Beauty in the streets ✨ • •• ••• •• • #cityphotography #cityphotographer #kerkrade #netherlands #architecture #architexture #photographer #photooftheday #photographersofnetherlands #photographersofinstagram #photowanders #beautifuldestinations #visitnetherlands #visit #beauty #prettyplaces #nikon #nikonnetherlands #lightroomedits (at Kerkrade) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cny5Ku0Nmpe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Hier, nous avons profité d’être aux Pays-Bas pour naviguer sur la Vecht, un magnifique fleuve reliant Utrecht à Muiden ✨❤️ #eglcommunity #vecht #utrecht #visitnetherlands #river #boat #angelicpretty #drainedcherry #casuallolita #alternativefashion #breukelen (à Breukelen, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiKKt12L5Pa/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

You can't hide from spring 🌺 . Random shots from Amsterdam 🇳🇱 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #amsterdam🇳🇱 #amsterdamworld #amsterdamlife #igersamsterdam #amsterdamview #visitamsterdam #amsterdamtrip #amsterdamn #amsterdam_streets #nederlands #amsterdammer #amsterdamcentrum #amsterdamphotography #instaamsterdam #bestofnetherlands #loves_netherlands #visitnetherlands #thenetherlands🇳🇱 #igersnetherlands #ig_netherlands #europestyle_netherlands #ignetherlands #netherlands_captured #netherlands🇱🇺 #hollanders #igholland #hollandse_foto #igersholland #nederland🇳🇱 #thisisholland (στην τοποθεσία Amsterdam) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpzSLhCoVwX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Terraria-Houten (event)

"The largest terrarium event in the Netherlands"

Location: Houten, Utrecht, The Netherlands Price: 16,- Duration: 2 - 4 hours Transport: the bus from the station to the event location only goes once an hour, so it takes some planning. You can call in a bus, but even those were usually too full to take everyone. Language: Dutch, German, French, English. Activities: buying reptiles, insects, invertebrates, rodents, and everything related to them. Date of visit: Sunday 26 February 2023 Website

so much to see

Terraria-Houten is part of the ‘’Terraria-’’ expo series, where every month there is an event like this in a different city. The price depends on the size of the event, the one in Houten being the biggest. At this event, you can shop and find good deals on enclosures, health lamps, food, substraid, but also things like insect-inspired jewellery and taxidermied animals. That is all next to the obvious main attractions, the animals for sale. The most expensive animal I’ve seen there were 2.000 euros, as this is also a good place to find rare animals they don't have in most stores. Or to get common animals for cheap. I got my beetles from a pet store, 15,- for 3. Here you could buy the same kind 5,- for 5… Insects and interbred are a rare sight in pet stores over here. So once you find a store that has them, they overprice it. But besides it all it was also fun to look at animals, even tho I feel bad for the small containers, tho those are temporary. I got to hold a giant millepede, and petted turtles, ferrets and giant snails. The event does also have a rodent section (and frozen rodent) but it's small. Fun if you're ALSO interested in rodents besides the rest, but don't go if that's your main goal. Also, if you go, you have to take cash with you and download the PayPal app. I was not prepared for this but since the people behind the stands come from all over the place and from other countries, specifically Dutch paying apps are not going to work. And at most stands, it's not possible to pay by card at all. Cash is your best option, so be prepared for that. 

buy buy buy

I myself keep a terrarium with sun beetles and isopods, but I wanted to add more, so I went to get other kinds of beetles and millipedes. At the beetle stand, I asked what beetles would work well together with my beetles, and they told me beetles are actually racist!? no, but yeah they all have a different chemical smell and things, therefore pretty territorial to other species. So I decided to not get more beetles and focused on millipedes. i was so hyped by the first one I saw that I bought it immediately, it was a black and white millipede for 5 euros, I called her Mime. As we walked further, we found a whole stand with all kinds of millipedes. I knew about the giant millepede and really want one, but the enclosure I have right now would be too small (25 litres, 6.6 gallons). They were also kind of expensive on that stand, prices of the ones I wanted ranging from 10 to 25 euros per millepede. At the back of the event, something caught my eye, 4 millipedes for 10 euros. They were bigger than the one i bought before and that was a steal. As I bought them I got the entire enclosure including some wood pieces and stuff. He clearly wanted to get rid of them, but as the rest of the stand had no animals like that, it might have been that these were used for food or something. 

