Antwerp is famous for diamond cutting, polishing and trading. 84% of the world’s rough diamonds passed through this city’s diamond district, making it the largest diamond market in the world with a turnover of 54 billion dollars. However, few people knows that Antwerp was also one of the original cities in contributing to the modern…
I don’t remember how many times I have ride my bike around Taiwan, but I always know that this is the happiness moment of my life. Country life style in the west coast, beautiful sea in the east coast, great central mountain in the middle, friendly people, fresh air, wonderful scenery, night markets and tasty…
This is my second time in Bruges and first time was in year 2000. Though 20 years have passed, it seems little changes are happened. The landmark of Bruges, the Belfry, still quietly towering in the central of the city. Belfry Bruges, Belgium This is a medieval bell tower earliest added in 1240 and now…
The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis houses an outstanding collection of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings in an important monument. It ranks among the top four in the world for Dutch Paintings of the Golden Age. The oldest paintings in the Mauritshuis date from the 15th and 16th centuries. In those days painters generally worked to…
Many people must have watched Downton Abbey, a famous British historical drama series set in the early 20th century. Then we might get one glimpse of such noble family’s life. The visit of Castle De Harr offers us a chance to look into the Van Zuylen family as the owners. De Haar Castle is the biggest…
Utrecht is a city in the central Netherlands that has been a religious center for centuries. It has a medieval old town, canals, Christian monuments and a venerable university. The city centre has more than just museums and historic buildings, while walking around, the visitor constantly comes across new places, such as hidden courtyards, an…
I was completely stunned by the first movie of “The Lord of the Rings” series at that time I watched in 2001. Besides the grand might & magic world, the small Hobbiton village named “Shire” becomes the most peaceful and tranquil land I dreamed of. I never expected this fairyland was in front of me…
A village council has been discussing for years whether to charge a minimal entrance fee for increasing numbers of tourist . The pros is that this income can be directly used to protect environment which becomes fragile under the overflowing visitors. However, the cons is the risk of discouraging people coming who could generate pull through…
Half of Netherlands is below North Sea level , thus Dutch in generations have been building dams and enclosing sea area to set up lands. In past centuries, Dutch have successfully asked more lands from the sea, which is around 15% of current national territorial area, and provide more living space to the citizens. From…
Some people in this world are doomed to suffer more difficulties than others, especially for Vincent van Gogh. Maybe the word “difficulties” is not the proper one to exhaust all the unfairness, indignity, poverty, indifference, loneliness he experienced during his 37-year short life, while all adversities didn’t prevent him creating large numbers of marvelous art…
If this is your first trip to Europe, what would you expect to see? 3 most popular and common spots: (1) Churches (2) Castles (3) Museums. And what about Amsterdam? Different people might have different views and perspectives, but mine are canals and beautiful houses along street side, and Vincent Von Gogh. To have a…
Lowland countries are considered the most ideal destination for vacation if you want to visit Europe during summer, and that’s where my family had headed out to this year. What we usually call the “Low Countries” are the coastal region of north-western Europe, consisting of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Geographically, these Lowland countries are located…
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Todd Zhong
Lary Chen