A EUROPEAN HOLIDAY 2017-18 VOL. 13

DORDRECHT, HOLLAND

Forget Amsterdam with its boorish crowds and dirty streets. Go to Dordrecht.

It has its own system of canals that intertwine through the center of the city with quaint arched bridges making for very picturesque views.

It has museums with impressive permanent collections and a cathedral as interesting and lush as any major city.

It has streets filled with shopping where the local goods are more important and a little less expensive than shops that only cater to names like Prada and Versace.

It has a history as rich as Hans Christian Andersen with a windmill right in the heart of city

The architectural heritage of Holland with its leaning buildings and shuttered windows is something that you'll see just around every corner

It has a food culture that may not rival Amsterdam in quantity but certainly in quality.

It has all the old world charm you could ask for

and beer culture as impressive as you'd find in Belgium with names like butt beer to boot.

And best of all it doesn't have the cluster of tourists clogging your path to an enjoyable holiday.

Dordrecht may be small but it's magical.

If it weren't for our friends from our mutual trips to the fattoria in Armena we probably would have never heard of Dordrecht. To all of them we say "Dank je wel"