The Damage

Trip Start Sep 07, 2008
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Trip End Oct 10, 2008


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Flag of Netherlands  , Noord-Holland,
Sunday, September 28, 2008

We were again lucky with the queues today when we headed to the Van Gogh museum. When Van Gogh died his brother took possession of all of his works that hadn't already been sold. This has been turned into a museum by his descendents and is quite an impressive collection of his works. It is interesting as it is laid out in chronological order of when it was painted, allowing you to see the change in his style of painting as his talent developed. I never realised that Van Gogh didn't start painting until he was 28 and died at 39. It is incredible to see how much work he was able to do in just 11 years. I really liked his series of peach blossoms while Matt loved the very well-known Sunflowers and Irises. It was a little frustrating to find that despite it being a large room filled with art, people decided to form a line and shuffle past each painting in order. Like a slow funeral procession, you found people standing in front of the paintings staring at their feet while they waited for the line to move on. I think we pissed a few of them off by flitting in and out to look at the ones we wanted to see in more detail but it would have taken all day at their pace Clog racing
Clog racing
 . The museum is an excellent collection of Van Gogh's work and well worth a visit. We liked it so much we bought some prints of the Sunflowers and Irises to bring home.
 
In need of a little retail therapy, Matt and I split up and spent the afternoon wandering the streets attempting to make our wardrobes a little more stylish by adding some European clothes. It was great to revisit some old favourites like Zara, WE and Jack Jones.
 
Tonight we had a slap-up dinner of take-away noodles sitting by the canal at Spui. We had walked past an Indonesian take-away place last night and the smell was divine. We caught the tram back there tonight and weren't disappointed. They tasted even better than they smelt. There are Indonesian restaurants all over Amsterdam as a reflection of when Indonesia was the Dutch East Indies. You can really see how some of that culture has permeated into Dutch society.
 
Thanks to Matt's extensive network of old road crew mates, we found ourselves tagging along after dinner on a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. While Matt spent the night catching up with his mate, I was able to admire the views of a busy Saturday night in The 'Dam. Next stop for the group was a live sex show, which the less I say about the better. We stood up the back and drank beer and occasionally looked up and shook our heads at what was happening on stage. I'm not usually shocked by much, thanks to my line of work in Emergency, but this was something else entirely. Apparently these "couples" are here every night putting on the exact same show, with exactly the same moves. What a bizarre life...
More canals
More canals
  
We ended the night in a bar drinking more beer, somewhere in Amsterdam, celebrating Matt's mates birthday, long after we should have been home in bed. Of course there was Febo on the way home. It is amazing what you will eat when you are drunk, as just this morning I turned my nose up at a croquette, yet tonight I was knocking them back like they were 99% fat-free.
 
Apparently the Mayor of Amsterdam is on a personal mission to clean up the city's image of sex and drugs by closing down part of the Red Light District. This is obvious as you walk through as there are quite a few windows featuring dummies advertising various clothing brands where working girls once stood. It makes you wonder where all those bucks weekend you see cruising around town will end up if it all gets cleaned up. Big business though and one that you would wonder if the city can afford to lose.
 
Despite our best intentions for a cultural experience of the other side to The 'Damage, we always seem to end the visit with a blur of memories of stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning. We have had a great, but exhausting couple of days here. I think the best part for me was getting to understand a little more of the history of this place and explore some of the less well-touristed areas.
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