in one of her comments. I'm too embarrassed to go in there but if I happen to pass it by, I might snap a photo.  :D  Edited to add: Girasoli who also kindly recommended visiting my top three must see's on my museum list said that she and her friend visited the Sex Museum as a joke and ended up having a blast. So on second thought maybe this might be worth a visit for me too.  :) Thanks Girasoli, maybe I'll visit it after all.