The Netherlands is a flourishing country!
I have been in the Netherlands since 28.04. 2010 to 12.05. 2010.
Stayed with a friend. Looked at a lot
Loved the country! Especially during this period! Bright, blooming, international, friendly, beautiful, loud, clean, green, active - all this is about the Netherlands.
The first country, visiting which I thought "I would like to live here. "
Yes, flowering is impressive, they are all gardeners there - everyone has an example of landscape design near the house, and it doesn’t matter if it’s their own house or an apartment building - there is always a flower bed in front of the house with various flowers and plants, and moreover, there are no the same type
The architecture is fabulous, the canals add to the feeling of being in a fairy tale.
People are very friendly, but you need to know English. Everyone speaks English (this is the policy of the country - even films on TV in English with Dutch subtitles).
It is very comfortable - the infrastructure is well-established, there is always some kind of information service, it is absolutely clear how to pay and use transport, the city of Amsterdam is absolutely convenient - it is impossible to get lost.
For 2 weeks of my stay, I attended the celebration of the Queen's Day, visited the museums of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, the Hermitage, Madame Tussauds, the Nemo Research Center, VOC-ship is also a museum on a ship (complete and accurate restoration of a small ship), in zoo, botanical garden, sex museum, red-light district, flower market, brewery, central park, saw the city on a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam, at the flower exchange in Almere "Flora Holand", in Maturodam (this is Holland in miniature). In addition, of course, I was in Keukenhof. In addition, I spent 1 day on a tour of Holland, which included Delft, Rotterdam and The Hague, and for 1 day I went to Belgium (Brussels and Antwerp).
Most of all I liked Keukenhof. It is 50 km from Amsterdam. There are 32 hectares of tulips. The season is open from March 15 to May 15 every year. At this time I would live there in a tent. I have never seen such beauty before! You can look at the photos and make sure, but of course it is better that every person (especially a woman) visits there at least once in their life. Well, if men are thinking what kind of tour to give to their beloved, then do not hesitate - give Keukenhof - it's heaven on earth
I don’t really like museums, I went around them all because of the rainy weather, mostly, but I don’t regret it.
I was happy for the Dutch children - they have Nemo - how great various information is presented to children there - the basics of astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, the whole floor is devoted to the problems of teenagers! And so everything is not ordinary, not bookish, and so you want to know everything, touch, look, understand.
I realized that I like the work of Van Gogh more than Rembrand and found out that both of them are Dutch artists
A surprise awaited me at Madame Tussauds - from the beginning there was a room of fear and it was really scary when the figure suddenly came to life and began to grab my legs. Then I was scared for some more time and I was even afraid that Timberlake or Madonna would also come to life
The Queen's Day was not particularly impressive - in Kyiv, such parties are often on the Maidan - everything is the same - everyone screams, sings, drinks beer, only in the Netherlands everyone is in orange. This is because the queen's maiden name is consonant with the word "orange" But what impressed me - toilets for men - of course you can't see the "farm" but it's quite clear what the man is doing there although of course yes, it's better than under the fence , but somehow I'm still "not in Europe" - I was shocked by the sight of 4 men doing it at the same time
The botanical garden is so-so - it cannot be compared with the Kyiv one, one thing that was interesting - a greenhouse in which butterflies are bred - they fly there, there are a lot of them, they are beautiful, you can take pictures
I have been to the flower market several times - it is sooo beautiful there, I bought a lot of things, I also understood the passion for gardening and floriculture from Kyiv women - there is a lot of Russian speech there and the seller immediately told me that I am from Kyiv
In the museum of sex, it’s especially cool with what smart faces men look at pornographic pictures, as if they are studying insects, but in general it’s fun - I liked it, I recommend going; )
There were red lights on the street (more precisely, this is a quarter), you can’t take pictures there. But the prostitutes are mostly beautiful, there was one very fat one, but everyone has their own tastes
I was very impressed by Flora Holand in Almere - what a level!
At 6 am, a deal is already made, on the same day or the next, the flowers go to stores in various parts of the world.
Delft is famous for its ceramics and porcelain - so blue and white, although there are also multi-colored ones. Beautiful, but very expensive - for example, a large and small plate will cost 90 euros
It is very good in The Hague, somehow calmly, and it seemed to me that there were fewer blacks.
I was surprised that there are beaches near The Hague. It's not the season yet, but when the season is full there, people swim, sunbathe, everything is very well equipped for a beach holiday.
Rotterdam was easy to pass. It seemed to me that in this city, compared to Amsterdam, there is more modern architecture, many new buildings, including high-rise ones. In Amsterdam, somehow everything is old and not high
Maturodam is the Netherlands in miniature. Now in the world, as I understand it, this is popular - in my native Kyiv there is “Kyiv in miniature”, in Israel I saw “Mini Israel”.
I like such exhibitions - you can look at the buildings from a height, from different sides, because you would never see them.
Separately, it is worth writing about Belgium. Compared to the Netherlands, Belgium loses. Somehow Antwerp and Brussels are too crammed with buildings, claustrophobia can develop Although the architecture is beautiful. And the chocolate is delicious, but expensive. They explained to us that in Belgium itself there is almost no production of its own chocolate - production in other countries, so in those countries it can be bought cheaper But I bought it in Belgium, of course - very tasty. And Belgian waffles - so simply invented, but please, a worthy national treat. Also, I didn’t know that the offices of NATO and the EU, which in Belgium (in Brussels) turn out to be not one building, but a whole block!
But in the Netherlands, I would say that there is no cuisine at all. They say something about potatoes with mayonnaise and herring, but I did not find this.
In addition, there are only snack bars and eateries everywhere - American, Argentinean, Chinese, Italian cuisine, shawarma, etc. There is no Ukrainian one - I need to open something, otherwise I missed it what is sold in Ukraine. Well, in the brewery live beer - yes! I immediately remembered the Czech Republic on this occasion
Summing up: The Netherlands is a country in which I want to live all my life or part of it, because it is kind, friendly, comfortable, beautiful, international, blooming and my favorite flowers grow there in abundance
Photos from the trip here: http://picasaweb. google. com. ua/103635355379233483525/Netherlands1dayInBelgium#
