Holland trip- Day 4

On the next day, we opted to tour around Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. Upon stepping out of Central Station, we immediately noticed the difference as there is no cutesy flowers or windmills but shining silver skyscrapers and harbours around us. The city is much modern compared to Eindhoven.

As soon as we arrived at the Centraal Station, we followed the signs to the VVV, inside the main station. The station is huge compared to other stations we’ve been to. However, it does not sell 1-day tour city tickets and we were directed to the tram station (across the way) where we need to join the traditional queue to purchase our tickets instead.

While we're waiting for our tram to arrive ^^ 

Spotted a cute girl who hid away from my camera lense #^.^#

Our traditional hop on and off tram finally arrived ∩__∩y

We got ourselves a 1-day ticket, for 7-Euros ^^

The impressive architecture which is unique in its own way @_@

We stopped at one of the location to explore the place. To our delight, we spotted a rare chocolate shop hidden in the street. As soon as we entered the Chocoholic store, we were seduced by the amazing scent of chocolate, and greeted by a warm smile. 

The shop although slightly hidden in the city, offers everything that a chocolate lover will want. There were a variety of chocolates namely chocolate truffles, bonbons, chocolate boxes, chocolate sprinkles and their very own homemade cocoa mix. And you could see how they were making their chocolates! The almond chocolate caramel is my favourite! We noticed that their chocolate milk is creamier and thicker compared to the ones we bought in Belgium. 

Next, we moved up to look for our lunch. As we wanted to try some Asian cuisine to warm up our stomach, we were so excited when we stumbled upon a Hong Kong restaurant ‵(*>﹏<*)′

Missed the heart- warming wantons and Yong Chow fried rice {{{(>_<)}}}

We continued our breezy 45 minute train ride around Rotterdam Centraal (a wonderful iron lift bridge view) ^^

We somehow still managed to spot a windmill =.=

The magnificent Port of Rotterdam ^^ Apparently, it is the largest port in Europe. We didn’t take a ride on the boat as it was too late and we were tired…

After wandering the city for awhile, we hopped on to the tram again to return to our station.

Upon return to our hotel, we strolled around for dinner and we saw this place that smelled like yummy freshly baked stuff, with long lines. The place is called Pak Doner, selling delicious Kebab. We ordered the Middle East-style breaded chicken breast and salad wrapped with pita bread for us to share. It was as good as it looks!

I ordered hot chocolate to cap off the meal and it came complete with some snacks including kroketten and frikandellen ^^ Frikandel is a Dutch snack, a sort of minced-meat hot dog while kroketten is mashed potato filled with meat filling. Hope they are selling it here one day!

That’s all for the day before we head off to Belgium the next day ^^v

XOXO 

sassycat

Holland trip- Day 3

On our third day trip, we met up with Sjoerd’s parents who were happily brought us around. They were the most friendly and welcoming couple ever! After much discussion on trying to figure out what we wanted to do, we just ended up deciding to go to Kats, the rose garden as a replacement for the tulips that we missed out, Zierikzee and The Mill.

Upon arrival, we were treated with delicious apple strudel and a nice cup of hot coffee.

I even took a pic of their lovely home #^.^# 

As an avid fridge magnets collector, each of the family members has been collecting fridge magnets from different countries for years.

Posing with the couple at the entrance of Kats rose garden.

We were amazed with the large varied of roses in the garden O.o

More roses.

When nature meets art.

The artworks on display belong to the students whom compete for the modern art competition.

I just don't get Modern Art in the garden.

We knew time was short, so we set off for the famous bridge and tower scenery of Zierikzee.

 Closer view of the bridge.

Then we went on a walking tour of the town, through some quaint streets.

We drove past the storm control system, which is similar to hydraulic system. According to Peter, this system was part of a project which developed after a devastating flood in the 50’s and it took 20 years to complete in the 70’s. It is amazing to see the amount of engineering and hydraulics to ensure that the sea stays at bay.

We then went across the town and I took photos of a windmill and a mini playground at The Mill.

