I was in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, for a three-month long stay there. On a Sunday, I went to the nearby village of Neunen. Being an admirer of Vincent van Gogh, I wanted to see the house he lived in when he was in Neunen and the house of his first, unrequited, love.
It is a small village and I thought that it would be easy to find the place. I walked around the totally deserted streets and saw no road signs pointing to the place I sought. I had assumed that there would be. I came across a statue of the man himself, walking with a satchel with art material on his back. Click!
Further down the road I came across a pub promisingly named after the very man I was after. Confident of getting the directions to Vincent’s place I walked into the pub and asked the lady cleaning the floor if she could direct me to the place van Gogh lived in. She had a blank look on her face. She did not even seem to know what I was talking about. She looked questioningly at the small bearded man sitting on a barstool, smoking, (he almost looked like a small version of Vincent himself!) who shook his head with certainty - he too did not know what I was talking about.
How could I go back, having come to Neunen, without seeing Vincent’s house?
There was a small coffee shop nearby. I had a coffee (and the free biscuit that comes with it in many Dutch coffee shops) and without much hope, asked the young lad manning the shop about Vincent’s house.
Yippee! He knew and gave me directions.
I could then see his (father’s) house, his lady love’s house, the church where his father preached, one of the churches that Vincent painted while in Neunen…..
Mission accomplished.
At the end of the long walk I came across an organisation connected with Vincent and a small museum run by it. I even learnt that they organise a tour of the village with Vincent as the theme – on weekdays! Alas I had no time to visit the place on a weekday. I am thankful for even that one visit.
It is a small village and I thought that it would be easy to find the place. I walked around the totally deserted streets and saw no road signs pointing to the place I sought. I had assumed that there would be. I came across a statue of the man himself, walking with a satchel with art material on his back. Click!
Further down the road I came across a pub promisingly named after the very man I was after. Confident of getting the directions to Vincent’s place I walked into the pub and asked the lady cleaning the floor if she could direct me to the place van Gogh lived in. She had a blank look on her face. She did not even seem to know what I was talking about. She looked questioningly at the small bearded man sitting on a barstool, smoking, (he almost looked like a small version of Vincent himself!) who shook his head with certainty - he too did not know what I was talking about.
How could I go back, having come to Neunen, without seeing Vincent’s house?
There was a small coffee shop nearby. I had a coffee (and the free biscuit that comes with it in many Dutch coffee shops) and without much hope, asked the young lad manning the shop about Vincent’s house.
Yippee! He knew and gave me directions.
I could then see his (father’s) house, his lady love’s house, the church where his father preached, one of the churches that Vincent painted while in Neunen…..
Mission accomplished.
At the end of the long walk I came across an organisation connected with Vincent and a small museum run by it. I even learnt that they organise a tour of the village with Vincent as the theme – on weekdays! Alas I had no time to visit the place on a weekday. I am thankful for even that one visit.
2 comments:
Let me tell you a story :
I was a huge fan of Ajay Jadeja in my early teens. Once I thought of going to Greater Kailash II (where he lived), all by myself. I reached his place, made sure to ask the guards around whether I reached the correct place or not. And I was so happy to see my one-time hero's house that day! :-)
And when I got his reply as an autographed photograph, I was even happier!
I miss the opportunities that my travels in Europe afforded me to see things that most Americans never get to.
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