Tulips, mills and wooden shoes. Yes, you can find all these in The Netherlands. But also so much more! Think bikes, canals, lots of flat-as-a-pancake landscapes (and almost half of it even below sea level) If you want to see the famous tulip fields, know that they only look like that for about 2 to 3 weeks of the year, namely at the end of April, beginning of May. Before that, before the tulip blooms, the field are just green, and after that, when the flowers are chopped off (it is all about the exporting of the bulbs), the fields are green again. King’s Day, on the 27th of April, is a fun, crazy, very orange (the Dutch national color and the last name of the royal family, ‘Van Oranje’) festival. Especially Amsterdam is just overrun with people trying to party.
Amsterdam, See Amsterdam from the water, it is built on so many canals, and you may miss a few highlights because you walked around in circles, ending up at the same canal over and over again. A lot of people speak English, even Dutch people get approached on terraces with English. Great museums, The Rijksmuseum has reopened in 2015 after 10 years of renovations, so go see the Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn. Van Gogh museum, Anton Pieck museum, Anne Frank House, very impressive, but also very busy in summer (should you book online?). Nemo museum, close to Central Station, cool science museum, especially for kids, but also grown ups have fun doing all the scientific experiments. And yes, you will bump into the odd ‘coffee shop’ where you can get more than just a cup of coffee… But stay responsible, and make sure you still remember Amsterdam after you’ve left. (‘Yeah, I went to Amsterdam…. I think…. wait, I did, right? It’s a bit of a blur now…’)
Utrecht, a bit smaller than Amsterdam, but I just love the little lovely terraces on the water. The canals have streets next to them, but down below, at the water edge, are terraces and restaurants. You can rent a boat, and explore the city by yourself. Impressive Dome cathedral.
Hoorn, north of Amsterdam, about half hour by train. Old East Indian Trading Company town, lots of old warehouses, one more skew than the next. Built like that to haul things up to the top floors without having the load bump into the windows of the lower floors. Also for the rain. Roode Steen fun for going out, some bars and restaurants. De Beiaard next to the Grote Kerk (big church) is a good beer cafe. From Hoorn you can do a touristy train-boat-train thing. The golden triangle. From Hoorn to Medemblik in an original steam train, then by boat from Medemblik to Enkhuizen over the IJsselmeer. Open air museum in Enkhuizen. Then continue back to Hoorn with the regular train.
Lelystad, Aviodrome, cool aviation museum.
Almere, a relatively new town but therefor designed very practically, nice to walk around as well. Check out the upper floor in the library for some nice views over Almere and surrounding area.
Alkmaar, cheese city, cheese museum, beer museum, Waagplein fun bars and terraces (de Notaris, nice food, and after 10 pm all tables and chairs go to the side and dancing) Try a cheese soup at restaurant close to Lange Straat / De Laat (find name). Flat stone bridge. Boat tours.
Culinary events at different cities at different time of year, fun trying out snacks and drinks with live music. Rotterdam Brazilian Carnival also fun.
The Dutch coast, clean, relaxed, great walks, forest areas nearby, Fort Kijkduin old fortress with little aquarium.
The Hague, Madurodam, Holland in miniature, everything scale 1:25, see all of The Netherlands in a few hours. The coast with the dunes and dikes, the mills of Kinderdijk at Rotterdam, typical Dutch style houses. Scheveningen, great promenade boardwalk along the beach, Casino, Theater (the musical shows are in Dutch of course).
Maastricht / Valkenburg / Vaals (three country point)
Make sure you get on a bike in the Netherlands. There are more bikes than people, so you really should get on one. There are bike tours, or just rent one for the day, and see a lot! Biking around in Amsterdam is quite the experience.
In Friesland, Makkum, cool hotel ‘De Herberg van Oom Lammert en Tante Klaasje’ with original ‘cupboard’ bedrooms, like they had in the old days. The mattresses may be a bit odd and bumpy and perhaps filled with hay (they were at least when I was there), but at least it’s authentic. Just for one night it’s pretty cool to sleep there. Cool story: when they were working on the restaurant, they found an old sock with gold coins and a piece of old wrinkled parchment, on which was written, in old Dutch, that the coins are to be used to make a hotel with cupboard rooms for merchants and their wives. And so they finders did. Oomlammerentanteklaasje.nl for contact.
Eat: poffertjes, hutspot with smoked sausage, or any of the other mashed potato with veggie meals (kale with potatoes and smoked sausage was a already a longterm staple before it became a ‘super food’). At a Hema (big department store), try a ‘rookworst’ (smoked sausage), delicious flavor unlike any other smoked meats you’ve tried and it’s a classic Dutch food.
