Holland

Holland is neat. Very neat.

This is the symbol for Amsterdam that you see all over the city.

I was able to tour around a lot of different places in the Netherlands and was so lucky to have a local tour guide. First stop, Amsterdam.

Notice how the buildings slant?
The reason is because the stairways are quite narrow and getting furniture or any other big object to the top floors was very difficult when the buildings were constructed. Therefore, they slanted them just a bit so the tops of the buildings were closer to the street then the bottom of the building.

Another reason is because they were built 300 years ago and on top of a dry canal that was below sea level. Making it a bit unsteady whenever flooding occurred.

  I forced him to take all the touristy photos with me, in spite of his embarrassment of being Dutch and looking a bit dumb.

Redlight district.

I didn't want to post too many photos of this part of the city, but I will say that it was VERY interesting and a cultural experience. Leavin it at that.

These are very typical Dutch croquetas. You split them in half the long way and spread them on bread.

Coffee, bikes, sunshine in the Netherlands.. I ask for nothing more.

The Anne Frank staute.

This was one of my favorite things to see in Amsterdam. 

Otto Frank (the father of Anne Frank) was the only one who made it back to his old home and hiding place after WW2 and found his daughters thoughts in the famous diary that was translated into the beautiful book. 

He then also turned the house they spent their time in hiding into an exhibit for people to walk through. It was very humbling to see how close of quarters these people were living in during their hiding from the Jews. It had quotes of her life on the walls and very sad passages about feeling alone and isolated as a young girl. If you ever have free time in Amsterdam, I would recommend it.