Holland: Page 2

(A link on any of the pictures will take you to the Galery for a bigger view. So go ahead and click on them all!)

A small part of the map, showing Amsterdam at the bottom, with Alkmaar (in orange) towards the top. Volendam is near Marken (between the green and the blue tag).

Most of the towns and cities in Holland are close enough to each other to be walking distance. Years ago, people were not allowed to live in one town and work in another. I'm not sure if this is still true.

Centraal Station (Central Station), where a million people pass through each day.

The station was built in what some Dutch call the "icing cake" style, with lots of detail. It was built during Holland's "golden years". The station is built on several islands, and anchored to the ocean floor.

Gothic and Renaissance revival styles were often used in combination. Some telling examples are the Rijksmuseum (1877-1885), the Central Station (1882-1889) and the former Post Office, now Magna Plaza Shopping Centre (1847-1932).

Centraal Station is the first station in Nederland that was planned by an architect. It is truly a "palace for the traveler" and one should take time to really look at it.

The imposing Palace dominates Dam Square.
The most important secular building in town is, without doubt, the Royal Palace (1648-1665), designed as the most prestigious town hall of its time. No other European city, or country for that matter, had ever commissioned a facility this size to accommodate its administrative machinery. The Royal Palace, therefore, is justly famous for being the most important cultural and historic building of 17th century Amsterdam. (Info from here.)

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KIBANA-SHAKUNAGE (Rhododendron aureum): One of the Alpine Rhododendrons. Its pale-yellow color is expressed in both the Japanese and the Latin name (image).