Europe :: Germany & Holland :: Day 3 (07/09/2010)

After a good night rest in a hotel in Heidelberg, Germany, we made our way to Cologne, Germany's fourth largest city to visit the Cologne Cathedral and we had our lunch around there as well. 

It was unfortunately raining in Cologne when we arrived there, and it was very windy and very cold! Nevertheless, I still braved the strong wind and the chilly weather and managed to take a full picture of the Cologne Cathedral. A full picture I said, why? Because the cathedral is so tall, you cannot take the cathedral from top to toe! It is around 157m tall, also a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and also one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. 

A Roman Catholic Gothic church.

I took 3 pictures of the Cologne Cathedral and stitched/combined them together to get the full picture of the cathedral! 

It was so cold and windy but we still had to take some pictures right! :D

These are beer mugs! Sorry for the blur -ness, took it in a shop and wasn't sure if I was allowed to do so. 

This picture I had to go the opposite street to take, and you still can't see the ground. 

After finally having our lunch in a Chinese restaurant, we made our way to Amsterdam, Holland. Holland is pretty much a free country, where drug use and prostitution is allowed, but their crime rate is very low. Naturally, the country is famous for their red light district. Just like they have one in Shinjuku, Japan. 

So, we went to the red light district. 

Do not misunderstand the word pub/cafe in the red light district and think they sell beer/drinks, but the truth is that they are selling recreational drugs/pills/shisha, so yeah, you can basically see youngsters inside there getting high. 

Basically, at the red light district, you would be able to see rows and rows of glass windows where women wearing only bikinis/undergarments can be seen standing inside. So, you get the picture right. 

And all of these shops are everywhere, and it's nothing compared to what you see in the I Love You shop in Malaysia. LOL. I even saw a shop with different types/designs of condoms, it was so funny! 

Next day: Holland & Belgium Day 4 

Europe :: Holland & Belgium :: Day 4 (08/09/2010)

It was destined to be a rainy day when we left our hotel, where we stayed for a night in Amsterdam, Holland as we took off for a boat ride for a cruise along the canals in Amsterdam. It rained the whole time while we were in Amsterdam! 

Even after the boat ride it was still raining! Which was such a pity because we visited a lovely Open Air Village called Zaanse Schans, where you get to see a model farm, windmills, cheese and clog shoes making demonstrations. Therefore, we had to walk under the umbrella, and i couldn't really take any pictures! I had to make sure that the rain water didn't go inside my camera!  

Leaving the hotel, where it started to rain!

Waiting for the boat. We missed our first boat, fortunately, there was still another boat that was going to depart.

In the boat.

It was still raining outside! 

I still managed to sneak and take a few pictures, albeit the drizzling rain and wind. 

Holland is famous for their boat houses! In every canal, you can just see a row of boat houses. There are still some residents in the boat houses, while others are made into museums, restaurants for people to visit.

You can just recognize Holland by their very characteristic long, thin houses, with large windows but  with a very small main door (a single door!) simple because their government charge taxes base on the size of their doors. Therefore, to compensate, they have large windows. 

Clog boat.

Notice how the houses have a hook up there, that is to attach pulleys/ropes to carry furnitures/whatsoever into their house through the windows! Because their door is too small to fit through those things. 

That is the smallest/thinnest house in Amsterdam! See how narrow the house is they have to have a balcony as an extension. 

Holland is a country where approximately 40% of their land is flooded by the rising sea water. Therefore, most of their houses are beginning to sink or slant towards one side because of the water.  

After the boat ride, we went to a village outside of Amsterdam called  Zaanse Schans, where they had a clog making factory/demonstration.

The clogs have come a far way through history.

After that, we went for the cheese-making demonstration. The above is  sausage cheese, it tastes and smells like sausage!

They have all sorts of cheese.

It was still raining, but we still went outside to see the windmills. 

After that, we went to this Dutch village called Volendam to have our lunch. We had fish and chips! Well, not exactly french fries, but we had Holland potatoes. The fish was great! 

Finally, it stopped raining, and we were free to roam about the village without the umbrella. LOL.

After a spending a day in Holland, we made our way to Brussels, Belgium. 

The streets of Belgium.

Shopping street! 

While on the way walking to the site of Manneken Pis.

Manneken Pis. 

So what is Belgium known for? For their Belgian chocolates of course! Godiva chocolate! 

Manneken Pis shisha. 

Chocolate!

Mickey Mouse chocolate.

This is the chocolate street, where you can see the Godiva shop just at the end. So, if you ever get a chance to visit Belgium, remember to buy chocolates, especially Godiva, because it is extremely cheap compared to the Godiva chocolates sold here in Malaysia! It is the best chocolate ever! Their truffles are heavenly! Seriously regretted not buying more now! :D 

Next day: Belgium & Paris Day 5