Another thing I bought was homemade fruit jelly. This guy sold them for 90 cents per piece, and that was already cheap for fruit jelly. We wanted all 9 flavours, but I only had 5 euros cash left, the guy said it was fine because we were so chill! Lastly, I bought a bird leg, probably a leftover from a failed attempt at taxidermy, I'm going to make an earring out of it. 

Not the best location

The location is not optimal as the bus only goes once an hour, and walking it will take you more than half an hour. Since it was already freezing, you (and the animals you probably bought) will not appreciate this. But the event does have free parking, so your best option would be to take the car. Definitely, if you have a long shopping list with you. 

Another thing the event could do better is an advertisement or the site. If you see the site, it almost feels like it’s not their real site, but it is.. If I was looking online and found this, I would have never gone there. I only went because my friend have been there before and told me it was cool, and so that's also how they got the info about this event from other friends. From a marketing standpoint, it's almost impressive they even get people to come with a site looking like that and 0 advertisement. On the other hand, I'm glad, it was just the right amount of busy, so more people would make it chaos. 

TLDR:

+ Fun expo with cheap deals and rare animals

+ anything you need for keeping any animal + handcrafted supplies from small businesses + free advice, and the ability to ask questions + A lot of stands

- bus only goes once an hour - how you can pay differs widely from stand to stand - the site looks sketchy

Would I revisit it: yes I would, it's a cool place to get good deals and get inspired.  Who do I recommend it to:people who keepreptiles, insects or invertebrates.

🇳🇱 Oude Kerk (Old Church), Delft, Netherlands. The tower leans 1.96 meters. #netherlands #nederland #delft #holland #oldchurch #oudekerk #canal #tower #leaningtower #europe #travel #photography #visitholland #visitnetherlands #visitdelft #fredaineurope #fredainnetherlands #fredaindelft (at Delft, Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClHGZfRJk36/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Discover the rich history and vibrant culture of Amsterdam, Netherlands - where each corner tells a captivating story.

Arriving in Amsterdam Amsterdam Centraal Train Station October 9, 2022 We took a very convenient train that runs every 30 min from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, Netherlands (69 miles-78 min) to spend the last two days of our Europe vacation visiting this charming city before we flew home. Built in 1889, the Amsterdam Centraal train station is immense and busy (although this photo was captured in a quieter moment). It is located in the center of Amsterdam, so there is good public transportation right at the train station. It was about a 20 min walk to our hotel in the Canal District. We opted for a 5 min taxi ride due to baggage — very easily obtained. We just walked out of the train station and one was waiting. Other options were a 10 min tram or a 14 min bus. There is also a train from Amsterdam Centraal train station to Amsterdam Schiphol airport that runs every 10 min. So convenient. Coming from Shelton, Washington where you have to drive 34 miles-45 min to the nearest Amtrak train station in Lacey, WA, which has kiosks only and no baggage service, and only three trains daily for the Amtrak train ride (40 miles-67 min) to the Tukwila train station closest to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac), which is still 5 miles away from the airport and literally just a stop on the tracks, with no obvious services, unless you arrange for a local taxi in advance or call an Uber or hike to the nearest public bus stop that provides sporadic service to the airport — well, let’s just say that it’s a whole lot easier to get around the Netherlands (and all of Europe) by train than it is here in Washington State. To be fair, since we live in the boonies in WA, it’s not quite an apples to apples comparison. But still. #amsterdamcentraal #amsterdam #netherlands🇳🇱 #visitamsterdam #travelamsterdam #visitnetherlands #travelnetherlands #europetravel #europedestinations #travelbytrain #trainsplanesandautomobiles #transportation #rebels_united #rebel_scapes #loves_europe #loves_netherlands #ig_captures_architectura #architecturelovers #architecturedesign #royalsnappingartists #rsa_streetview #rsa_architecture #rsa_doorsandwindows #citybestpics (at Amsterdam Centraal, Amsterdam, Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnfMvIiP0VR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Apparently the inspiration for this incredible building was....an IKEA bowl! #depotboijmansvanbeuningen #rotterdam #visitnetherlands #mirror #travelphotography #architecture #picoftheday #photooftheday #cheerfulheartphotography #samsungs22ultra #samsungphotography #vanlife #livingthedream #sunnyday (at Depot Boijmans van Beuningen) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnC2RUKoatd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

