The magical city of Amsterdam (735,000 inhabitants) combines its extensive canals and many bridges with the original architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries concentrated in a small area. It is an open and tolerant city, combines a strong culture and great entertainment, whether inside a coffee shop or in the great park, the Vondelpark. Instead Rotterdam is a city of modern architecture. Blocks of glass and steel buildings are rising in the sky, and most of the architecture of the early twentieth century and which survived the Second World War has been preserved or restored. One of the biggest ports in the world and the industrial heart of Holland. Over one million people from 162 countries live in the Rotterdam region.

The works of famous artists like Rembrandt and Van Gogh can be seen in the two most famous museums of the city: The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Less known, but with works of great artistic value is the Stedelijk Museum with paintings by Cezanne, Monet, Picasso, Chagall and others. Do not forget that there is the Heineken museum (with that name already know what will), the Anne Frank House and an erotic museum. The markets are very typical, a few days of the week are installed on their streets. They are colorful, original, there are good prices and great variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, flowers, antiques, new clothes and second hand, pictures, books … A party where no shortage of musicians and artists. Here everything is close and is common to see local princesses travel by bicycle. In general, Holland is a country with people of simple habits. I recommend you enjoy a long walk by browsing through the channels and discover the magical secrets of the city that made water a precious resource. But now to the really typical of Amsterdam (and I do not mean to tulips or windmills). Anyone over 18 can buy up to 5 grams of marijuana or hashish on the premises called COFFEE SHOPS that are under the legal and tax control of the Netherlands government. Drugs called «hard» are prohibited and penalized heavily on those who traffic. That it went out, caution with the bikes and trams, may attack from both sides (and no longer say with «dragons», if you’ve been in the «coffee» …).

There are few areas where prostitution is carried on in any city in the world, who have completed becoming a resort. This is just what has happened to the red light district (red light district, in English). The most common of these sites is that between the lack of security and unsavory characters that eventually become frequented unsavory places and almost always try to avoid. Not so in Amsterdam, probably because it is a neighborhood full of history that has always been attached to the sex trade and should also acknowledge that local governments have managed to maintain an acceptable balance between what is allowed and what should be prohibited. Although lately he has started a crusade, which affected both the sex and drugs, which aims to reduce the number of premises where prostitution is carried on at the same time it is putting a stop to the sale of certain products related to psychedelia . Anyway, the red light district is much more than this and that is why it is so common to see almost any time of day to groups of tourists strolling the streets. This neighborhood is located in the heart of Amsterdam, to visit you just had to walk from Plaza Damm Damstraat street crossing.

ROTTERDAM, the world’s largest port
A visit to Rotterdam would not be complete without a trip to the harbor, riding on the Spider or a visit to Euromast, a tower that rises to 185m in height. Rotterdam near water in great depth, easily accessible from the North Sea and from within the continent, was in a perfect position to become the world’s largest port (and obviously succeeded). When speaking of Rotterdam is not mentioned just a simple port but the entire complex of ports and docks within the city and along the coast. The large amount of goods that pass through here, more than 300 million metric tons a year, give credit to his name Europoort (Puerta de Europa).

This time, the logbook or diary of the trip so I parked a bit, maybe I spent much time in coffee and forgot everything, I just tell you I was complete 4 days in Holland, I rained all the time (and was early August, so do not forget an umbrella at any time of year), I met a couple of Americans with whom I moved from the first day and last night I discovered a German who became my girlfriend for a few months. But that’s another story … We had to follow interrail to Mount St. Michel, probably one of the wonders of the world (next to the Alhambra, of course).