How did you like the big city of Manila? I hope you did at least a little bit because we are hopping to another one – Amsterdam!

Wait, did I say Amsterdam? What I meant was: New Amsterdam. What the heck is that? – you may ask. Maybe it’s somewhere around Amsterdam proper. Or maybe it’s this new posh district in the Amsterdam. Or maybe it’s a name of a big, luxurious shopping mall somewhere in China. Well, nope, neither of these.

Here’s a hint:

Ha, it may be new but surely it’s not New Amsterdam! It’s New York – however it was previously known as New Amsterdam. The town was founded by Dutch settlers and hence the name; back then it was part of – surprisingly – New Netherland. Today it is also known as The Big Apple among other nicknames. Despite the nickname the headquarters of Apple Inc. are not located in the city.

Fun fact: in the future about 1000 years from now it will be known as New New York (all you Futurama fans know what I am talking about).

Today most of the tourist arrive to the city by plane or road. Few decades back a ship was the most popular means of transport. Thousands of people flocked through the Atlantic to try their luck and live the American Dream.

And they were greeted by the French lady:

To clarify things: the statue was made by the French people (does the name Eiffel sound familiar?) and was given to the American people as a gift back in the nineteenth century. The figure is that of a goddess Libertas (see? the gods are everywhere, not only on the islands of the Philippines) and represents as you already know the concept of liberty.

So let us disembark the ship and we will have a look around the city in the next post.