I just got back from traveling through Europe and I have found Utopia: Holland! I’ve traveled in Europe before but had always avoided the tourist trap party scene in Amsterdam and had in a way written the whole country off. I WAS SO WRONG!
The Dutch are so friendly and almost everybody speaks impeccable English, making travel and making friends super easy. The national past time is sitting in “gezellig” (cozy) bars sipping brews with friends and watching the world pass by. There is nothing not to like about this place.
Although I loved the historic canals of Amsterdam I was quite impressed with Rotterdam. Witte de Witt Street is lined with cute shops, bars, and art galleries. Rotterdam is also home to several contemporary art museums that all show exciting new work.
I think I was most smitten with the bike culture there. Bike riding isn’t just for hippies, hipsters, and middle schoolers. Everybody rides their bike everywhere. Old, young, it doesn’t matter. It is common to see a family of three all piled on one bike or a young woman artfully holding an umbrella in one hand and cigarette in another peddling along. It is a pace of life you just don’t see in the U.S.