Have you heard of Blogmas? And what about Art Blogmas? December is my favourite month of the year! I love everything about Christmas. From spending a lot of time with my friends and family, watching Christmas movies, decorating my house to trying out some new cookie recipes.
With the fairytale gabled houses, canals and a lovely Christmas tradition, Amsterdam is definitely one of my favourite towns to enjoy at during the holiday season. There are so many places to see and events to go to during that time of the year. Here is my short guide with 10 things you should do during the Christmas season in Amsterdam.
After the Netherlands and Belgium, my search for places linked to life and work of Van Gogh brought me to Paris next. Vincent lived there on several occasions. But, the most important one was between 1886 and 1888 when he decided to pursue his career as a painter and learn at the art centre of his time. There are many places related to him there, so here is my guide with some of the must-see locations linked to Vincent van Gogh in Paris.
Truth to be told, after eight months with no international travel, I feel some serious wanderlust. And I am aware there are bigger problems in the world right now, but I can’t help myself. I miss flying, strolling around the new city, visiting museums and falling in love with a new place. Living in Amsterdam made Paris only a three-hours-train-ride-away, and I’d visit it regularly. I called those trips my yearly pilgrimages to Paris. Since we can’t travel right now, I decided to recreate a bit of a French atmosphere in my home. And made a little guide on how to bring Paris to your home for a day.
After painting during the last five years in the Netherlands, Van Gogh moved to Antwerp in 1886. It wasn’t his first time in Belgium. He spent some time in Brussels a few years before. And have also lived for two years preaching among the coal miners in Borinage region between 1878 and 1880. I’ve spent a few days exploring those places, and have created this guide with locations related to life and work of Van Gogh in Belgium, to help you do the same.
Amsterdam is a fantastic city filled with some lovely museums, beautiful architecture, hundreds of bridges and canals… And numerous tourists. Many of them tend to go to the same, must-see-places in Amsterdam, and that’s why they are often very crowded. However, since I lived and worked in Amsterdam for seven years, I created here an alternative travel guide for you, with things to do in Amsterdam like a local.
If I would be writing a list of five best museums in the Netherlands, Kröller-Müller Museum would definitely have a place on it. Located in a beautiful Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo and being home to the second largest collection of Van Gogh’s work in the world, it’s a museum that shouldn’t be missed. Here is a short guide for visiting the Kröller-Müller Museum, with the best ways of travelling there and some other useful tips.
Although Vincent has spent a lot of time outside his home country, there are many places related to Van Gogh in the Netherlands. He was born there and has spent his childhood years in the south of the country. This is also where he lived during the first half of his painting career. The Netherlands is home to two museums with the most significant collections of his work, as well.
I have spent a weekend in Brabant exploring some places related to Van Gogh’s life during my project “Follow the footsteps of Van Gogh“. Here are some places I have visited, together with my recommendations for the best museums with Van Gogh’s paintings in the Netherlands.
Istria is famous for its Roman heritage, numerous charming little towns, truffles and delicious wines. However, the largest Croatian peninsula is also home to some fantastic medieval wall paintings. Frescoes in Istria have fascinating history, many different subjects and they can be found at the most unusual hidden places.
Exploring them feels like being on a memorable trip back to history. And all of that while taking the unbeaten paths, strolling through old cobbled streets and meeting locals living there.