Holland, The Netherlands

My parents who were avid gardeners used to take us to Holland twice a year, once in the spring to buy bulbs and visit Keufenhof Park and its 70 acres of over seven million flowers.    This is a breathtaking experience.   We then went in June to go to the cheese market at Alkmaar.   In my University days, I used to go over for long weekends to Amsterdam with a Dutch friend and have been back many times since

When most people think of Holland, they think of windmills, men in baggy pants, wooden shoes, tulips, canals, and a completely flat countryside.   The word Holland, is really the name of the two western provinces only, North and South Holland with eleven provinces in all.  The entire country is known as the Netherlands.  The Dutch have done a wonderful job of protecting their flat land from the North Sea by building dykes and when in winter the canals freeze over, everyone skates.   Holland always has  a great team to enter in the Winter Olympics for speed skating.

There are two languages , Dutch and Fries, both are difficult to learn, but most people can  speak English.   The people from Friesland in the north, are tall and well-built people, and that part of the country is normally not on the tourist path.  This country has strong ties with the United Kingdom since the Royal Family and Parliament escaped and lived there until World War II was over. 

At one period it had  10,000 Windmills which were used to pump water from the flat marshes and today with new technology, it is an easier job of controlling the low lying land from floods since it is as much as 16 feet below sea level.

The Dutch East India Company had strong ties in Indonesia, and  for  centuries had the spice trade for Europe.    There are many wealthy merchants today whose ancestors built a fortune in shipping.

You will find a flavor of Indonesian food in Holland today, along with things like smoked eel on toast, pickled herrings, and bacon topped pancakes.  

A wonderful idea for a holiday is to spend a few days in Amsterdam which is unique and unlike any other city in Europe,  then take a river cruise for eight days on the Rhine to Frankfurt.    Go in the spring, and experience tulip mania.     With over 400 museums and the most spectacular art work in the world,  you can keep busy.    Even if you are not a lover of museums, do visit the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh which are next door to each other.   The Dutch Master’s paintings are worth looking at.   Rembrandt’s "The  Night Watch" is said to be the most valuable painting in the world.   I love sitting on a bench across from it and watching the people stand in awe.

Amsterdam is recognized as the world’s best diamond center, and you can buy a diamond for half the price of anywhere else.  It’s an interesting thing to do, take a private tour, or a group one, to see how the diamonds are cut into the  seven different shapes.

If you want to take a motor coach tour of the Netherlands,  Trafalgar does an excellent job showing you the Best of Holland in eight days, and I recommend Uniworld and AMA for a river cruise experience.  You can take an eight day, or a ten day cruise, Amsterdam to Antwerp or an even longer one as far as Istanbul.    River cruising is the most popular holiday experience right now. 

My favorite places are Aalsmeer Flower Auction, Alkmaar, the cheese capital, Delft, a lovely place to wander around and it has a smashing flower and food market on Thursdays.  You can take a tour of the Royal Porcelain Works and buy a piece of the lovely  blue Delftware.  Top of the list is a cruise down one of the 160 canals in Amsterdam.  

Tot Ziens – good bye.

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel  at 160 Main Street. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure