Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Having not met a single real Dutch person (I'm told they exist covertly amidst the horde of tourists), I decided to get out of Amsterdam to its arch-nemesis town, Rotterdam, to meet some 'locals'. There is a saying (well it was just one of the French guys who said it) that 'in Holland, even the buildings are stoned' - having seen Rotterdam, I definitely agree. Apparently it has won many awards for its bizarre buildings. The atmosphere in Rotterdam seemed a lot like Toronto - extremely multicultural, bad public transit, ugly urban planning, and good night life. It was a little dirtier than Toronto and it was quite bizarre hearing people of all nationalities speaking perfect Dutch (yet somehow it all seems normal when it is English). I was able to get some decent Surinamese-Chinese food, though. I never even met a single Surinamese person in Toronto.