Jon In England: Well I woke up this morning...

And I got myself a beer

The future's uncertain

And the end is always near.

¬The Doors

(Actually by the time I got to the Heineken experience it was the afternoon)

7/3/10

Hung out in the hotel way too long this morning. Starting to think I didn't travel with the the right people. Very nice guys and all but aren't as eager to seize what limited time we have hear in Amsterdam. Finally by 12:53 we arrive at the Van Gogh museum. On our way I try a Broodje Warme Beenham, some dutch hot ham with a honey mustard-like sauce (should have had a hot dog instead).

The Van Gogh Museum is modern, cool, crisp, and most importantly air conditioned. No pictures are allowed though. My tour of the museum begins with works by some of his early influences (Mauve especially). A-lot of works about peasants, and farm-life some of which are grey and/or unfinished. The museum itself is very crowded but it doesn't get to my spirit. Next I see a film on Van Gogh, where I learn just how crazy he was. After chopping off his ear he went to a mental asylum where he was forbidden to paint after he was caught eating paint and drinking turpentine. He then shot himself in the chest in the middle of a corn field and died two days later. Talk about emo.

By far my favorite painting was the self portrait that I've included below. I forget that I'm looking at it as he stares me in the face. Lost. Really an awesome museum but every room is so crowded. On my way up the stairs to the 2nd floor I ran into JC. We had travelled together from Brussels to Amsterdam but weren't staying together. Anyway I decided to jump ship and joined his crew in part because the people I had came with were ready to leave and I had two more floors I hadn't even seen yet. Frankly I think we'll be better travel companions in this city.

Interestingly there were only three photos ever taken of Van Gogh. This museum has only one. However, when I go to see it all you can see is the back of his head. How funny. The museum also had on display a collection of works from the Mesdag collection and some other works (a lot of symbolism) but far and beyond the best things here are the Van Goghs.

After Van Gogh it was onward to the Heineken experience.

Did you know that the first ship full of Heineken beer arrived in the US only three days after prohibition ended? Talk about perfect timing. Well the tour was full of all kinds of tidbits of that sort. By the time you made it to the brewing room it felt like you had entered Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Such magical music. But in general the tour was out of control. There were Clydesdales, constant movies playing everywhere, memorabilia, commercials, a ride where they brew you, a beer tasting/lesson, a disco of ads and rave music, you can star in a Heineken commercial, a game where you have to pour the perfect beer, taps with built in TVs...really a lot of fun.