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.
The Dutch pragmatism is something easily associated with creativity, I believe, in most of the times. Their culture preserves simple habits that always find ways to achieve a low-key lifestyle, full of joy and social/work opportunities. I carefully selected three places that follow this philosophy and present themselves much more than a restaurant-bar.
The first time I went to Artis was wintertime. Dry leaves, empty, rainy, a bit sad, and the restaurant was closed. But the flamingos lining around a lake warmed my soul and it was exactly what I needed on that cold Sunday afternoon. Flamingos: I never thought I was going to find these animals so gracious in person.
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One of the most interesting ways to get to know the local food is visiting food markets and street fairs: a tip that would seem obvious, if it was not for the conceptual change that these types of food centers have been going through.