Spent there only a few days, significantly less than on the other side of the border but it was a great first impression enough that we surely must return to there as well.
Started the trip at Kinderdijk - not far from our accommodation - where you can see 19 windmills, practically from each kind of it. (There are quite some and depending on the actual use, the size and look varies.)
The Delta-project: after the big flood of 1953 they decided to protect the country with a huge system of dams and floodgates.
Continued to Hague (Haag) the next day, where the weather wasn't that gracious with us - at least it wasn't rainy.
The Royal Palace of Hague
International Court of Justice
Once in Netherlands, don't miss to try the 'Haring' - the seagull on lower left is waiting for a dumb tourist (like me :-)) who's willing to share his haring. The wait has paid off...
Since time was short and the country is big enough, decided to spend next day in the 'Openluchtsmuseum' of Arnhem: it's a skansen where you can see all the usual historical dutch houses and practices from the past.
Some of the houses are inhabited: this lady is just creating the lunch for the family!
If tired of walk, you can go around on old trams too...
...buy cheese after watching how its being made in the old cheese-factory...
...or buy some beer from the modern brewery right next to the historical old one displaying the old era of beer making.
They brew their own beer (lager or stout) which you can buy in modern or old-school bottles (lower right).
There are small lovely towns to see too - Delft:
Gouda, the home of the famous (and delicious) cheese:
The house of scale in Gouda - now it is a cheese-museum.
...and Zierikzee:
An unfinished 'project' from the past
Modern heritage of the windmills
Amsterdam is quite far in the north from where we were staying, so didn't plan to visit. But than we did something unusual: changed the plan on the run - planned our one-day visit the day (and night) before. Luckily I remembered of a post where the blogger had only a few hours before a plane to catch and she spent it rather in the city than at the airport terminal - it was very useful for a start, thanks for her!
Cheese store
Yes, weed got a museum in Amsterdam - though this tends to be not the main attraction anymore, still many people associates the city with smoke and the red lamp district.
The floral market - you can get any type of tulip bulbs in here - so as 'starter kits' for homegrown cannabis.
The theater Tuschinski looks interesting on the outside...
..but the real deal is inside - breathtaking interior, isn't it?
Another stop was on our one day tour is the Rijksmuseum
Is it possible that drugs were in use over there in the age of creating that cannon too? :-)
Yes, the famous 'Night patrol', though honestly I liked another Rembrandt picture more...
..this one, can be seen in the same room - the colors, the scene - all looks better to me.
(It's a bit of funny too: the guy in yellow top with gun looks like 'looking into the camera' like a bad actor, before shooting in the action scene :-))
(It's a bit of funny too: the guy in yellow top with gun looks like 'looking into the camera' like a bad actor, before shooting in the action scene :-))
Not an average dollhouse - very detailed and precise.
In a city full of canals, its an obvious way to deliver parcels via boats just like the merchants did for goods.
You can see seven different type of typical houses next to each other in this street - nice demonstration of different architectural styles.
Could it be slimmer? Looks like the narrowest house in Amsterdam.
This is the only one in the city with curved front.
Of course there are other meals you can try when in the Netherlands, we tried the 'Delta plate' in a small restaurant. The place was combined with a fish market - shared in same building - so the content of the plate varies on what the fishermen got that day. Couldn't be more fresh!
Imagine what if I was like fish :-)
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