'So, you're Dutch?'
'Yup, 100% Dutch.'
'Awesome. Nice country. You must have seen it all, right? I mean, it's so small. Been to the Anne Frank House?'
'Ummm... no.'
'The Keukenhof?'
'No.'
'The mills at Kinderdijk?'
'No, I'm sorry.'
'The Euromast then?'
'Nope...'
'Oh. Well then, how about...'
'I'm sorry, but I'm afraid not.'
Ever found yourself in a conversation like that? It seems to be a global phenomenon: we travel the entire world, see the most beautiful parts of every continent, but when it comes to our homecountry, the most interesting thing we've seen is the supermarket. Sad but true. And so not going to happen to me anymore!

From Envy's Make it Happen List
#16: Go to a 'tourist trap' in my own country
Status: Awesomeness Achieved

It's a shame that we often neglect our own country's beauty. So seeing one of those places that all the tourists are raving about became one of my goals. But the Anne Frank House is all the way over in Amsterdam, the Keukenhof is closed this time of the year, the Euromast is close to home but way too expensive for a girl living on student loans. The mills at Kinderdijk are just a few kilometers away and very cheap, but if you've seen one old Dutch mill, you've seen them all. And believe me, I've seen a lot of old Dutch mills in my life.
There wasn't much left. Or so I thought. Because I'd forgotten all about Rotterdam's brand new tourist trap: the Markthal.
And thus I went to the Markthal, which is literally a hall with a market in it. I'm not a big fan of the architecture, it reminds me way too much of one of the monsters from Monsters University. The inside is stunning - if Where's Waldo is one of your favorite books. The entire thing is covered with a mural of everything you can buy on the market from fish to flowers to peppers.
Still I love the Markthal. It's superhot inside, so you don't need to wear a jacket, even when it's midwinter. You can buy every kind of food you can imagine. There's an Asian supermarket and a foodstand that sells Australian barramundi! There are miniature donuts and cupcales. There's ice cream and delicious Japanese food... It's heaven for food lovers. If you're ever in Rotterdam, go to the Markthal.
The place was crowded with tourists from all over the world and there are tons of cute little stands to check out. A few of them even have a terrace on top, so you can take a better look at the ceiling and the ginormous crowds.

So I was walking around there with my parents - when they decided they'd seen enough. 'It's a market in a hall, just like in Peru.' And to be honest, that's true, it's like the Peruvian market with tastier food and less organs from animals for sale. It's not that special. Nevertheless, it's an awesome place. Maybe I'll go back and do some Markthal food reviews soon!

Stay Awesome!