Muesum Voorlinden is probably our favorite museum in the Netherlands. When we first went there, we couldn’t believe what we found or rather we didn’t expect to find much. It is literally in the middle of nowhere – somewhere in the Dutch countryside, in the middle of a beautiful park. It not only has interesting collections that they renew every couple of months but also a beautiful location and surroundings. Plus, it also helps that they have a great library and I am a sucker for those. That immediately gets my vote of confidence.

Their permanent collection is interesting and includes a tiny elevator door, a massive couple ready for the beach, a pool that is not really a pool. And there were some of the coolest art pieces that I have seen. Thousands of little men staring at you and waiting for you to lead (created by Anthony Gormley) is probably one of the most uncomfortable experiences that I had in the museum; it just makes you extremely self-conscious. Little mushrooms or colourful pumpkins by Yayoi Kusama will fill you with joy and makes you smile no matter what kind of day you are having. And the mountains by Tacita Dean that were so simple, so perfect that they were overwhelming in the best possible way. That’s the one where I shed a tear. It so perfectly captures the feeling of mountains that I have while using only two colors. So simple and so beautiful. As many things in life are.

When visiting Riga, we had a bit of extra time and ended up popping into the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design. I didn’t expect much or rather I didn’t know what to expect. I ended up discovering not one museum or rather not one building but few of them and a really interesting exhibition. They have a permanent one which focuses on the history of decorative art but while interesting, it’s definitely not the most exciting part.

The exciting part was the exhibition of Riga International Textile and Fiber Triennale QUA VADIS which covered a number of geopolitical challenges and had submissions from all over the world. Slightly boosting my ego, there were some great artworks from Lithuanian creators like rotten gas cans cross-stitched with blooming flowers. For some reason, that piece gave me hope that nature can survive. There was a great piece by Irmgard Hofer-Wolf called Tobi’s coat. That one for me was about layers that we have and layers that maybe once in a while we need to shed away. According to the artist, it was actually about the data and lack of privacy that we get with the Internet. I guess everyone finds their own meaning in art…

Not sure if one could call that a museum but it is a one quirky art gallery in the middle of Old Bazaar in Skopje. You will need to dig deep and really trust any of your preferred map apps to actually find but when you do… It is such an interesting space and location for an art gallery. Once upon a time, it was a hammam and now they are using those white walls and beautiful corners for art exhibitions. There is even a hidden room for you as well as remnants of the beautiful ceiling that it used to have. That building literally held a thousand years of history and now it’s holding art. When we visited it, they had Dimitrie Duratsovski‘s solo exhibition. Maybe it’s not entirely my kind of art but the colors and style were a very interesting contrast to the white, full-of-light walls of the gallery.

Kroller-Muller Museum is probably our favorite place in the Netherlands. It’s not one museum but kind of two plus a wonderful national park. It is an excellent place for a day out – you can bring your bikes or take out one of the free ones, ride around the park, have a little picnic if the weather allows, and then go and explore either statue park that is outdoors or go through a number of rooms to for paintings and few installations. Statue park allows you to play outside and kind of interact with the art. At the same time, they have a great selection of both modern and slightly older pieces; according to their website, they have the second largest Van Gogh collection in the world including Starry Night.

It is an interesting combination of nature and art; seriousness and playfulness. I absolutely love this place and I will continue to go there every year or so. If not for the art, then at least for the nature and picnics.

Many many moons ago, I lived in South Korea. Within half a year, you can explore quite a bit, including a bit of art and culture. Upon recommendation of a few Korean friends, I ended up going to Leeum Museum of Art. It was so impressive and overwhelming that 5 years later when I went back to Korea, I ended up going back to the museum as well. They have quite a big permanent collection that goes through the region’s history of arts – from beautiful vases to some impressive (and sometimes quirky) contemporary pieces. Once in a while, it is also sprinkled with Western creators but most of the focus is on Asian artists and their history. It has a really great collection in a nearly residential area. You can easily spend the whole day there. When I went there, I found history, a different perspective and a few creatures. For some reason, it felt like it had a slightly different and yet familiar perspective and feel. So, it ended up on my loved museums list.