Modern Holland

From Amsterdam I caught a one hour train ride south to a newer styled Dutch city, Rotterdam. While Amsterdam was largely untouched by the Germans in WW2, Rotterdam was bombed to the ground. The result of this is that a lot of the buildings are newer, and hence Rotterdam has a lot of interesting architecture.

One of the main attractions in Rotterdam is the new Market Hall. Developed recently, this combination of apartments and street-style markets is quite impressive.

A short walk from here is the cube houses. Literally a bunch of cube homes that people live in...

The city is literally full of impressive buildings.

The sculpture below depicts a man screaming at the sky with a hole in his heart, a memorial to the WW2 bombings that took place here. Ironically, the podium that the statue is standing atop was actually built by the Nazi's as a pedestal for a statue to Hitler, but the war ended prior to it being used. 

The Waters of Amsterdam

Next stop from Hamburg was the stop on everyone's Eurotrip map, Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city. It gets its name from the fact that it is totally built on reclaimed land - the city was under water prior to its settlement in the late 12th century. The name is a clear reference to the dam on the river Amstel.

An interesting fact was that houses on the canals were taxed based on their front façade - the wider the front portion of the house, the more taxes the owners paid. As a result, the houses are tall and skinny for the most part, with only the ultra-wealthy building the bigger houses.

Another fun tidbit that stems from the skinny houses is how do people move furniture..? If you look closely at the picture above, you can see an overhanging beam from the tops of each house. Rope is hooked over this and furniture is hoisted up through the windows!

One of the highlights of my time in Amsterdam was a canal cruise I went on. Seeing the scenery from the distance of the river gives a different and stunning perspective.

I decided to go on a pub crawl while I was in Amsterdam - gotta check out the party scene in a town like this. I was thoroughly underwhelmed. It was probably just due to the fact that, like all of them, the pub crawl takes people to the most touristy areas where the locals avoid. Either that or everyone was just too stoned to really party, who knows?

A visit to Amsterdam wouldn't be complete without a visit to a world-renowned coffee shop. It's hard to turn a corner without coming across one. Walking in you are instantly greeted by the sweet smell of mary-jane. People are splayed out on couches, smoking bongs and rolling joints. Soft, soothing beats are playing. The service counter has a selection of tens of different strains detailing their genetic make-up and type and effects. 

From here, you purchase your wares, head upstairs and find a spot on the couch. Waitresses are around taking drink and food orders - being a coffee shop milkshakes, cakes, pastries and more are all available at your whim. It's not the worst way to spend an afternoon or two...