Van Gogh, Kröller-Müller & Arnhem (postponed)

Overview

THIS TRIP IS NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.
ALL TRIPS ARE POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

The worlds largest Van Gogh collection can of course be found in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. But did you know that also the second largest Van Gogh collection has not left Vincent’s home country The Netherlands? Over 270 works are now on display in the famous Kröller-Müller Museum in the East of the country, close to the city of Arnhem. Expat Club organised various Van Gogh trips before, to Amsterdam, to North Brabant where he grew up and became a Master Painter, and to Auvers-sur-Oise where he died. This museum takes in a special place in Van Gogh’s story, because without the family Kröller-Müller his works may not have become as famous as they are today. Today we enjoy a sumptuous lunch before visiting the museum with a professional guide and and exploring Holland’s largest National Park, the Hoge Veluwe. We end our day in Arnhem, one of the country’s nicest cities.

Pictures

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - The Potato Eaters

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Peasants planting potatoes

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital with Figure

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Garden of the Hospital Saint-Paul

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Evening landscape at moonrise

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle

Les Alpilles, mountain-landscape at Saint-Rémy

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum -

Autumn_landscape with four trees

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum -

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - A Meadow in the Mountains

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - Autumn landscape with four trees

Van Gogh in Kröller-Müller Museum - The Sower

© Kröller-Müller Museum - Marjon Gemmeke

© Kröller-Müller Museum / Pictoright / Cary Markerink

© Kröller-Müller Museum / Wieneke Hofland

© Kröller-Müller Museum / Pictoright / Cary Markerink

The Rietveld Pavillon | © Kröller-Müller Museum / Marjon Gemmeke

Portrait of the Postman

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

The Van Gogh Gallery in the Kröller-Müller Museum | © Marjon Gemmeke

Program

As with any Expat Club trip our schedule is carefully designed so we can optimally see all destinations. Still, unforeseen circumstances, such as traffic jams, may influence our program. This rarely happens, but rest assured your host, our guide, the bus driver and the various destinations in Holland will do their best to give you the best possible experience.

08h30 – Departure Place Schuman
11h45 – Arrival Van Der Valk Arnhem & brunch
13h00 – End brunch & Departure to the National Park
13h30 – Arrival Kröller-Müller Museum
14h00 – Start guided tour
15h30 – End guided and free time until 17h00
16h15 – Suggested starting time Visitor Centre National Park
17h00 – Closure museum and visitor center & start scenic drive
17h20 – Short stop at St Hubertus house (only outside)
17h40 – Continuation scenic drive & exit park
21h00 – Return to Brussels

Hoge Veluwe

The Kröller-Müller museum lies in the middle of the National Park “De Hoge Veluwe”. The park itself is worth a visit on its own, and we’ll certainly make stop at the visitors center and drive around a bit. It’s not our main destination for today, but since we’re there anyway for the museum we might as well enjoy some of this beautiful nature. Maybe we’ll even see some of the beautiful animals living here. Note, to get to the museum, we must get into the park (and pay entrance fees as well).

Visitor centre & Hubertus Sint Hunting House
After the guided tour in the Kröller-Müller museum you are free to visit the rest of the collection yourself, visit the cafetaria, or to walk a few minutes towards the Visitors Centre of the National Park. Spending 30-45 minutes here is enough, but it gives you some good information about the place where you are.

In the late afternoon we get back in the bus and make a tour through the park. We stop for a few minutes at a beautiful building that was designed by the famous Dutch Berlage architect who also designed the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam (the former stock-exchange).

Kröller-Müller

The Kröller-Müller Museum is a true gem in the middle of the country’s largest forest area. It boasts an enormous collection of paintings, including works of James Ensor, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Georges Braque. Outside an enormous garden of sculptures adds to the experience of this phenomenal art center.

But the Kröller-Müller museum is especially known for the world’s second largest Van Gogh collection, which includes almost 90 paintings and over 180 drawings and sketches. The most famous ones are a version of The Potato Eaters, Sorrowing Old Man and Cafe Terrace at Night. Just enjoy some of these amazing works for a moment.

The nice thing about this museum’s Van Gogh collection is that it gives a good overview of his work over his career, from the sketches and drawings, to his earlier darker works to his later and more colourful pieces. To fully understand what we are looking at, and to shed light on his development as an artist, we have hired two professional guides from the museum for the occasion. During 1,5 hours they will show us around the Van Gogh collection, but they will also introduce us to the works in the rest of the museum and the amazing sculptures garden. Afterwards you will still have some time to walk around on your own, visit the gift shop or enjoy a late afternoon tea and snack in the museum cafetaria.

Lunch

We will have lunch/brunch at the Van der Valk hotel close to the entrance of the National Park De Hoge Veluwe. This is a famous Dutch chain, known for its nice unlimited lunch buffets. Your humble Expat Club founder (from Holland) loves these buffets. It includes:

• Soup of the day
• Various types of breads and bread rolls
• A selection of cheeses, cold cuts and jams
• A choice of 4 changing warm dishes (e.g. Dutch croquettes, chicken satay, salmon, one vegetarian dish)
• Salads, greens and fruits
• Yogurts, granola
• Orange juice, milk, buttermilk, coffee and tea

Please note that brunch is included already in the trip fees. In principle it is not possible to skip lunch. There is nothing to do in the surroundings of this hotel, and we really need to recharge our batteries anyway after a long drive, so you might as well join in. Besides it is a great way to get to know some people.

Transportation

We depart from Place Schuman (next to the KBC bank) by 4* luxury coach. It has comfortable reclining chairs, air-conditioning, a DVD system with 3 screens and an on-board toilet.

Main picture: by Gouwenaar (own work), via Wikimedia Commons