Holland

Holland was where I spent the weekend. I flew to Rotterdam and stayed in the Room Hostel there, had the dorm to myself so slept well.

Saturday was spent in Amsterdam, an hour by train from Rotterdam. The Saturday market was full of the usual trash, here I sampled the famous Frites with mayonnaise. I visited the Jewish History museum in an old Synagogue. There was a Jewish children museum that explored the day to day features of Jewish life as well as a large exhibition on Jew life in Amsterdam, worship and traditions. The Van Gogh museum had quite a few Van Gogh works but also has a number of works by artists that were his contemporaries.
Anne Frank's house was a must see, I found it moving seeing the space that they lived in and the video of her father discussing her death and reading her diary. I had a good wander along the canals which are very pretty and had a quick look the red light district. The red light district is a bit strange with women in the brothel windows and rather large groups of male tourists wandering about.




Rotterdam is quite different to Amsterdam it lacks tourists and old buildings (most of it was destroyed during the war). It does have a lot of interesting new architecture such as the cube houses. I took harbour cruise that explained the importance of shipping in Rotterdam.