Holland!!

Went on my first group trip this weekend to Holland. It was fantastic. And so close. At first I was really bummed that we weren't going to Amsterdam. Soon I learned that there is much more to Holland, the culture, the history, the environment was just fascinating.

Part 1: The Hague - Peace Palace, Escher Museum of Art, Central District

After just an hour and half bus ride we arrived a huge palace in The Hague, Holland. The "Peace Palace," home of the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration. A Supreme Court where countries and large multinational entities can solve there disputes. 100th year of existence, Andrew Carnegie donated $1.5 million for its construction. After that we had lunch in ther Center Square of the city. It was incredible to see the thousands of people commuting by bicycles. Every street has a closed off bike path on both sides of the road. Following a delicious dish of Dutch Crouquettes, we headed to the Escher Museum to view M.C. Escher's super trippy art and displays. Afterwards we headed to our hotel right in the center of downtown The Hague. Dinner we headed out to the beach (not much of a beach) and enjoyed some authentic fish and chips plus a Heinekin....in Holland.

                                                                         Peace Palace

Holland's Passion for bikes in the form of art

                                                                         

                                                                 Traditional Dutch Croquette 

Super Cool Exhibit at Escher Museum

Part 2: Spijkenisse, Delph, and Rotterdam

The next morning, we shoved down a delicious Dutch breakfast, and headed straight to Spijkenisse (dont ask me to pronounce it) for a bike tour in windmill country. It was more than I could even imagine, windmills everywhere, bike paths going every which way. Learned all about the rich history of milling and how half of Holland would be underwater without windmills. I could've ridden all day in this part of the country. It was gorgeous. Next, he headed to Delph, a small, quaint town....that had a bike race going on. It was soooo cool to see real european racing going on. They were so fast! Our guides then told us about a surprise they had in store for us. We headed to Rotterdam (got to see several of the Big 4 offices!!) and got a huge speed boat. They surprised with a large b-day cake for one of the girls in our program and we got a tour of the 3rd largest shipping yard in the world. IT WAS HUGE!!

I really loved Holland, so beautiful and their use of bikes just makes me want to move there. Such an incredible trip. Can't wait to see more of the world.
                                                                           

Sexy Bike!!

                                                                                  Holy Bikes!!!

Bike Tour in Windmill Country