Holland

I'm going to just lump all of Holland together because I'm pretty behind right now and I don't have much to talk about. I encountered my first bit of bad weather here, it rained a lot and was definitely the coldest weather I've experienced so far. Anyways, the cities I encountered in Holland are Delft, the Hague, and Amsterdam, although I don't really have anything to say about Delft since I didn't see much of it and there was nothing outstanding about it.

Amsterdam was much more tame than I thought it would be. For a country with perhaps the greatest amount of personal freedom for its inhabitants, people were pretty well behaved. Sure it has its eccentricities, but once you get past those, it's just like most large cities in the Netherlands. However, since about 90 percent of the people there are tourists, it has kind of a superficial feeling to it. Most of the attractions aren't really anything of substance, with the exception of the Anne Frank house which I visited, and that was kind of depressing.

The Hague, on the other hand, was an calm, sedate city. No one was rushing anywhere, everyone was just taking their time walking or biking to their destinations rather than taking the metro. The Hague also felt very modern, with very little classic architecture around and instead more stately buildings and townhouses that reminded me of Boston. This city is famous for its role in international mediation, and its Peace Palace is the forum for countries to have their disputes settled. The palace contains items donated by countries all over the world, from Japanese tapestries to Italian marble.

All in all, though, Holland is a pretty nice country and by far the most accepting of english speakers that I've found. The people there are also genuinely friendly. But it really provided the rest I'll need for the next few weeks. I start traveling long distances once again, starting with a jump to Paris.