“Serenity” #godsmack ———————————————————————— Taken with #canon #eosr5 and #rf1535f28lisusm with #kaisefilters 10stop ND————————————————————— Focal length: 15mm |Shutter speed: 120sec |f13 |ISO: 100 ———————————————————————— Copyright ©️ @ggts_photography 2022 ———————————————————————— #sunrise #CanonStories #yourahotphotographer #netherlands #canonnetherlands #liveforthestory #tellthestory #visitnetherlands #burdaard #windmill #travelphotography #lake #swan (at Burdaard) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmpNb5GoMXx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Goodbye Athena, hello Freyja 💪👩🏻 My friend and I bought another bike, Frankensteined the parts I wanted from Athena to Freyja and now we have a 1990 Dominator instead of a 1996 😺 Things Frankensteined: fairings, gas tank, handlebars, tires, center stand, tail light cover, usb charger, passenger footpegs These bikes are sisters to me and so as I was trying to figure out what to name the new bike, I thought since Athena is the Greek goddess of war and wisdom, I wanted to find another muse who inspires me. That was when in my research, I stumbled upon Freya. She is the Norse pagan goddess of war, wisdom, love, seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future) and rides a chariot pulled by two cats. How fitting 😺 Meow and the next evolution of myself 🔮 I’ll just ignore that she’s the goddess of fertility 🫠 I am so grateful to Danny who helped me. I’d literally be stranded without a bike without him. I credit him with giving me my wings this next chapter of our journey. Onward, Freyja! #chasingcrystal #netherlandstravel #visitnetherlands #nx250 #hondadominator #hondadominator250 #hondagirlssociety #hondagirls #wrenchlife (at Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKFl9mL3F_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Dreaming of @visitnoordwijkholland 🌊 Do you like to repeat places and countries? Or are you always craving new destinations? Let me know in the comments! ⬇️ . . . #hosted #visitnoordwijkholland #noordwijk #noordwijkerhout #noordwijkaanzee #noordwijkholland #visitnoordwijk #visitnetherlands #bestbeaches #beachtowns #holland #beachtown #seasidetown #visitholland #bestbeachesintheworld #wellnessdestination #spadestination #solofemaletraveler #solofemaletravel #solotrip #bestdestinations #bestdestinationstotravel #solotraveler #spaweekend #spaweek #wellnessweekend (at Noordwijk) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkEEUZ2OWu9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Pretty buildings ✨ • •• • ••• • #cityphotography #cityphotographer #kerkrade #netherlands #architecture #architexture #photographer #photooftheday #photographersofnetherlands #photographersofinstagram #photowanders #beautifuldestinations #visitnetherlands #visit #beauty #prettyplaces #nikon #nikonnetherlands #lightroomedits (at Kerkrade) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnuvTB8Lio2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Repost @ellensesink Heerlijke ochtendwandeling afgesloten met een lekker ontbijtje @gasterijgrooteheide #grooteheide #grooteheidevenlo #venlo #venloverwelkomt #limburg #limburginbeeld #visitlimburg #VisitNetherlands (bij Groote Heide) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChO33l1Nid0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Would you live on this island? 🇳🇱 . . . If you read this, follow: @sanmia_drone @sanmia_drone @sanmia_drone . . . #dronestagram #island #amsterdam🇳🇱 #dronepilot #droneshots #islandlife #drones #dronelife #amsterdamnoord #djiglobal #dronefly #instanetherlands #netherlands🇳🇱 #visitnetherlands #islandlifestyle #islands #dronephotography #droneoftheday #dji #thenetherlands #islandvibes #amsterdam #intags #netherlands #drone #dronesdaily #islandliving #dronephoto #amsterdamcity (at Amsterdam Noord) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg2KCBfLDzK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Museum Catharijneconvent (St. Catherine's Convent Museum)

‘’The collection tells the art and cultural history of Christianity in the Netherlands.’’ 

