| Netherlands |  |
| February 26 to March 03, 2002 |
On Tuesday, February 26, I travelled from Belgium on to the Netherlands and met up with my boyfriend Oli in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the weather was really bad (strong wind; actually more a storm than a wind), so we couldn't do this harbour cruise which I wanted to do so badly. However, sometimes there are things you cannot change, and you definitely can't change the weather. That's why we just strolled around the city center of Rotterdam, a very modern city that is easily comparable to American cities.
1 day in Rotterdam was definitely more than enough, so we travelled on to Amsterdam the next day. Many things have been written about Amsterdam, many stereotypes define the city: coffee shops, soft drugs, red light district and canals (the "Venice of the North"). Those stereotypes are definitely true but Amsterdam has much more to offer. Did you, for example, know that Amsterdam's population of 728,000 is a mix of 145 nationalities? That it is the capital of the Netherlands but not governmental residence? That Amsterdam is a city of art? - Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondrian, Escher, just to name a few.
Overall, Amsterdam is certainly an extraordinary city that doesn't come close to another city. A unique atmosphere prevails in Amsterdam, an atmosphere that is soaked (in the truest sense of the word *g*, just kidding ;-)) by all its visitors. I enjoyed this city a lot.
Moreover, I had a jolly good time during our "India Reunion" that took place on March 2 and 3. It felt good seeing all those people I (most of them) got to know during my time in India - around 20 former trainees from Delhi gathererd together in Amsterdam to spend some days together and to remember the good old times in India.
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| Amsterdam | |||
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