The Museums of Amsterdam

This post is part of our Friday Feeling series. A different take on life from someone at Dentally each week-ish (we're not all about Dental Software!). This week our Sales Lead, Nick, tells us about his recent trip to Amsterdam.

A couple of weeks ago I flew across to the Netherlands for a 4 day trip. This meant the opportunity to cram in as much as possible before returning back to Newcastle.

As a result, we booked an ambitious 4 museums to be visited in 4 days. As there is so many to pick from, and they each have their own entry fee which can be quite large, hopefully this will help make your choice if you find yourself trying establish how to best use your time there.

The museum’s we visited were for the following:

1. Micropia
2. Anne Frank House
3. The Heineken Experience
4. Van Gogh Museum

Micropia

Situated next to Amsterdam’s Zoo and Aquarium, Micropia’s purpose is to distribute information about microbes - often associated with illness and disease despite their essential function in the daily functioning of human life.

As a place dedicated to microbiology, the Museum is not the largest. It hosts a variety of live exhibits but was far from entry-level information, instead suiting someone more learned in microbiology than interested in it. My girlfriend who previously studied Zoology seemed to get more from it than me.

Time to visit: 60 mins
Price: Approx 14 Euro, or get tickets including the Zoo for 27.50
Rating: 3/5

Anne Frank Museum

This was very difficult to get tickets for. I would recommend that effort is made to buy tickets in advance to avoid the queues which can take hours to reach the museum. A ticket bought in advance is a sure-fire way to skip the queue completely.

Situated west of the City Centre, Anne Frank’s House was the cheapest by a long way, at approximately 8 Euro per person. It showed a fascinating personal aspect of World War II as you can see how Anne, her family members friends in hiding’s lives went on whilst avoiding the German-ran streets for years. There is no furniture left in the House, as father Otto Frank wanted it removed, however there is plenty of photos and information as you walk from room to room, including an original copy of Anne’s diary.

This was the best experience of the 4 and I would strongly recommend visiting. It can be very tricky to get tickets and on my 8th attempt I finally managed. The cheapest and most interesting visit.

Tine to visit: 80 minutes
Price: 8 Euro
Rating 5/5

The Heineken Experience

This was the most engaging and fun of the museums. Initially I was worried there wasn’t going to be much to see after seeing the hops, barley and finding out about Heineken’s secret yeast ingredient (the only other ingredient is water). However there was a tonne to see and do, including becoming a beer (being part of a simulator-type ride which brews and bottles you), how to pull a pint, and numerous games & photo opportunities.

Thanks to Heineken’s sponsorships you can also play a variety of computer games and find out their link with the sports and competitions they sponsor.

Time to visit: 2 hours + time for 2 free beers in the bar after
Price: 16 Euros
Rating 4/5

Van Gogh Museum

This museum is HUGE. Over 3 floors and full of Van Gogh’s artwork over the years. It was very interesting from an art-perspective and his art-work noticeably changed as his life became more turbulent. As this was the 4th museum in 4 day’s, tied in with numerous evening beers and walks around the city, we were exhausted by the end of here.

Whilst very interesting, my only criticism is that the museum is incredibly art-centric. I thought it would divulge more into Van Gogh’s very interesting and unique life, as well as feature a lot of his work. Instead the whole museum is dedicated to his art, with his life mentioned mainly in passing.

Time to visit: 3 hours
Price: 17 Euro
Rating 3/5

Hopefully this will help if you are intending to visit the fantastic city of Amsterdam, there is plenty to do which we didn’t have time for, and it was one of the favourite cities that I have visited. Maybe there will be a part 2 article in the near future!

Photo Credit.