Netherlands (a.k.a Holland) 荷兰的点点滴滴

I was at Holland 2006 winter and 2009 spring! It's a very lovely country and i wish to visit this country again with Big Dar. There are 12 things that always in my sweet memory when i think about Netherlands.

1. Tulip。 说起荷兰，肯定会想到荷兰的国花 - 郁金香。 2006 年冬天第一次到荷兰的首都阿姆斯特丹，和独特的郁金香擦身而过， 只是在花摊看到少量的郁金香和国际机场里卖的郁金香种子。




我的遗憾在2009 年的春天弥补。第二次踏上荷兰这国家，遇上了郁金香盛开的季节。 Keukenhof Garden ( 被公认为欧洲最美丽的花园）郁金香花海，颜色鲜艳夺目，每一朵郁金香都那么娇美动人。

2. Casino is an option. I found it interesting because i hardly see any Chinese (or Asian) on the street but when i was in the Holland Casino, surprisingly majority of the gamblers were Chinese!

一般上我们玩的扑克牌也叫荷兰牌， 其发源地是荷兰吗？我问了不少当地人，都还没有答案。

3. Coffee shop. Coffee shops in Amsterdam / Netherlands are not selling coffee, but a place to enjoy the legal drugs like cannabis (ganja).

4. Heineken is from in Holland too.

5. Red Light District and all sex related business i.e. sex shop, sex museum, sex show, sex services... ( too bad no photo allowed, please use your imagination). I spent one week in Amsterdam during my first visit and i was staying in this hotel - The Barbizon Palace. Not far away was the Red Light District where i watched my first live adult show!

除了毒品，妓女在荷兰也是合法化。在红灯区一带，许许多多的小小透明玻璃门，暗红色的霓灯下，身材姣好得摆着撩惹人的姿势。在寒冷的冬天，她们为了吸引顾客，穿的单薄性感，看了还有点辛酸。如果有兴趣，只要敲敲门，探头把价钱谈妥了，就可以直接经入屋内。只可惜，红灯区里不应许拍照，四周围站着高大威猛的“保镖”，我猜，每个地都有个幕后集团所操控的吧！我只能大开眼界，没有留下任何到此一游的证据。

6. Cheese

7. Herring - a raw small fish covered in raw chopped onions.

Check out the poster on the wall! This is the correct way of eating Herring - picking the fish up by its tails, open your mouth and bite!!!

8. Dutch food includes potatos, cabbages, meat dishes, apple jam, pears and ends with Dutch sweet - liquorice.

9. Windmill is the most elegent machine designed to convert the energy of the wind to rotate blades or sails for grinding grain, pumping water or even generating electricity.

A modern windmill known as the wind turbines.

10. Wooden shoes or clog as a safety shoes can withstand sharp obejcts, walking on ice and healthy for feet. It's also my beloved souvenir and as a prop in photos. This reminds me of Melaka, the state in Malaysia ruled by the Dutch from 1641 to 1795, after defeated the Portuguese. Until today, we can find the similar wooden shoes in Melaka.

11. Canal and the Dutch houses

12. Cycling in Amsterdam was a great experience although it took me a while to learn how to cycle the older model heavy bike.

荷兰的脚踏车数量比汽车多，空气清新，天气凉爽，大街小巷都设有脚踏车行道，骑脚踏车的确是一件十分愉快地事。