Bobby’s Gin in Rotterdam

“My grandfather was named Jacobus, which is a typical Dutch name, even though he was from the Maluku Islands. His generation had a lot of Dutch names, due to the colonies of the Netherlands in Indonesia. But my grandmother used to call him Bob or Bobby,” explains Sebastian, about the origins of his gin’s name,” says Sebastiaan van Bokkel, the maker of Bobby's Gin.

Art museums in the Netherlands

I think that the Netherlands does museums incredibly well. It’s fair to say that the country has several world-class art museums. Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Mauritshuis in The Hague all fall within that category.

A to Z of reasons to visit the Netherlands

Vincent van Gogh lived in Nuenen from 1883 to 1885, producing approximately a quarter of his works. It was a formative time in his development as an artist. Several of the scenes he depicted are still discernable. I found it remarkable to stand viewing buildings and landscapes knowing than Van Gogh painted at precisely the same spot.

Picasso on Paper at Rotterdam’s Kunsthal

“The interesting thing is that Picasso started working in this technique only at the age of, I think, 77. In 1958 he made his first linocut...even in his 70s he tried to do new things and experiment in new techniques,” pointed out Peter van der Coelen, the Curator Prints and Drawings at Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Celebrating Dutch Golden Age art

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, was born in Leiden during 1606, and recorded some of the most vibrant decades of what is now termed the Dutch Golden Age. He created his first works in the city of his birth — the location of the oldest university in the Netherlands — then moved to Amsterdam. He lived and worked in the capital of a flourishing maritime empire. The Rijksmuseum, which conveys the history of the Netherlands and displays artworks from the Dutch Golden Age and beyond, is also located in Amsterdam. The grand building was designed by Pierre Cuypers, who was also the architect of the Dutch capital’s central railway station. Bas relief figures adorn the façade of the Rijksmuseum, whose Gallery of Honour was built to give pride of place to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch.