Noorderlicht is an old dock place, used by 250 artists working in the fields of theater, film, media, architecture and design. The place is both cafe & restaurant and also a little getaway from the city. Especially when the weather is holding up, it’s a perfect way to spend a late afternoon contemplating your day in Amsterdam on the terrace overlooking the IJ and part of the city center.

The staff is very informal, laid back and friendly, but not particularly speedy when it’s busy. The food is always fresh, healthy and delicious. The menu changes with the seasons and offers a variety of prices, so you can decide if you want to stay on a budget or splurge a little. The desserts are to die for, especially the plum tarte tatin and hangop pudding with rhubarb sauce.

Getting there: An absolute must! From the new Aanmeersteiger behind Central Station, where the big ferry to Amsterdam Noord-establishes, leaves a NDSM ferry to the wharf. Hence it is five minutes walk to Northern Lights. Over 50 more after arriving straight and then turn right at the NDSM. Walk 300 meter straight to the sheds on your left. At the end you see right to a transparent dome ‘t IJ. Just make sure you don’t miss the last ferry back to civilization. Ferries operate daily at 12:00 till 22:00.

Centrale Bibliotheek (OBA) in Amsterdam is not just an ordinary library. Sure it has everything that one bibliotheek should have – an extensive collection of books, a quiet atmosphere and plenty of places to study or read. Yet, the largest library in the Benelux offers much, much more.

Very close to the Central Station, the Central Library opened its doors in 2007, and become the most visited cultural organization in Amsterdam with 2.5 million visitors a year. You can easily spend the whole day here: study at one of the 600 computers (or use the free wireless internet); have a drink at one of the coffee corners while enjoying a magazine or paper from the extensive selection; check out the art exhibitions in the spacious hall; or go the restaurant on the top floor—breathtaking views included in every meal.

The library has 7 floors, creatively designed by Jo Coenen. With its 28,000 square meteres, it offers the perfect opportunity to escape the hustle of the city and soak up some well-deserved knowledge.

How to get there: the Central Library can be reached by public transport, using all metros, trams and buses terminating at Amsterdam Central Station or by bike via the bicycle bridge (left by the pedestrian quay to Nemo). You will see the library at the end of the bridge. Just past the library, you will see the secure bicycle storage.

The Dutch island of Terschelling lies along the Dutch coast for 29 km creating a barrier between the North and Wadden Seas. It is most accessible of the West Frisian Islands, with miles of sandy shoreline and a wonderfully varied landscape for its size. The north coast is a white-sand beach up to 1 km wide, backed by windswept dunes with a hinterland of pine forest. To the south is salt marsh – lush meadowland where catle graze and cranberries grow. The entire eastern end of the island is a nature reserve for migratorybirds.

The main town is called West-Terschelling, which is a charming port on the south coast, steeped in maritime history. The islanders are renowned for their seamanship, resilience and resourcefulness. There are walks, cycle paths and bridleways that take you all over the island, superb beaches for sand yachting and surfing, and plenty of opportunities for sailing or just mucking around on a boat. There is a real sense of being at one with nature here – a wonderful sense of freedom and space. 

When to go: June to September. Population: 4,702. How to get there: Ferry from Harlingen (The Netherlands) to West-Terschelling. You shoul know: Don’t bother to bring a car here. There are plenty of buses and taxis but the best way of getting around is by bike.

Photos by: proudof7

It is “De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel” in the Netherlands. The hotel converted four of the giant old wine casks into four modest two-person rooms. This must be a great experience no matter if you love French wines or not. Once filled with 14,500 liters of Beaujolais wine from the French chateau today they’re transformed into rooms with standard facilities. All the hotel rooms are well-equipped, most with en-suite bathroom and shower, television, etc. The room will cost you from €74 to €119 a night.

Star forts are amazing and really become visually stunning when you look down on them from above. This style of fortification design was adopted in the early 16th century as people realized that simpler, often circular forts were pretty crap when it came to the job in hand: defense. Photo: Bourtange Netherlands

Many of them still stand today in varying sizes. Some are empty, some contain ruins. some, as you’ll see below, contain entire villages. Here are 5 of the best star forts on Earth… Photos: Palmanova Italy

Photos: Goryokaku Japan

Photos: Almelda Portugal

Photo: Naarden Netherlands

This is the world’s very first Sustainable Dance Club located in Rotterdam. The club let party goers loose on its energy-generating dance floor! The club is called Watt and includes a LED-laden dance floor that is lit up solely by the kinetic energy generated by dancers. The new nightclub will also feature a variety of efficiency standards established by the Sustainable Dance Club group that allow it to save 30% on energy consumption, 50% on water use, cut CO2 emissions by 30%, and reduce waste by 50%.

Watt features a variety of sustainable strategies that include the use of energy-efficient LED lighting instead of powerhungry spotlights, a rainwater catchment system that supplies water for its toilets, and waterless urinals which will save an expected 1000 cubic meters of water per year.

Currently the sustainable dance floor does not power the club although Watt have stated that they “are looking for a way to use the floor output in the future to power other systems”. The club also has, cafe area, theater and business premises. The cafe is a bustling and accessible meeting place. Business appointments, a drink with some friends before the start of a concert, coffee with coconut pie with grandma. The menu offers authentic dishes for a get-together or a modest dinner. In the summer of 2009 WATT will have extended the cafe well outdoors, towards the park.

The theater stands for entertainment, culture and artistic productions. It is the perfect space for spontaneous, smaller performances or relaxed get-togethers. It can also be opened up towards the cafe, which makes having a cup of coffee a unique experience in itself.

Bonaire is an island part of Netherlands, Antilles and soon will be the first island in the Caribbean with a 100% sustainable energy supply. The government of Bonaire, who boasts on its island’s beauty and natural preservation, took a project of trashing its fossil fuel energy dependence and developing an energy system comprised of an 11MW wind farm, 14MW biodiesel plant, and a 3.5MW backup battery. Ecopower Bonaire BV, a consortium of Dutch-German companies, Evelop, Enercon, and local Bonaire Water and Energy Company, is spearheading this project that is expected to finish at the end of 2009.

The island has surrounding coral reed for tourism and eco-tourism, making it a top ranked Caribbean destination for scuba diving and witnessing wildlife. The island’s north side is also home to an array of flamingos, a donkey sanctuary and an ecological preserve. With crystal-water beaches, cool snorkeling, and 100% sustainable energy supply, what more could an eco-enthusiast ask for on her eco-holiday?

Piano house in Anhui, China

This unique piano house is in Anhui Province, China. This building was designed by the local Chinese government to attract more development to this area. Inside of the transparent violin is the escalator to the building, where a variety of city plans and ideas for the future development are on display.

The Blue Building, Netherlands

This building is located in the borough of Delfshaven, Rotterdam. It was once derelict building and one of the most unseen blocks of houses in Rotterdam. But by applying a layer of only 2 micron of blue paint, the block will remain blue as long as there isn’t a new plan for the area. And it became Rotterdam’s most photographed one.

The Agora Theatre is a very cultural architecture with performances and new media works. Situated in Lelystad, which is the capital of the province of Fleveland in the Netherlands. Lelystad is established in 1967 and famous for its controversial and forward-thinking city planning and with its center, the Centrale Zone, also known as West 8.

A big part of Lelystad is water. Another major area is the internationally popular nature park Oostvaadersplassen. The city is also surrounded by a square of woodlands, parks and gardens. The location of the city makes weather and skies quite wonderful. The importance of the landscape is also emphasized by many pieces of art and architecture like Agora Theatre.

Agora Theatre is not only a theater. It’s a museum and art establishment expertise as well. The structure itself worth a visit. Even if no performances were taking place, art exhibitions or lectures taking places. Also the tranquil cafe open during the day and offers sweet varieties of coffees and beautiful views over the city.

The staircase is pink and reminds of future castle. But the most spectacular premises in the theater is the red concert hall with unusual wall surfaces. Such a splendid wall gives visitors something to look at, when the actors change their costumes during the performances. The theater change the vibe of the Lelystad, both day and night.

Het Veer is a school for children with learning and concentration difficulties. The school interior work was to convey and attract concentration, playfulness and movement. Their eight different white and red tube furniture pieces can be mixed and matched creating various formations. They play off the Buzz Wire science game that teaches about electric circuits and is based on concentration and hand coordination.

The school is located in Almere, a 25 kilometers east of Amsterdam and often referred to as the most modern city in Europe. Almost 1,500 students work in a sport-centric environment where they receive coaching for their specific sport and in academic topics. i29, also the creator of Het Veer was asked to envision  the public spaces — including the main hall, staff room, library and computer/media room — for the new Bos & Partners architects-designed building with its gray brick, glass walls and unusual floor plans. They featured big images of the school’s famous sports hero alumni and then custom-created multi-functional tables, benches and signage, plus a color scheme for the common areas.

Het Veer is very beautiful school and one of the easiest ways to make a boring space more vibrant is to use color.

 Cubic House, Rotterdam, Netherlands 

One of the major attractions in the Rotterdam architecture are the Cubic Houses. The cubes are tilted and sit on hexagon-shaped structures.These are 39 cube-shaped dwellings, built in 1984 by Piet Biom, which are still inhabited. The living areas are divisions into three levels – the triangle-shaped lower level contains the living area, the middle level contains the sleeping area and a bathroom, and the top level is used a bedroom and relax place, offers a great view since the apex.

This is an abandoned resort in Sanjhih - small town on the North coast of Taiwan, that locals call “UFO House”. It was built as a holiday resort in the 1970s, by a keeper of a rubber company. It was costs 7-8 hundred million new Taiwan dollars. They planed to make it 5 stars resort hotel with the first yacht dock in the North coast of Taiwan.  However, the rubber company closed down in the energy crisis in 1980.

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Today there’re more intoxicating reasons to visit Amsterdam, than its popular coffee shops or its red-light district. Amsterdam is angling to become Europe’s creative capital. If you are on vacation there, the first thing to do is to rent a bike. This way you can avoided expensive taxi rides and feel like a local from the start. Don’t worry you won’t lost, because there’re bike paths everywhere. A nice spot to find a good bike is Orangebike.

The next best thing to do, connected friends in town is hiring a few. The company Like-a-Local connects tourists with friendly locals who will invite into their homes and cook a dinner for you. Such dinners are not only fun, but they’re great deal, with prices ranging from 23 to 35 euros, including a lot of wines.

The famous night club Jimmy Woo’s may be good times if you’re 22, but anyone older might feel like a chaperone. The club has an over-the-top Asian restaurant with ostrich wallpaper and mirrored tables, three cocktail bars with spectacular lighting and cool dance floor that vibrates.

The Van Gogh Museum in  Amsterdam attracts younger visitors for its Friday night opening hours. The museum is also a place, where people could meet and have a drink.

The museum central hall is turned into lounge in the form of a lobby and has an extra dimension: an encounter between the visitors. The chairs, sofas and rugs are blue in colour, so that the lobby can functions as a blue screen. When a film of the lobby is merged with an image of a Van Gogh painting and projected onto the wall of the central hall, the furniture is invisible and the people in the lobby appear to be in the middle of the painting.

As well as the visitors can walk through the street by the yellow house or snitt at Van Gogh’s sunflowers. This gives Friday nights at the museum a style all their own, distinctly different from the regular opening hours.

We start with a Villandy Gardens, France – a voyage into the symbolism and romance. The unique  gardens of Villandry are among the most fascinating gardens of France and of the World. Villandry’s Ornamental Gardens, water Garden, Herb Garden, and kitchen Garden have an international fame…