The night was still young and the museums were open late, so after the Tulip Museum, Eating Amsterdam tour, and Anne Frank Huis, I grabbed a taxi and headed across town to the Van Gogh Museum. It's very modern and fancy.

My ticket was eighteen euros and included an audio tour. I love audio tours.

The Van Gogh Museum is run by a foundation created by the ancestors of Vincent Van Gogh. Specifically, it was opened by Van Gogh's nephew, who was named after his uncle. When Van Gogh died, all of his unsold art was inherited by his brother Theo, who in turn, died six months later, and left it to his widow.

The audio tour elaborated on Van Gogh's close relationship with his brother Theo and the mental illness that ran in their family. The museum currently houses the largest collection of Van Gogh art in the world. Although the collection is big, it did not contain many pieces in the style that I've come to associate with Van Gogh. The collection seemed less vibrant and more subtle, than the pieces that I've seen in other museums or in touring exhibitions. The structure of the museum includes pieces from every phase of his career, so it is representative, but just maybe less flashy than the pieces that have made their way to America.

My take-away was the overall Van Gogh story, his relationship to Theo, and how that reflected in the art, rather than individual pieces. I was excited to see Bedroom in Arles and The Potato Eaters, in person. It's a rush to see the real deal, after studying the pieces in text books.

I enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum and left with a deeper appreciation for his life and art. However, I'm not sure that I would recommend including this in your itinerary, if your visit to Amsterdam is short or if you're not a huge Van Gogh fan.

After the Eating Amsterdam Jordaan Food Tour, I walked back over to the Anne Frank Huis, which had been too busy in the morning. I was told that the waits are often two-three hours long, but I got lucky, and only waited forty-five minutes. The sun was shining and they had free wifi for the queue.

Looking back on my pictures, I didn't take a single shot of the exterior of the house. Photograph is not allowed inside and really, even if it was, it would have felt disrespectful. Here is one more picture that I took of the queue.

The ticket price was nine euros and tickets can be purchased in advance. I highly recommend buying tickets in advance and skipping the queue. On their website, they mention a new ticketing system in which certain time slots will only be available to people who have pre-purchased tickets. The Anne Frank Huis is so popular, that you really should make a plan for visiting, rather than just showing up, like I did.

The tour is self-guided, a one direction walk through the house where eight people, ( the Frank family, the Van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer), hid for more than two years. The series of rooms where they lived, is accessible through an entrance hidden by a large bookcase. I'm not sure if there are other entrances that are handicap friendly, but the main tour includes narrow walkways and steep staircases. I was surprised that the rooms and the entire hidden area was actual quite large. I imagined them to be much smaller. I'm sure that the rooms felt confining to the people hiding, but I was amazed that they were able to conceal such a large portion of the house.

Viewing the Anne Frank Huis took about twenty minutes and it was a silent, solemn walk. I don't think a single person said a word and many were in tears. I can't imagine that anyone visiting the Anne Frank Huis would leave unaffected.

After walking through the house, there was a small, contemporary addition that houses a museum and learning center. It's in this area that Anne Frank's famous diary is on display. There was a quote about Anne Frank being the most famous resident of Amsterdam and I don't doubt it. I'm sure that most, if not all, American school children have read her diary. It was amazing to see the actual diary in person, which, like the house, was so different than I had imagined. It's quite large, with a red gingham print cover.

This last part of the museum goes into Anne Frank's legacy and shares many of her thoughts/quotes from the diary. Many of her thoughts are profound and wise beyond her years, leaving visitors to wonder about the adult she would have grown into, had she survived, and the grand scale of so many lives cut short. The thought of so much loss is overwhelming. The Anne Frank Huis is a must-do for anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Amsterdam- Van Gogh Museum

Amsterdam- Anne Frank Huis