After spending a few days in Amsterdam, it was very refreshing to goto Rotterdam. Rotterdam, a 1h20m train ride away from Amsterdam, was interesting to me because it is essentially a new town by Europe standards. There are many, many new buildings in Rotterdam since it was bombed and essentially destroyed during WW2, however, being the largest port in Europe (formally the largest in the world) it has been rebuilt pretty fast. I stayed in Rotterdam for 4 days and 3 nights, I could have stayed for more days and felt entertained too. It was still an expensive city but marginally less expensive than Amsterdam. There were many English speakers there but also some less than Amsterdam.

You can view my [Rotterdam pictures][2] online. Take note of the different buildings.

[2]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolexa/sets/72157631785837069/