one Of the biggest excitement of moving to France was to see the whole of Europe , something that is praised, looked forward to and has many dream holiday destinations. So when we were planning for the short summer holidays for a week. We chose Holland, called Netherlands now. With the mad rush just before we left we packed just apt for the holiday, a couple of hours before the flight.
We had a pleasant on time flight from Toulouse to Amsterdam. Since my Sil and niece were joining us there , there was a different excitement. That’s my idea of a holiday - a new place to discover, with family, meeting friends, getting a real taste of the local culture and food. The holiday to Amsterdam and Rotterdam fit all of these perfectly.
We found Amsterdam a city that enthusiastically accommodated many different cultures. We found many Indians everywhere we went which we are not used to in France. We had an Indian couple, old friends settled in Amsterdam for a few years, another family with Indian origin moved there during the Ww II and incidentally met an old college friend and family at the airport while our flight was cancelled and rescheduled for two days later. We also found a lot of Indian food , an authentic one even in Almere which is a small town about 40 Kms from Amsterdam where we were forced to find a hotel when our flight was cancelled. I enjoyed every bit of the desi ness we found around
It was fascinating to discover the history of Amsterdam, how it’s name came to be since it originated from a dam built on the Amstel river , it’s prominence as a port city and all that it brought to the city during the WWll. The country first learnt their tax system from the French. We learnt on the home ground the story of Anne Frank and the pain the Jews experienced seeing through her eyes was indeed touching.
The beauty of the city amidst the hustling and bustling is appealing. With beautiful flowers 💐 everywhere, even on the busiest streets, with the canals and bridges that break the monotony of the busy roads, the beautiful architecture not limited to the centre of the city, is fascinating. The windmills, especially our visit to Zaanse Schaans, a village close to Amsterdam with multiple windmills, green landscape, simple village homes and small industries in some of these village homes 🏘 , took us to a very different world where life seemed, slow, calm and happy 😃.
We also enjoyed museums around children’s interests Madame Tussads and Body worlds. I particularly enjoyed the elements of what causes us happiness reinforcing from the body worlds messages and must admit that I ignored the body parts and the science behind them, that’s just me choosing what I like better and completely ignoring what I cannot relate to, when both are hand in hand.
The best part of our trip was still to come. After three days in Amsterdam, we were heading to Rotterdam , the second largest port in Holland. It being an industrial city/ more a town, we weren’t sure what we would do. The best part was our stay at Ss Rotterdam, a real ship that sailed for many decades between Holland and America and is now docked and converted into a Hotel. It was exciting to live on a real ship 🚢. Sitting at the deck each evening to enjoy the evening snack while watching the children play in the pool was a treat and true relaxation.We did a harbour tour and admired the much appreciated architecture of Rotterdam buildings and the beauty of old and new buildings together. The mackerel was a truly eye tonic too with the large food shops underneath. The highlight was Iras birthday with a special cake and interspersed gifts and welcome specially for her from the hotel.It inspired us to plan for a short cruise soon.
While we prepared ourselves to end our beautiful holiday, we had an unexpected surprise of our flight cancellation awaiting us. While it was initially quite stressful with our baggage checked in and no support from the airlines for hotel booking. Finally it wasn’t so difficult and we thoroughly enjoyed the extended two days until the airlines made alternate arrangements for our flight back home.
All in All the trip did all the magic a holiday could do, we came back refreshed , relaxed and happy.
