Holland Diary

Like the locals I like to call The Netherlands as Holland.I had an excellent opportunity to visit Holland for a short training program earlier in March this year. It was the first solo travel I ever did. Boy, I was so anxious. I was googling for everything and I made sure I was equipped with every information I could find. In 24 hours of my journey, I was on air for approximately 18 hours then a train ride for 35 minutes and some 10 minutes tram ride until I reached my destination. 
And I'm amazed it went perfectly well and I gained quite an experience as well. Now I've been bitten with the travel bug and it is quite hard to shake the bugs off. I want to travel more, explore and see the world. 

In memory of my solo trip I thought I will share some amazing and wonderful pictures here on the blog.

Madurodam: If you do not have time to see the whole of Holland, relax! Madurodam, the miniature park is there for you. Located in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, its a home to a perfect 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch castles, public buildings, and large industrial projects as found at various locations in the country. 
The real Holland is 25 times larger than the miniature buildings and castles in Madurodam.  

Madurodam

Amsterdam

The Peace Palace: The Peace Palace is a building in The Hague, often called the seat of international law since it houses the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague Academy of International Law and Peace Palace Library. 

The above picture is the real landmark of Peace Palace and the below one is a miniature in Madurodam

During the weekends, we made a trip to Antwerp and Brussels in Belgium. Weekend train tickets are available at half the normal price at a reasonable rate. While in Brussels we saw bronze sculpture, Manneken Pis, depicting a naked little guy peeing. There are a lot of myths behind that bronze statues though.

From the hot waffles to dripping Belgian chocolates to the beer and the visit to the grandeur churches and palaces, Brussels is worth every visit. 

Antwerp

With a Cambodian friend, Sreymom in Antwerp

Manneken Pis

Atomium in Brussels: Standing at 335 ft. tall and 59 ft. diameter, its stainless steel clad spheres connect the whole forms to the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 million times. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels where you can again see the Mini-Europe miniature park located at the floor of the Atomium. CNN named Atomium building as Europe's most bizarre building. 

The Atomium as seen during the day and night

I had one of the most wonderful stay in Holland meeting new people and making friends from all over the world. During the two weeks stay I also got to make good friends which would last for my lifetime. Looking back, I have one of the most beautiful memories. Thank you all for everything.