Holland June 7 -9

We drove up to Rotterdam and decided to find the Tourist information office to gather details of where to go and stay during our visit. Unfortunately, we found the road signs very difficult to interpret and got lost in part of the more industrial part of downtown. While driving around trying to find our way, what looked like a police car (turned out to be customs) flagged us down and asked to see our papers for the car. Taking the advice of the car company we had not put the papers in the glove box, but instead had put them away somewhere. Neither of us could remember where. After 15 minutes of looking and not finding the papers, they ran our license plate through their computer and gathered we were not smart enough to be stealing cars, so they let us go. They suggested we carry on to Delft and not try to get into Rotterdam with the car.

The tourist information office in Delft didn’t have much information, you could purchase a map of the city, but that was about it. We decided to carry on up the road to find a place to stay. We set up camp in ??? a small town near the coast. We had dinner and then it began to rain. No worries, we played cards in the tent.




We explored Amsterdam for the next two days. We were given directions to a park and ride near Amsterdam. What a great deal. We were able to park and get three round trip train tickets for 6 Euros. This is how the Netherlands are trying to keep cars out of the city. Combined with very high parking prices in the city, the methodology is very effective. Our exploration of Amsterdam was hampered by a constant rain. We got a few breaks, but not much. Luckily, coming from Seattle, this is no big deal.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city with amazing canals and pretty buildings. Although the canals are everywhere, this should be known as the city of the bicycles. The Dutch are fantastic about using their bicycles. Young and old alike ride everywhere. The roads are laws are set up to give bikes the right of way in all situations. For us, it took some getting used to as a pedestrian to constantly watch for bikes.

We visited Anne Frank’s house and went through the exhibit. Karen had read the book in High School, but it made it more interesting to see it in person to give perspective. Tim will read the book in school next year. We walked through a number of nice flower markets with flowers and bulbs that we never see at home (Susan, you would have loved it). Of course, we had to visit a cheese shop or two.




The sites were lovely, but we had a few culinary treats that people had told us we must try. Our first day in Amsterdam, we tried the Matjes (young herring which have been stored in a salt brine). Essentially it is raw herring. We weren’t too sure at first, but loved them! Next, we had to confirm a Pulp Fictionism. John Travolta said they eat french fries in Holland smothered in Mayonnaise. We ordered the frites “with” and sure enough, they came smothered in Mayo. Finally, you can’t go to Holland without getting cheese. We had some lovely Gouda and smoked goats cheese.




On our way out of Holland, we went through Arnhem. This is the town featured in the movie “A Bridge Too Far”. During World War II, the allies staged an operation to retake Holland from the Germans. The final objective was the bridge in Arnhem. The British parachuted into the area around Arnhem and quickly moved to try to take the bridge. The German troops were much stronger than expected and the ground forces moving up from the South took much longer than planned. The result was an incredible battle in this town. We visited the museum, which is in a house that functioned as the British headquarters and we visited a museum near the bridge (this one is free!). Both were very interesting and matched up quite well with the movie.

We ended up not spending much time in Holland and missed quite a few sites we would like to see, but the weather was not very conducive for the sights and the cost of things in Holland was substantially beyond this trips budget. Consequently, this is on our return to visit on another trip list.

~Jeff~
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