10 things we learned in The Netherlands and Belgium - KK/LL

1. Amsterdam is connected to IJberg, a neighborhood created on several artificial islands, as there's no more living space in Amsterdam. They call the double arched bridge that connects them the "Dolly Parton Bridge." 

2. Amsterdam is the bicycle capital of the world...and this began in the 1970's after auto accidents and pedestrian deaths reached a staggering high. Today, bicycles rule the road! When you hear a bell in Amsterdam, react quickly! 

3. Prostitution and marijuana are legal in Amsterdam and they seem pretty proud of it. Mixed in with the darling Dutch shoes, windmills, tulips and canal souvenirs are magnets and coasters that say XXX. There are cute little souvenir buildings in the shops that you can buy to create a tiny city block including toy store, bakery, sex shop, barber, cafe...yep, just mixed right in there.

4. Dam = dyke; dam. Amster = Amstel, the of name of the river. So Amsterdam just means the dyke or dam in the Amstel River.

5. All the buildings have pulley systems hanging out off their roofs. The buildings are so tall and skinny (some are five stories) that this system is for loading/unloading furniture and other large items.

6. Both Belgium & the Netherlands are constitutional monarchies. 

7. There are three primary languages in Belgium: Dutch - a Flemish dialect - is the native language of 59% and spoken mostly in the countries' northern region of Flanders. French is spoken  by 40% of the population mostly in the Wallonia region. Around 1% of the population speaks German primarily in the region close to the border around Brussels.

8. 1830 was the Belgian Revolution. Belgium seceded from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and became its own country.

9. The country of Belgium is known for its chocolate, waffles, beer and fries.  Brugge is the main place in Belgium w/the best chocolate. There are more than 50 chocolatiers in the City Center of Brugge alone. There is a chocolate museum and a fries museum. (Called BELGIAN fries...NOT French fries.)

10. If you lean on a bicycle which is next to several other bicycles it can fall and cause a domino effect whereby many bicycles fall in front of your very visible hotel. #notetolinda