If the visit to the Rijksmuseum was the appetizer, the Van Gogh Museum was a delicious main course. It was perfect for an art connoisseur. This was our plan for the morning on Day 4. The last two days had been quite hectic, and a slightly lighter day seemed like a good idea. We had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel, the usual affair spiked by a glass of sparkling wine. The museum was about a 30-minute walk, so we decided to take a cab. We had already bought tickets with a particular entry time slot. Tickets usually sell out a day or two in advance, so advance buying is needed. We didn’t find much of a rush to get in, though.

The museum is a modern glass structure set up in the lawns of the Rijksmuseum and looks tiny in comparison. It is much smaller in size. Nonetheless, it houses a nearly priceless collection of the master artists’ paintings. These are presented in a series of beautifully curated galleries. There are lockers at the entrance for large bags, though my camera was allowed inside. I enjoyed clicking close-ups of some of the masterpieces with my mirrorless camera. I had carried a lens just for the purpose. The museum also gave us a free game to play. A small pamphlet with hints about paintings, where you had to find the specific painting they were referring to. The silly little game actually made the experience more enriching.

The museum starts with a gallery of his self-portraits. He made a real lot of them. Each tells a story of his moods, mindset, and varied skills. The galleries then covered different phases of his life. They told a wonderful story that starts with what inspired him and ends with who he inspired. The complexity of his relationship with his brother and how he dealt with his mental illness are really touching stories. These are wonderfully reflected in his paintings. His letters to his brother allow the museum to connect the paintings to what is going on in his mind. Pursuing that journey made it an incredible experience.

There are paintings from the time he was obsessed with still life. He had a phase where he was really interested in peasants and painted their daily life. There are also paintings of the view from the only window of his asylum. One interesting section included paintings by other artists who had included Van Gogh paintings as part of their own work. This was a mind-blowing experience to say the least.

A part of me never wanted that museum to end, but it did! The museum has a great collection of Van Gogh’s works, but one of his most famous paintings is displayed elsewhere. The Starry Night is in MOMA, NYC. There was a temporary exhibition of some large pieces of modern art, followed by the inevitable museum shop. It was quite an expensive shop, but we still went berserk shopping.

We met up with our friends after the museum. They were on a separate tour of the same museum. The rest of the day was slow. We took a tram back to our hotel, a very comfortable ride. We had lunch in the city and then walked around some more. We spent the afternoon at a cafe. We sipped some wine or coffee, and then walked around some more. We bought some random things. Later in the evening, we indulged in another walk around the red-light district. There obviously are not many pictures of that. It was fun, but the travel weariness caught up with us, and we called it a night by 11. Long before the night fully picks up in that part of Amsterdam.

Our last day in Amsterdam was supposed to include a visit to a few smaller museums in Amsterdam. We had also planned a day trip to Rotterdam in the afternoon. Rain gods had a slightly different idea. After finding nearly perfect weather for the first 5 days of the trip, we woke up to a rainy day. The breakfast was still as good, but it required some thinking and flexible planning.

Fabrique des Lumières was a fully indoor experience, but about a 20-minute cab ride away. While not unique to Amsterdam, it was a wonderful visual experience. They even had a version back in Delhi that featured Van Gogh and Rembrandt paintings. They had the same show in Amsterdam, but there were two other options. The timing of the one on Egyptian history worked the best for us, and so we made the trip.

The place is in the middle of a park. It was still a walk from where the cab dropped us. Fortunately, the rain stopped just in time. The venue is a large set of halls, with the themed projections all around you. Each space offered a different experience, and we were free to walk around and spend time anywhere. There were projections all around us, and it was truly a wonderful play of light. There were areas where you sit, walk around, or even lie down and enjoy the experience. A story is told, but it repeats. So, you don’t need to arrive right at the beginning. The visuals are more powerful than the story and they are stunning

Rain wasn’t as kind when our museum experience ended. It was not heavy but not light enough to walk around. We couldn’t find the restaurants in that park; the ones around us didn’t seem to be open. We managed to get a cab and head back to the vicinity of our hotel. The concierge recommended an Italian restaurant nearby for lunch, and we followed his directions. The food and the wine were fantastic.

By the time we finished, the rain had stopped. Yet, its intermittent nature wasn’t very encouraging for a train ride to Rotterdam. What if it was raining there too? We decided to walk around a shopping street I had discovered on my prior trip to Amsterdam. We bought some trinkets and stopped at a cafe for a glass of wine and a slice of chocolate cake. We walked some more and were quite tired by the time we got back to the hotel. We decided to eat at a nearby Persian place, and it was surprisingly delicious,

I had found out that an old friend of mine was in town for work—a beautiful coincidence. We met post-dinner for a quick drink in a wonderful bar just around the red-light area. What started as a quick drink turned into a long one. A wonderful conversation made it longer. Then, the pouring rain extended it even more. I got back and crashed.

We had a flight to Helsinki at 11 am, and there was a total train strike in the Netherlands. We booked an Uber. I had booked in advance to account for transport availability. However, I didn’t foresee the crazy traffic at the airport because of the train strike. There was a time I was worried about missing the flight. The cab driver smartly dropped us at a nearby hotel. From there, the airport was a 10 minute walk. This was much quicker than a longer drive in the jam. The airport experience was quite smooth with a fully automated check-in, including baggage. We we soon away to Helsinki where I was going to be running my first international half marathon.