Hooray Vienna

During the free time in the Netherlands this weekend I realized that there is more than meets the eye about Amsterdam. The connotations of Amsterdam are always that of the red light district (prostitutes, marijuana, etc.) but little to my knowledge there was a ton of culture. Besides the small couple blocks of the red light district, the city is flowing in culture. The Anne Frank house was a great exhibit with great quotes extracted straight out of her diary. The power of being in the house where they actually hid was sobering and thought provoking. It always brings up the same questions in my mind, would I be one of the people who hid the Jews to the end or would I turn them in. Of course everyone says they would be the second choice, it would be interesting to truly see how people would act in that situation. At the end of the exhibit there was an interactive poll with similar ethical dilemmas in our time. This was fun to see how people actually thought on specific issues such as gay marriage, religious freedom, and freedom of press.
The other exhibit that I saw in Amsterdam was the Van Gogh collection. I tried extra hard to appreciate the art this time. Reading every piece of information on his life was beneficial to understand how he is painting certain pieces and how they can be interpreted. Personally, my favorite time period of the Van Gogh collection was during 1885 when he just started painting. He takes interest in the same people that thrill me in literature, the peasants. The way he paints the faces with remorse and sorrow is comparable to a lot of the characters described by my favorite short story writer Anton Chekov. This made the entire exhibit more beautiful to me because of his paintings putting a face on the people that I often imagine.
The whole trip was not just one big nerd fest; the final event of our Saturday was hitting up the Heineken Museum and experiencing the magic of beer brewing. It was a grown up theme park, and the theme was delicious beer. The entire processing of choosing the best ingredients possible is noticeable in the crisp, clear bite so familiar to followers of the Heineken. There was an interactive ride that would show you on a screen how it feels to be a beer made in the factory. The thing that took me by surprise was the way the beer is heated and allowed to cool so many times. Free beer at the end of the tour was the cherry on top of a great day.
I am looking forward to get back into the swing of things again by learning more about the relationship between man and the human body. The sights and sounds so far have been insanely great and worth every penny.