How much does a person have to be fascinated by a certain place to dedicate his entire life to study it? Not to mention this certain place remained untouchable and unvisited for years until this person could finally get in? This is the story of Sjoerd de Vries, an eccentric, nice and cheerful Dutchman who I met by coincidence during my daily strolls in Amsterdam.
Nobody chooses to live on a boat by chance. It's not a random choice of housing. On the contrary. You might want to get married to your boat and also deal with expectations and frustrations, to have patience and focus. However, in the end of the day, these four houseboat owners guarantee me that the advantages are greater when comparing to a house on the land.
A few months before my first visit to Rotterdam (2015), an arquitectonic landmark in the city had just opened. It was MarktHalle. An exciting discovery especially due to its purpose: besides its impressive building housing two hundred apartments, it is also a vibrant food market. It is the largest covered market in Holland.
I guess everyone thinks about Brazil when it comes to Carnival. But after one goes to Holland – especially in the month of February (or March) when it takes place in Brazil, this concept might change. Many cities in Southern Holland celebrate Carnival and it is a very important holiday to celebrate! They take it very seriously!
After visiting Amsterdam for a few years and staying in Airbnb flats to be closer to locals and absorb their culture as much as possible, I began to explore different types of hotels. Partly because my previous work as a 20-year Public Relations required me to take every traveling opportunity to learn more about my area of interest.
After having visited Holland for a while, it has become unthinkable, for me, to go anywhere without a bike. In Rotterdam a bike was essential to tour important corners of the city – that weren’t close to each other – and a must-see experience that was crossing the important Erasmusbrug bridge by bike. It is a beautiful bridge that connects both sides of the city.
Rotterdam has one of the biggest ports in the world and this explains its dynamism and the flow of different cultures and immigrants. It is, indeed, where I most saw foreigners, – more than in Amsterdam – settling themselves, either because of work (expatriates) or nations that for one reason or another grasped the opportunity that a big city offers.
Despite being a small city, Maastricht has a good range of hotels. Especially those "boutique" ones, which are supposed to have less rooms, careful service, low profile approach towards guests. There is something charming about these hotels, some of them called Bed&Breakfast. Here is a concise list where I have already stayed in that I consider worth to explore.
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.