Every European city, regardless of its size, and that is home to a large and recognized university, has a different pace of life and a lively dynamic in its surroundings that keeps it attractive, even though the majority of the inhabitants are elderly. Located in the extreme southeast of Holland, Maastricht was founded by the Romans and is the oldest city in the country.
Near the beach is Madurodam, a miniature town that appeals to adults and children and immaculately reproduces some of the most important or picturesque cities of Holland, as well as monuments, museums, factories and so on. This is a tour worthwhile for anyone.
It was love at first sight. It has a very peculiar charm, with a countryside feeling, but full of pomp like a big city. It is difficult to explain what delighted me the most in this city that may be considered one of the most important ones in Holland, together with Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Any city that is clearly growing has new restaurants opening one after the other. But what makes a restaurant cool can’t be just its food. It is the ambience, the service, the way the staff make their customers feel good, the décor. Here is my list of favorite restaurants, some are new, others, not so much.
The way the Dutch have been interacting with food is completely different from what it was four years ago. And way much better! I apologize to my Dutch friends, but the truth is their gastronomy used to be one of the less appealing in the world. Some food habits are hard to understand, but they justify this issue.
I have always been questioned about my obsessive love for the Netherlands, and I still find myself searching for the most different explanations for something that seems particularly obvious to me, but for many - if not most – believe that I'm just being eccentric.
If you are in Amsterdam or Utrecht, take a train in the morning and spend a day in Gouda. A few less than 24 hours is more than enough to visit this cute city, known for its famous Gouda cheese - loved and consumed by the entire Holland and abroad.
I will hardly insist on anyone visiting a museum. But when in Rotterdam, if I must suggest some of the most must-see places in one’s life is the Boijmans Van Beunigen. Its qualitites are countless. It has, altogether, works of art made by Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Magritte, Salvador Dalí and so on.