DAY 61: Van Gogh and the Windmills

On this lovely Sunday morning, we woke up extra early to use the last few hours of our bike rentals. So we hopped on the bikes and meandered our way around a marathon track that ran through the city and made our way to the Rijksmuseum, which is the Netherlands National History Museum. It is here that has the famous "I Amsterdam" sign in front of it.

In truth, I have no idea where the "I Amsterdam" saying comes from, and when I looked it up, this was all I found. "'I Amsterdam' began as the marketing campaign for the Amsterdam Area and its business and promotional organizations, but quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a collective catch phrase for the city's residents, regardless of who they are or where they come from." 

No, the painting is not actually this big...

In any case, it is a pretty cool place in front of a beautiful building, so like regular tourists Lizzy and I went to take pictures there. Lucky for us, there was no one there because it was so early in the morning!! So we took our pictures as the sun came up and continued to ride around the park to find the Van Gogh Museum. 

Van Gogh's Self Portrait, pre-ear chopping

When we arrived, again, no one was there! Apparently no one wakes up before 10 on Sundays in Europe. So we sauntered straight into the museum with no line and began our tour of one of the world's most famous artists. 

FUN FACT #41: Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive and did not become famous until his sister-in-law sold his paintings after his death. 

"Almond Blossoms"

It was a pretty cool museum. As you moved around the building and up to the different floors, you were able to follow the paintings throughout his life. It was really interesting to see the differences in his artwork as his life changed. Most people only remember that he cut off his ear, but in the grand scheme of the museum posters written about him, they mention it only once in one sentence near the end of the trip. 

"Irises in Vase"- my favorite painting

He was a very interesting guy, and for a man who only lived to be 37, he made over 900 paintings! His most famous, Starry Night, which he painted while he was in an insane asylum, is not located in this museum, but actually in New York City. Go figure. But we saw his famous self portraits as well as his famous "Sunflowers"and "Almond Blossoms" paintings. My favorite, by far, was called "Irises in Vase". In person, this painting is unbelievably gorgeous. 




When we finished with the Van Gogh Museum, we rode our bikes around the Vondelpark until we had to return them to our hostel. It was a beautiful ride- though a bit awkward as we had to ride around the marathon. After we returned the bikes, we went into the city and got a quick and cheap lunch and ate falafels on the banks of a canal. How picturesque. 

FUN FACT #42: Amsterdam has more canals than Venice! What is even better is that they actually form a cohesive network throughout the city- unlike in Venice.  

One of the many things that The Netherlands is famous for is its windmills. In Zaanse Schans, just an hour away, are a number of working windmills. We decided to catch a bus and see them!

When we arrived, the weather was kind of crumby, but the clouds parted for us as the sun set, and it was beautiful! We took a million pictures and enjoyed the scenery before returning back to Amsterdam. 

That night, we got Thai food for dinner, because everyone knows that Thai food is always cheap and always good- no matter what city you go to! A beautiful cinema was right next to our restaurant, so we looked up what they were showing. "Gone Girl" had just come out, so we decided to see it. It was phenomenal. I highly suggest seeing it if you haven't yet! 

Following the movie, we headed back to the hostel for the night and left Amsterdam early the next day. It was sad to say goodbye to such a beautiful place (with such amazing food!) but we missed the kids and it was time to return to Spain.