Holland: Small country, big heart.

Holland is a nice country but when I'm here, I'm not really as adventurous as I would be in let's say Italy or Spain, etc. I have an annoyingly large number of family members living here and somehow that downs the fun. Because I'm automatically drowned into the myriad of problems they have created for themselves (which personally I don't give a sh*t about!) 
This was my second visit to Holland and once again a major part of my stay was in Rotterdam. I tried to make the most of it.

Puma the lovely orange cat was a constant companion. He never sat still for a picture but he was always very friendly and liked cuddling up to me. 

 

One is always thrilled to explore with camera in hand. And happy to see a few flowers that survived the bitter winter!

 
 

Winter in Holland is always a delight. Snow is literally everywhere. The entire place is so fresh and clean. You can actually taste the pure air! 

 

 

 I love how the snow fell on ground and created hundreds of white fluffy cushions!

 

 

The adorable winter birds! Holland is never short of ducks, geese, swans and strange black birds that swim in lakes. All the best thing of all they belong to everybody! 

 

 

I tried to capture the Christmas spirit where I was but I wasn't really feeling it and these were the only four pictures I took of the decorations I came across.

When one is in a foreign country, one must try the foods and try to make them as well. Hence one goes to the produce market in Rijnhaven. 

 

You're blown away by how nice vegetables and fruits can look in photos!

 

 

You meet a Moroccan fish seller who's happy to converse with you in French and pose for a photo too!

DEN HAGUE

 

Den Hague is a pretty little city close to Rotterdam. And it's worth a day trip if you're looking for a smaller version of Amsterdam. The city has many lovely restaurants, good architecture, antique shops, and bookstores! It's an old city so I enjoyed walking around, passing quaint streets and shopping there too.

 
 
 

ROTTERDAM

Rotterdam is an open air museum of modern architecture. Since I was staying here most of the time, I was forced to appreciate the various styles of architecture. I actually found myself enjoying the experience. The Dutch have a lot of imagination and clearly enough money to make it a reality. Rotterdam boasts of the Erasmus bridge (Erasmusbrug) which cost an estimated 75 million euros in 1995. The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe and one of the busiest in the world. There will always be a thousand boats standing still at a certain point in the city. It's a beautiful sight to take in.