Netherlands, is it worth our trip? How do we travel best in the Netherlands?
Bicycle ownership is the highest in the world: 15 million people own 17 million bicycles; The world's highest height: 184 cm for boys and 173 cm for girls; The world's first open attitude and system to toxic and sexual tolerance: the XXX emblem everywhere represents the fire, flood and Black Death that Amsterdam experienced centuries ago; NOW, XXX HAS A NEW MEANING, AND THEY STAND FOR: DRUGS, SEX AND PARKING PLACE;
Also: Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer; Rotterdam, the world's largest port; land reclamation; Philip Appliances; Heineken beer┄┄. The Dutch charm of the Netherlands is a list of the best of the Netherlands, and truly experiencing and feeling the charm of the Netherlands is about the way you travel.
The Dutch said, "God forgot Holland when He created the land, so the Dutch themselves created Holland." Amsterdam was originally a barren depression five meters below sea level, and the Dutch dug canals, reclaimed land, used 165 artificial canals to divide the city into more than 100 islands, and connected it by more than 1,200 bridges.
The Dutch not only created Amsterdam, but also made the city's neon a dazzling landscape with the most tolerant gesture – a paradise for dissidents, gay and alternative artists, where red light districts and soft drugs were legalized and orderly managed.
The sixteenth to seventeenth centuries were the golden age of Amsterdam. At that time, Amsterdam was the maritime center of Europe and even the world, and the canal was excavated during this period. The canals line from the centre of the old town to the periphery, namely the Gentlemen's Canal, the King's Canal and the Prinsengracht. Several fires in the fifteenth century almost burned out Amsterdam, which was dominated by wooden buildings, and the maritime age brought the city a rebirth, and merchants who became rich by commerce and maritime trade built brick mansions in the central city of the canal, and ornate gables lined up on the banks of the canal, with trapezoids, necks, bells, etc., making Amsterdam's unique streetscape. Drift atop the canal on a fully transparent observation boat and seem to plunge into a time tunnel with a bend.
The triangle from Amsterdam Street to the central square to the Neustmarkt is the Red Light District, which was originally the pier and also known as the "Sailor's Apartment". After months at sea, the sailors set foot on dry land, and the first thing they did was look for wine and women, and shops for both businesses were born on the docks. There are now more than 5,000 professional prostitutes in the Red Light District and adjacent limited neighborhoods. Although any marina in Europe has a red light district, it is known for its facilities and professional management, which is a symbol of Amsterdam's openness and alternativeness.
After 8 p.m., the crowds increase, and the neighborhood is crowded and lively. Bars in the Red Light District play rhythmic music that fills the river, and under the pink dim light, the three-o'clock window girl poses sultryly. Prices are clearly marked at the entrance of the show, exaggerated body sculptures and posters are enough to make passers-by look sideways, and people selling tickets at the door will even say "very wonderful" in Chinese.
Oudekerk Church in the middle of the Red Light District is the oldest church in Amsterdam and houses the Prostitutes' Penitential. Next to the church, there is a nondescript two-story building that houses a kindergarten for prostitutes with children. Next to the cathedral, there is also a "Prostitute Counseling Center" that provides information on measures to prevent AIDS and how to use condoms correctly. The programs about prostitutes in the Red Light District not only allowed tourists around the world to see "another view", but also marveled at the management ability of the Amsterdam government.
There is often a strange scent wafting through the alleys of Amsterdam, and that is the smell of marijuana. Marijuana (also known as weed) is not only legal but also very common in Amsterdam. Walking into any "café shop" and ordering marijuana is like ordering a cup of coffee at Starbark, and the detailed "cannabis menu" provided in the store is similar to Starbark's "Mocha with milk without sugar", and the glassware in the window facing the street is actually a marijuana smoking utensil. The tourist souvenir shop on the street has lighters in the shape of cannabis leaves, refrigerator tiles, paperweights, key rings, T-shirts, ashtrays, porcelain plates printed with cannabis patterns, etc., and a green hemp leaf has even become a symbol of Amsterdam.
There are more than 1,000 museums in the Netherlands in 40,000 square kilometers, the density is the highest in the world, Amsterdam alone has the best 42 museums in the world, among which the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Sex Museum are definitely not to be missed.
Amsterdam achieved Rembrandt's artistic pinnacle, and it was here that he fell from the top to the bottom and died. A dedicated room in the Rijksmuseum displays Rembrandt's monumental work The Night Watch. "Night Watch" expresses "tense and changing emotions and atmospheres" through "unprecedented light language", reflecting "the depth and pioneering spirit he has reached in exploring the expression of light language to reveal themes." Another of his masterpieces, The Jewish Bride, is displayed in the next room, and Van Gogh praised the rich colors in the dark parts of the painting: "Do you know that if I can sit in front of this painting for two weeks, even if I only eat hard bread, or live 10 years less, I will be happy?" There are also top works by Dutch artists such as Vermeer's masterpiece "The Maid with the Jug".
Perhaps it was the rainy weather in the Netherlands that led to Van Gogh's passion for color. The Van Gogh Museum, opposite the Rijksmuseum, was built in 1973 and houses works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Manet and other works, including more than 200 works by Van Gogh. Self-portraits in straw hats, potatoes eaters and a pair of boots are all on display on the 2nd floor, with the most famous being a flock of pigeons and sunflowers. Every year on March 30, the Van Gogh Museum hosts a Van Gogh birthday party, in addition to free admission, cake drinks are given to visitors.
Van Gogh is everywhere in Amsterdam: Van Gogh's masterpiece can be admired from supermarket shelves, hotel bars, and even the walls of parking lots. As for the Complete Works of Van Gogh, it is as popular as the yellow pages on the phone - like the resurrection of Jesus, the people who sent Van Gogh to the insane asylum finally found that God lived next door.