Triangle. Amsterdam.

My final stop of staying in the Netherlands, the third point of the geography triangle, the jewel of lowlands is Amsterdam.

What do we know about Amsterdam? Red light district, smells weed everywhere and Heineken. But did you know that Amsterdam is built on over 11 million wooden poles, its canals stretch longer than Venice’s and the city has more bikes than people? 

Amsterdam’s canals are iconic, with picturesque bridges, houseboats, and historic buildings lining the water. Over 100 kilometers of waterways are crisscrossing the city. There are 165 canals and 1200 bridges!

Many streets in Amsterdam date back centuries, with narrow, winding paths and charming, old buildings. And of course, most streets are designed with bike lanes, allowing cyclists to glide through the city.

But all mentioned above is not important for me at the moment. Because I am rushing to the museum of Van Gogh, where I have ordered an excursion with a tour guide.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the world’s largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s artworks. It features over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and hundreds of personal letters. 

The top masterpieces for me are The Potato Eaters (one of his earliest major works), Sunflowers, The Bedroom and Almond Blossom.

The tour guide was boring, and instead of declared 2 hours it was lasting only 45 minutes. Maybe next time I would take an audio-guide.

By the end of the excursion the hotel room is ready to check-in. At this time there is nothing special about my room, because I really wanted to have the one with the canal view, but it would be too much expensive for me.

I continue walking around the city centre and cannot stop admiring. Amsterdam’s architecture is full of unique and clever details. For example, many of the old canal houses lean slightly forward - not because they’re falling over, but to make it easier to pull goods up with a hook and pulley system. Many old houses have hooks at the top - these are still used today to move furniture through windows, since staircases inside are often too narrow. Another interesting fact is that many buildings are tall and narrow here because people in the past used to be taxed on how wide their homes were.

If one night in Rotterdam or the Hague can be enough, I would not say this about Amsterdam. So, I want to return to this city one more time and to spend at least 3 nights, but not during a weekend, because it would cost me a fortune.

Nevertheless, I am happy to finish my current trip and come back to Prague. By the way, the flight is very short - it is only 1 hour and 30 minutes, and the city is very accessible by train from the airport. Why did not I travel to the Netherlands before?

And just not to forget, here is the wish list for my next staying in Amsterdam:

• visit the Rijksmuseum;
• see the floating flower market;
• take a boat tour on the canals;
• try many variations of Dutch cheese from a market;
• relax in Vondelpark.

See you soon, Amsterdam!

Paris, Musee d'Orsay

There are three main events for today: walking with a local guide, visiting an art gallery and some food experience.

As a real French man I eat baguette for my breakfast and run to my walking excursion, which turned out to be the boring one. At least, I have some  photos of me in different locations in Paris.

In the afternoon I have the ticket to the Musee d'Orsay, the must-visit destination for art enthusiasts seeking to explore the rich heritage of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces. I am really in love with this period of art history, so I could not miss the opportunity to experience it. It is better to buy the ticket to the gallery in advance, for the specific date and time, otherwise it can be sold out at the day of your visit to Paris.

The museum is situated in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station constructed for the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). It is centrally located on the Left Bank of the Seine River.

A prominent feature of the museum is its clock, emphasizing the building's origin as a railway station. This clock is a visual focal point, and its design reflects the architectural aesthetics of the Beaux-Arts style.

So, the museum is celebrated for its outstanding collection of Impressionist masterpieces by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh. Iconic paintings like "Luncheon on the Grass" by Edouard Manet and "Starry Night Over the Rhone" by Van Gogh are among the highlights. 

But personally, I love all the paintings of genius Vincent van Gogh. However, the main collection of the master is placed in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which I was lucky to visit several years ago.

Very happy and inspired I am leaving the museum and heading to the final experience for today. We are going to talk about wine and accompanying food with the local sommelier. It must be fun...

A bit tipsy I returned to the hotel with the desire to continue drink more French wine and eating more French cheese, because now I feel that I can really understand the taste, aroma, flavor, body, acidity, tannins, terroir, harmony etc. Or maybe I will open a wine school in Prague when coming back... But it will be another story of my life.

Spb, Modern Art

There were morning strolling, breakfast at the hotel, afternoon walking under the rain, etc. For the evening I have a plan to visit the temporary exhibition of the modern art.

Late in the afternoon I arrive to the Sevkabel Port, which is a popular art space and a business center now. It is located in the port at the harbor of Vasilevskiy Island. Historically, Sevkabel was a cable manufacturing company, established in 1879 by the Saint Petersburg subsidiary of the German company Siemens & Halske. But since 2016 it has started renovation of the old facilities and historic buildings and turning them into a modern multifunctional creative space at the waterfront. And presently they have this place, where can be found various corners, including cafes, bars, studious, showrooms, sites and a food court. Moreover, Sevkabel often hosts some festivals and events, which usually attract young thinking people.

Currently, in the walls of the Sevkabel the exhibition of Andy Warhol's works is holding. It is displayed 100 works of the author, who is one of the founders of pop art. Actually, the intention of exposition is to demonstrate how the American icon of pop art influenced famous Russian artists of several generations. So, there are also presented the works of such important Russian artists as Alexander Melamid, Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe and Pavel Pepershtein. However, I was interested only in the creations by Andy.

As a conclusion I must say that it has been a nice trip to Saint Petersburg with good impressions about city architecture, walks, galleries, restaurants and people I have met on my way. Very soon I will come here again. I want to believe so.