We eventually settled down for some tea breaks and further chit- chatting. 

Photo from top left to bottom right (Hot Choco + Cookie), Poffertjes (small, fluffy pancakes), Hot Mint Tea and Waffle. Apparently, hot mint tea is quite popular in Holland. It's usually served in a big glass, piping hot water with fresh mint leaves …I ordered waffle with loads of strawberries. Best waffle ever!

After the wonderful snacks, Peter took us on a walking tour on the beach before sent us off to the railway station. We were really thankful to Peter and Loor for taking care of us! We enjoyed our short visit so much, hopefully, they can come to Malaysia next year where we will be more than happy to bring them around  ^^

P.s: Tomorrow we are off to Rotterdam where we spent the day sight-seeing  

XOXO

sasycat

Holland trip- Day 2

On Day 2, we were left with a full five days to explore by ourselves because D was working on weekdays. Our starting point on the next day was Maastricht, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands.

The Buffet Breakfast at the Hampshire hotel was good. I love the Croissant and milky yogurt.

Picture at the train station #^_^#

Cam-Whore on the train ^^

Welcome to Maastricht ^.^v

We immediately see beautiful flowers. And many old buildings along our way.

Views and Scenery of the beautiful Maastricht. All the pies looked good *yummyyyy*

Our first stop was a VVV, a tourist information office. It had everything from gifts and souveniers. To our surprise, they charged Euro 1.60 for a city center map. Ohwell, nothing comes free after all~

The ever ubiquitous “Golden Arches” with blend in old buildings design. I enjoyed watching the many street performers. One of the youngest team performance, i think. 

I love all of the old buildings. ( ^_^ ) All set up for the world- renowned violinist's Andre Rieu Maastricht 2013 Concert  (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*

Walking around town looking at the big churches ^^

Church Interior- dark and a little spooky, in my opinion. 

Best ice- cream in Maastricht ^^ 

They have about 20 flavours of ice-cream to choose from. But what is really impressive is their chocolate assortment.

My pick? Strawberry cheese and vanilla flavor. My all time favourite ^^

From the old buildings to the churches, we came across a serene park on our way to Basilica of Our Lady church.

Meet Marley (or similar name), the 60 year-old dog… We were taken aback when the owner told us that he’s 60 years old but knowing the fact that one dog year equals seven human years or more…It’s more believable~ According to the owner, he’s now deaf due to his age and it’s normal for dogs at his age to have hearing difficulties~

We hopped on a bus that took us around the outskirts of the city.

We were kind of hurried back on board for our next train because we were starving by the time around 5pm although we didn’t see enough of Maastricht. We missed the Maastricht caves and canal cruise. Ohwell, we will definitely coming back to visit this city if we were given a chance to visit the country again!

XOXO

sassycat

Holland trip- Day 1

I went to The Netherlands last weekend and it was such a pleasant surprise. It was a last minute decision and I’ve always wanted to follow D who has been there on a work trip. It marked my first ever trip to Dubai (transit via Dubai), as my first flight on a Boeing 777, also my first experience with Emirates Airline. 

The food was nice Xxxx I ordered pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes ^^

After almost 13 hours flight, I met up with D and my mum-in-law at the Eindhoven train station. I took a train from Schiphol to Eindhoven and the train ticket costs EUR19 *faintsss* Before that, a random picture of me in the train #^.^#

We arrived at the hotel which is 10mins walking distance from the train station. Once i unpacked my luggage, we were starving and start hunting for food!!

It was already about 7pm but the sky was still so bright!!

Asian food maybe?

Nah~ In the end, we settled for a Spanish restaurant, Sizzling. One of the specialties here is the presentation of the food on hot iron plates so our dishes were served ‘sizzling’. The servings were so big, I could only eat half.

Since we were so full, we decided to walk around Eindhoven before calling it a day. We were lucky because the weather was great when we were there (18-20 degrees), so it's cool even though it’s summer.

More photos and entries to come! ∩__∩y

XOXO

sassycat