The Midnight Rembrandt

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ghent, Belgium.

The one day of the week in Amsterdam that wasn’t pissing with cold rain happened to be my last. I spent hours in the Rijksmuseum coffee shop working and editing - the Wifi is faster than my hotel - and then took another quick stroll at the museum when they announced the museum is closing in 30 min.

Museum is best when closing. Everyone is walking out and for a brief second, you have Rembrandt all to yourself.

We then took a long walk along the canals. Amsterdam is much nicer when it’s dry. Most places are.

Then we hopped on a bus to Ghent. Stayed with a friend. Ate pho and unlimited ribs, and for Jung, more museums and art installations at Eindhoven with her childhood friend who lives in Amsterdam. Our chats at nights were mostly arts, films and theatre — a true palate
cleansing from Trump and Brexit.

It’s profoundly refreshing to be with friends who genuinely don’t give a __ how much you make a year or when you’re going to put a down payment for a house. These abstract subjects require a much larger imagination that can only be fueled by passion for life and beauty. You don’t need to be an expert in any craft to be a part of the conversation, you just need to care more about the human experience than materialism.

Paris and Brussels are no longer needed. How travel changes when you have a purpose. Replaced with more chats, more gin (and a Bourbon drink called Crimson Coat at Jigger’s), long walk over the river streets after midnight. There has to be a version of Christianity that doesn’t require anger and judgments to our fellow human beings. A love that’s sincere. When Jesus walked with the disciples at the break of dawn. There must be laughters there, too. And love, lots of love.