Saturday, May 11, 2013

Netherlands or Holland? or Both?


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Holland) – Whenever you tell people that you plan to make a trip to Amsterdam, you are met with a chuckle and a suggestive smirk. After all, it is home to the Red Light District and the ganja-crazed. Yet after a weekend trip, Juston and I discovered there is a lot more to the city than just that.  Between old churches, quaint houses, and peaceful canals, Amsterdam is a rather pretty city filled with culture and vitality. SPOILER ALERT: we did not partake in any recreational drug use. Like cool kids, we are above the influence.



Long before the advent of prostitute unions and drug tourism, Amsterdam was a refuge for Protestants and Jews fleeing Belgium in the 16th century.  It is also where Anne Frank and her family, along with four others, lived in a “secret annex” above the warehouse of her father’s company. Since it’s publication, the diary Anne kept during her stay in the annex has become one of the world’s most-read books.


In addition to Amsterdam, we traveled to nearby Keukenhof for the annual Tulip Festival.



As a whole, the Netherlands (from what we have seen of it) has a unique and folksy, earnest charm about it.  Only four hours from our house in Celle, we are definitely happy we made the weekend trip.


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