Visiting the Netherlands was the highlight of my European vacation last year. I enjoyed the food,…read morethe Dutch people, and all the fun museums and landmarks I visited. Especially this large one with several floors full of historic art and other items. There was so much to see and several parts of the museum are interactive. The area has a very interesting history and it was fun to tour the museum and learn more about it.

The one place to visit if you want to know more about Den Haag- valid for both foreigners and Dutch…read morewho moved to the city. Exceptionally thoughtful collection on 4 floors, plus multimedia. The exhibition is just big enough to not get you bored, guides you smoothly through the history of the city, combining paintings,photos, videos and objects from the different periods. There's also a large multimedia screen, showing in short and prompt matter how the city grew in the centuries. Excellent for all ages!

Nice and trendy location with a variaty of restaurants: Japanese, French trendy, Dutch café,…read moreEtheopian etc. Even in de winter this is a food location to sit because of the roof of glass. Most of the restaurant have a food quality of food. Especially Rosso. Maybe a bit more expensive but give it a try.

The Rotterdamse Schouwberg is THE place for live theater and dance in Rotterdam. Very conveniently…read morelocated in the centre of town, 5 mins walk from Rotterdam Centraal Station. The architecture of the building is not my favourite, it's a style I refer to as "concrete chique". Very of it's time, it's basically just a big block of concrete. What it lacks in architectural beauty it makes up for in the programming. I spent a week here working on the production PABLO with Scapino Ballet and Sinfonia Rotterdam. The people who work at the Schouwberg are all really nice, and made us feel really welcome. The café Floor in the lobby is a great place to go for a quick after show drink with friends and colleagues, and the artist's canteen backstage is surprisingly gezellig (for a concrete room) and has delicious homemade meals by the kitchen ladies. That's something that most members of the public won't get to experience but if you happen to come as a performer then I highly recommend the food in the cantine! :)

It's now the "Pride Parade" but I can't make changes here since this platform is no longer…read moresupported in Europe. But anyway, this is the mother of all canal pride parades. It runs from noon to 6 pm on the Saturday, rain or shine. It's a totally different vibe on a boat from walking around, but both are good. The entire city is overtaken by the event so it's with a visit one year.

Imagine a pride parade where there are only fabulous floats, choreographed dancing, thousands of…read morebystanders wearing pink, and virtually no boring/lame half-assed motley crews simply strolling down the street. Now, imagine all of that on a series of boats. That's Amsterdam's pride parade. Having partaken in DC Pride and having watched last year's New York Pride, I can readily say that Amsterdam's was far more entertaining and well-executed than either. I suppose, what else should one expect from a city that boasts the only Homomonument I know of in existence?

I'm of two minds about riding lessons here. I like to put in some equestrian time wherever I am in…read morethe world, and after the whole process of getting approved at this stable, I was excited to ride here. On one hand, it was beautiful and the horses were well-trained, and once I got into a nice riding rhythm, the experience was enjoyable. On the other hand, the trainers... I dunno, maybe it was a cultural barrier... because they seemed checked out. They just never seemed particularly enthusiastic or personable. I get that these trainers might be 20-year-olds used to training adolescent girls and they don't need to be particularly sociable to be good instructors, but it kind of felt like I was in their way and they were just rolling from one lesson to the next. Then again, I might be overthinking. My regular private instructor once said that busy riding schools tend to be like this - filling up as many lessons as possible, resulting in stretching their attention thin. They were respectable enough and some of the other students I interacted with were fantastic and much more willing to talk and trade helpful tips.

In dit prachtige rijksmonument van bouwmeester Van Gendt is de oudste rijschool van Nederland…read moregevestigd. Dezelfde architect is verantwoordelijk voor Concertgebouw en Stadsschouwburg. De ingang is aan de Vondelstraat. Bezoekers komen binnen via een museumwinkeltje waar de entree betaald kan worden. Die geeft toegang, recht op een drankje en komt deels ten goede van het Levend Paardenmuseum. Deze stichting heeft tot doel de binnenkant van het gebouw in oude luister te herstellen en te onderhouden. De gemeente Amsterdam is verantwoordelijk voor de buitenkant, manegehouder Vincent Valk voor het paardenbedrijf en de horeca. De manege heeft een binnen- en een buitenrijbaan. De buitenrijbaan en binnenplaats grenzen aan de tuinen van de buren. Dat was bij de bouw in 1882 wel anders, toen was dit braakliggend terrein, ver buiten de stad. De foyer bevindt zich boven, daar is ook de bar. Via de foyer kom je op het balkon. Van daaruit een goed uitzicht op de binnenrijbaan en een prima plek om een drankje te drinken. Je kunt hier paardrijden, volwassenen kopen een starterspakket alvorens in een groepsles verder te gaan. Kinderen vinden zo ook hun weg. Voor hen zijn er ponykampen waar een hele week met vriendjes en vriendinnetjes met en tussen de paarden wordt beleefd. Er zijn hier twee studentenverenigingen actief. Er wordt dressuur-, spring- en carrousel les gegeven. Carrousel is een teamsport waarbij figuren op muziek wordt gereden. Privépaarden stappen na de les regelmatig uit in het Vondelpark, altijd een bezienswaardigheid in dit stadspark tussen de joggers en fietsers. De manege heeft ook een paardenvrachtwagen waarmee buitenritten in het Amsterdamse bos kunnen worden geaccommodeerd. Dit mooie gebouw kan gehuurd worden voor onvergetelijke feestjes, groot en klein. Er zijn hier films opgenomen, even geleden "Keetje Tippel", meer recent "Pak van mijn Hart". Kinderfeestjes met taart, pannenkoeken of patat en een begeleid ritje op paard of pony zijn hier te boeken. Voor de volwassenen zijn er high teas met lekkere hapjes. Zo timmert 's lands oudste rijschool aan de weg om ook in deze moderne tijd succesvol te zijn. En dat lukt aardig, ga maar kijken!