Location: Center of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Price: 15,- / students 7,- Duration: 2 - 5 hours Transport: easy to walk to from the central station Language: All text is in Dutch, I didn't ask if the audio tour could change the language Activities: look & read Date of visit: Friday 17 February 2023 Expo at that time: History of Gospel Check out the website

The building was very beautiful from the outside as it was located inside a medieval monastery. You could look in the small garden area for free.

The Children Room The first part of the museum I went to was intended for children and was about all the holidays, this part of the museum even had information on other religions like Judaism and Islam. As these religions and Christianity come from the same set of stories and historical events. The information didn't go very deep since it said things like “the Christmas tree is a part of Christmas because it stays green all year around‘’ instead of explaining it came from pagan religions. I did learn however that we have new year's on the day that we do (8 days after Christmas) because that's when Jesus supposedly got circumcised. Which was a shocking reason to me that I didn't knew. This part did also have some fun interactive elements, such as opening food lockers from a wall to connect 4 kinds of food to the right holiday. Sadly, one of the screens was broken, and the lights were off/broken in that corner, so I couldn’t film it.

Another cool thing there was a built replica of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, with light projections explaining why these 3 religions all want to own this place and fight for it. I was all alone in this part of the museum, probably because it was on a school day

The Treasury The next part of the museum was the treasury, a dim lid room full of shiny objects, I loved it. This is also where the ‘’real’’ museum started, so I got handed an audio tour. I love audio tours. However, on the lowest audio setting, it was still too loud for me. But I simply put the headphones further from my ears, you can also use your own headphones if they have a cord. 

Keeping it real I found it all very interesting, I was a bit disappointed that it was not about other religions anymore, but I went in this blindly and didn't know it was specifically a museum of Christianity. Personally, I don't believe in anything, but love to learn about religions. Next to the normal audio tour that talked about the paintings and the history, they also added some new numbers to the audio tour talking more about controversies about some paintings and people. I liked this since they weren't glorifying the religion and showed more about how it was done back in the day. For instance, in the extra audio tour, they talked about Jesus' skin colour and how everywhere in the museum he's portrayed as a white man with long brown hair, meanwhile, this doesn't have to be the case. They explained that it's easier for people to feel connected to stories if they can see themselves in them. The person being interviewed said that when they visited a church in Surinam they saw the painting of ‘’The Last Supper’’ but with everyone being black. They stated in this interview that they're working on adding more diverse pieces like that to the museum, and assured that they were working on a big new collection of different interpretations of the catholic stories. For now, they had an exposition about the history of gospel in America and told the stories of black artists. I didn't see much of it since I couldn't find the right way to walk thou the exhibition and my legs were already hurting since I had been there for 5 hours.

TLDR + Fun room about holidays, not only about Christianity but also about Muslims and Jewish religion. + In the centre of the city, easy to just pop in and out on a city trip. + inclusive and does not give a blind eye to the bad things of Christianity.

- it was pretty hard to navigate the museum and I kept getting lost, don't know if I missed parts of the museum - I do not recommend it to children/teens since there was not a lot to do

Would I pay the price: No, this would not have my interest Would I revisit it: probably not Who do I recommend it to: Adults interested in Christianity or history Interactive:         2 Educational: 4 Storytelling: 2 Price: 3 Memorable: 4 Total score: 3

Spring time in The Netherlands is always a great time. 🌷 🇳🇱 ❤ 🇳🇱 Congrats @nick_skeyes Locations📍 Photos 1,5,7,8,9 & 10. North Holland Photo 2. Amsterdam Forest Photo 6. Almere Photo 3. Is a composite ZaanseSchans/Tulips #TheNetherlands #tulips #field #views #instanetherlands #pursuepretty #nature #landscapephotography #Keukenhof #Lisse #netherlands #netherlands🇳🇱 #bestofnetherlands #loves_netherlands #thenetherlands🇳🇱 #visitnetherlands #igersnetherlands #living_netherlands #ig_netherlands #europestyle_netherlands #netherlandsdwarf #ignetherlands #netherlands_captured #netherlandsvacations #loves_united_netherlands #bestofthenetherlands #netherlands🇱🇺 #utrecht_netherlands #netherlandsantilles #travelnetherlands Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ Follow us ❤️👉🏻 @rare_picture_ (at Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgzp2SBMYPy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=