The Rose in the Lily Pond

In the space of eating a waffle on the streets of Brussels, we saw a guy wearing a top hat riding a bike, a homeless man rip up a loaf of bread and throw it in the gutter while yelling obscenities, and a whole lot of other weird and interesting sights. It was like the whole spectrum of human existence was passing our table with every skin tone, culture, subculture, sexuality, social class, and religion imaginable. The capital of the European Union is the second most diverse city in the world, after Dubai, with more than half its residents not born in Belgium. Mural found on the streets of Brussels - destruction while flying a peace flag Coming from Auckland, which is in the top five most diverse cities in the world, it was so refreshing to see an array of people who didn’t look like me. I felt at home among the multi-cultural vibrancy and it also meant we got to try an array of food. Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Indian, Thai - pretty much any cuisine you coul

I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. A day where a city stops churning and everyone takes to the streets, or to the water, to party. People from all over the Netherlands, as well as us tourists, descend on Amsterdam to celebrate King’s Day. The city is transformed into one giant festival for the King’s birthday and whether you support the idea of a monarchy or not, it’s a great day to be a part of. Small stages are set up outside bars with djs and artists playing and party goers dancing to one harmonious positive beat.   Amsterdam is usually a hazard nightmare to walk around - I have developed a fear of trams and imagine my early death getting squished by these frequent and convenient metal trolleys every time I step out of the train station. And if it isn’t the trams that you have to watch out for, it’s the cyclists who seem to have a vendetta against pedestrians. However on King’s Day, pedestrians rule the roost. Public transport stops in Amsterdam and vehicle acc