Day 3 - Van Gogh Museum and The Anne Frank House

I'm still dealing with a bit of jet lag but am getting more with it each day. Today was fantabulous! There are no words to really describe the experience of the Van Gogh Museum. Around every corner are treasures I've seen in pictures all my life. I was at this museum over thirty years ago. The venue has undergone a couple of major renovations since then. The works were much easier to see as we moved through the galleries - The Potato Eaters, The Pieta, Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles, Irises, Sunflowers, Crows in a Cornfield believed to be his last completed painting and so much more. Works I've never seen before we're wonderful surprises. The evolution of Vincent's work happened so quickly. It was fascinating to see how quickly he learned and adapted his new influences into his very unique style. The brushstrokes were so much more noticible in the original works and added to the sense of movement. Van Gogh's sister- in-law collected all of his works and made this museum happen. She saw what no one else seemed to see. Good for her - she left us a  legacy unequaled.

After our Van Gogh adventure, we headed over to the Anne Frank House. The line was not too long and the experience was so moving. I didn't expect to feel the way I did but the magnitude of Anne's experience is  overwhelming when you are in that space. What an amazing soul she was - so wise for someone so young! Being in the space where she and her family stayed for so long was surreal. Looking at the room she shared with her sister and looking at the pictures she pasted on the walls of movie stars from tabloid magazines showed how much she was like so many teenage girls. Her favorite thing was to go up in the attic in the morning to look at the trees and suns rays through the skylight. It is hard to imagine living like they did. The true meaning of friendship was demonstrated through the help they received from coworkers that would bring them food and provisions without thought to their own personal safety. After they were found, the museum showed the lists of the family as they were transferred to work camps. All in the family died but for the father - Otto. Anne died one month before the war was over. After her sister died and she did not know what happened to the other member's of her family, she really lost her will to live. Her father returned and chose to have the story told through the diary Anne had kept during the time of hiding.  It has been many years since I've read the diary and I purchased one there - where the story was written. I am starting to read it again. My thoughts still go to how can mankind be so cruel to one another! At the same time the resilience of the human spirit speaks through a young girl's words.

Tomorrow - Boogieing on down to The Stadelijk for a modern art adventure... And the Rijksmuseum once again!