A Cloud Tour to the Netherlands“云游”荷蘭

楊艷

Civilization exchanges enhance international friendships. What comes to your mind when mentioning the Netherlands？ It might be the featured windmills， well-known charming tulips， and you name it. Despite the COVID-19 hinders our steps to explore the world， those remarkable destinations worldwide remain appealing to us.

2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands at ambassadorial level. Let’s have a could tour of the Netherlands to appreciate its royal palace， architectural brilliance， tulips and cartoon arts. Let’s tick off the cloud travel list！

The Hague — Royal Charisma

The Hague， the third largest city of the Netherlands， accommodates the royal palace and the government. The Parliament Building， built in the 13th century， is called “Binnenhof”， literally “inner courtyard” in Dutch. As its name implies， one has to pass through the gate of the Castle of the Counts of Holland to enter the courtyard. Different from the solemn style of parliamentary buildings， visitors find themselves pleasant and comfort in the building. It is an organic integration of historic and modern elements.

Every third Tuesday of September is the “Prince Day” when the King delivers a speech in his throne in the Hall of Knights to officially open the parliamentary year. It is also a day for the parliamentary procession. Many locals and tourists gather in the Knights’ Square to watch the grand parade of the King and his guards.

The Mauritshuis， the museum of oil paintings， boasts a collection of some 800 oil paintings masterpiece by many well-known painters from the 15th to 18th centuries. The oil painting Girl with a Pearl Earring was drawn in 1665 by a Dutch painter Jan Vermeer who was on par with Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. A number of modern artists are mesmerized by it and hold the view that the girl’s smile is comparable to that of Mona Lisa. Hollywood even filmed a movie named after the Painting.

The royal city located in the coastal area is famous for its resort beach and abundant seafood cuisine. Scheveningen Beach is the most popular seaside resort of the Netherlands and offers a wide range of entertainment including cinemas， theaters， museums， surfing schools， beach parties， etc.

Rotterdam — A Museum of World-Renowned Architecture

After the Second World War， a lot of eminent architects gathered in Rotterdam and built world-renowned buildings such as the Erasmus Bridge， the Cube Houses and the Witte Huis， building the city’s reputation as a museum of world-renowned architecture.

Rotterdam is a modern and contemporary city. Its landmarks are buildings with unique shape soaring to the sky. Outside of Rotterdam Blaak railway station is a cluster of yellow buildings of creative shapes， namely the iconic Cube Houses.

The amphibious bus is the first-choice vehicle for exploring Rotterdam. It traverses freely and swiftly on the roads of the city center and the underwater of Meuse River.

Located at the southeastern Rotterdam， the Windmills of Kinderdijk is a group of 19 windmills built in the 1840s. In 1997， the village has been listed into the World’s Heritage List by the UNESCO. Cycling is a preferred choice to explore the area. Travelers can lie on the grassland by the river， watch huge windmills standing against the blue sky and reaching the white clouds on the banks of the river meandering into the distance. The senary is just like that in the painting called The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede by painter Jacob van Ruisdael.

Lisse — A Tulip Park

Lisse， situated between Harrlem and the Hague， gains its reputation for its beautiful flower fields and flower bulbs exported to the rest of the world. The famous Keukenhof Tulip Park is located in Lisse.

In 1949， Lisse held its first open-air flower exhibition. Then， it developed into an annual event， making Keukenhof one of the most attractive tourist attractions. Visiting the place in spring， one must be amazed by the pleasant scents and the spectacle of colors presented by tulips， hyacinths， daffodils， orchids， roses， carnations， irises， lilies， etc.

Annual grand Flower Parades are held in spring， and Lisse is a must-stop. With flower floats， drum bands， guard team， makeup teams， etc.， dozens of floats are presented in the parade， forming a 42-kilometer colorful ribbon from Noordwijk to Haarlem.

Utrecht — A City of Cartoon Arts

Utrecht boasts distinctive features different from other Dutch cities. Its history can be traced back to Roman times and the city still retains its medieval appearance. The Dom Tower at the center of the old town is the tallest church tower of the Netherlands and one of the country’s landmarks.

It is also a city of cartoon art， where the world-famous Miffy Rabbit was born. Its creator， Dick Brunner， is a world-renowned Dutch artist. The rabbit is the most famous resident of Utrecht.

Miffy served as an envoy of UNICEF. The Miffy Museum， also known as the Home of the Miffy Rabbit， showcases all the stories of Miffy from 1955 to the present. Children can visit Miffy’s house， bed and stool， or watch the cartoon of Miffy. Visitors can also draw the Miffy in their mind.

文明互鑒是增進各國人民友誼的橋梁。當提到荷蘭，你腦海中會想到什么？獨具特色的風車，人人稱道的郁金香……目前，全球新冠肺炎疫情雖然阻擋了我們探索世界的腳步，但那些著名城市的吸引力仍然散發著光芒。

2022年是中荷建立大使級外交關系50周年，今天，讓我們“云游”荷蘭，從皇城到建筑美學，從郁金香到童趣藝術，一起來“打卡”吧。

海牙—皇室風范

荷蘭第三大城市海牙，是皇室和政府所在地。建于13世紀的國會大廈Binnenhof在荷蘭語中是內院的意思。顧名思義，人們得穿過這座古堡的大門才能進入。院內原本是一位伯爵的庭院，現置身其中，有別于國會建筑的肅穆，多了幾分閑適，呈現出歷史與現代的最佳融合。

每年9月的第三個星期二是“王子日”。這一天海牙將舉行國會開幕式，國王會在騎士樓的寶座上演講，因此也被稱為“國王國會游行”。許多民眾和游客會來到騎士廣場，一睹國王和衛兵游行的盛況。

莫里茨皇家美術館也被稱為油畫博物館，這里收藏了約800幅15—18世紀一些著名繪畫大師的油畫作品。油畫《戴珍珠耳環的少女》是與倫勃朗齊名的荷蘭畫家維米爾于1665年創作，許多現代藝術家為之傾倒，認為少女的回眸一笑足以與蒙娜麗莎的微笑相媲美。好萊塢還專門拍攝了同名的電影。

這座海邊皇城還擁有著名的度假海灘和豐富的海鮮美食。席凡寧根海灘是荷蘭人氣最旺的海濱度假勝地，這里還提供電影院、劇院、博物館、沖浪學校、沙灘派對等豐富的娛樂活動。

鹿特丹—世界建筑博物館

第二次世界大戰后，許多有名的建筑設計師都涌向鹿特丹，建造了天鵝大橋、立體方塊屋、白房子等世界知名建筑。所以，鹿特丹也被稱為世界建筑博物館。

鹿特丹散發著摩登現代感，造型獨特的建筑高聳的一角直指蒼穹，成為鹿特丹的地標。鹿特丹火車站外有一片奇形怪狀的黃色建筑群，那就是大名鼎鼎的立體方塊屋，每一個立方體都是一幢房子。

水陸兩棲巴士可以行駛在水上和陸地，是游覽鹿特丹的絕佳工具。前一秒還穿梭在陸地駛過鹿特丹市中心，下一秒已經沖入默茲河水。

小孩堤防風車群位于鹿特丹東南部，至今仍保存著19座建于18世紀40年代的風車。1997年，小孩堤防風車村被聯合國教科文組織列入世界文化遺產名錄。在這里，騎自行車是一種優選游覽方式。騎累了， 躺在河邊的草地上，看著藍天白云下的巨大風車，矗立在蜿蜒流向遠方的河岸邊，宛如置身著名畫家雷斯達爾的作品《風車》中。

麗茲—郁金香公園

麗茲鎮位于哈勒姆和海牙之間，以其美麗的花田和出口到世界各地的花球而聞名。備受矚目的庫肯霍夫郁金香公園就在這里。

麗茲于1949年舉辦了首屆露天花展，逐漸發展成每年舉辦的花卉活動，庫肯霍夫逐漸成為荷蘭最具魅力的景點之一。如果春天來到這里，郁金香、風信子、水仙花、蘭花、玫瑰、康乃馨、鳶尾、百合……你會被花香和色彩的奇觀所震撼。

春季，荷蘭還會舉行盛大的花車巡游，麗茲是每年花車巡游的必經之地。花車、鼓樂隊、護衛隊、化妝隊伍……幾十輛花車組成的巡游隊伍，從諾德維克到哈勒姆全程42公里，留下了一條色彩斑斕的絲帶。

烏特勒支—童趣藝術之城

烏特勒支擁有與荷蘭其他城市不同的特質。它的歷史可以追溯到羅馬時代，市內依然保留著中世紀的面貌。位于老城中心的Dom Tower是荷蘭最高的教塔，更是荷蘭的地標之一。

這里也是充滿童趣的藝術之城，風靡世界的米菲兔就誕生在這里。米菲兔的創作者迪克·布魯納是享譽世界的荷蘭藝術家。米菲兔算是烏特勒支最著名的“居民”。

米菲兔還曾經擔任過聯合國兒童基金會的形象大使。米菲兔博物館也被人們稱為米菲兔之家，展示了米菲從1955年誕生至今的成長歷程，匯集了關于米菲所有的故事。孩子們可以進入米菲的小房子參觀她的小床、小凳子，或是看一會米菲的動畫片，還可以畫出自己心目中的米菲兔。