Netherlands: The Beautiful Country

I am currently in the middle of reading John Green's The Fault in Our Stars for my English class, and right now I'm at the part where Augustus and Hazel are visiting Amsterdam, and I have to say, it sounds like a pretty cool city. I have always wanted to visit the Netherlands, with its wooden shoes, and underground-ness, and weird language and all, so this week's blog post is featuring one of my top dream travel destinations of all times: the Netherlands.

One thing I would want to do when visiting the Netherlands is visit Keukenhof, which is the world's second largest flower garden (second only to some flower garden in Dubai, and we all know Dubai is a show-off). The Dutch are well-known for their flowers, especially their tulips, so a trip to the Netherlands without flowers is no trip to the Netherlands at all! Keukenhof is home to nearly eighty acres of flowers (that's seven million flowers total!) and a seventeenth century castle, as well. I would love to visit such a gorgeous place, but I might O.D. on Zyrtec, considering I have pretty bad pollen allergies. But YOLO (if it's still cool to say that).

Doesn't it look like it could be the set
for Sleeping Beauty or something?
Image Courtesy of: World For Travel

Another thing I would want to do in the Netherlands is take a canal cruise in Amsterdam. I know this is probably on the list the most touristy, cliché things you could possibly do in the Netherlands, but I don't care; boats are cool. Taking a canal cruise would be a great way to take in all of Amsterdam's gorgeous architecture and the night lights of the city once the sun goes down. Plus, some of the cruises supposedly have really nice food, and you can't really ever go wrong with that!

A cruise boat in one of Amsterdam's canals.
Image Courtesy of: Carnival

While visiting the Netherlands, I would love to go to De Efteling, a theme park in Kaatsheuvel. Anyone who knows me really well knows that I love theme parks (minus all of the germy, whiny kids and the unbelievable number of Big Gulp cups scattered throughout the park, of course). De Efteling is kind of like Disney with a Dutch twist; it's fantasy-themed and looks like it just came out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. It has a lot of really neat-looking rides, including a water coaster, a bobsled ride (!!!), and a tow boat ride that I would definitely want to try.

The Flying Dutchman water coaster at De Efteling
Image Courtesy of: Theme Park Review

Finally, I would want to visit Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam. Oude Kerk was (and still is) a Calvinist church in the Red Light District. Interestingly enough, its patron saint was St. Nicholas, as in Santa! But I think the most astonishing thing about this building is simply its age and history. It's crazy to think about all of the people who walked in and out of this building over the past eight hundred years, and think about who they were and what their life was like.

Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.
Image Courtesy of: Netherlands Tourism