In 1992, my wife Susan and I enjoyed a memorable experience visiting the Netherlands. Back then, we supervised to discover Holland offered a wonderful culture, where everyone we met was friendly and helpful, and a picturesque landscape and sites that were easy to get to and enjoy. Whether on a bike, by train or by car Holland is very accessible and offers a great variety of things for a couple - what about for a family?
Our challenge was to return to Holland for a family adventure as part of our larger holiday through Europe. The experience was different to traveling as a couple but equally fun in its own right. I hope you enjoy sharing this family travel journal through the Netherlands with me.
- Andrew Main, Travel Writer
To Holland
After many years slaving away for Queen and country in the good old Australian Public Service, I decided to take several months long service leave, and take the family to Europe. I was looking forward to a reward for my service - 10 long years adds up to 6 long months of holiday!
Traveling with Kids
Although technically speaking our trip to Holland was a holiday, I reckon the reality was more like a 4 month school excursion! I was pleased to share the culture, places and people of Holland with my kids - it was the ultimate school project and I am sure the experience and learnings will be with them for life.
The learning experience was a two-way street, however, and my wife and I discovered traveling with children was a different experience. We had been away for 4 weeks by the time we arrived in Holland, and we were coming to the rapid realisation that three pre-teen children need much more down time than Susan or I were used to. It stands to reason that young children just can’t maintain a high stamina for days at a time, so we learnt to allow them the luxury of just hanging about doing nothing much at least one day out of every three.
The Travel Route
Leiden
This is a delightful city, about a half hour drive from Amsterdam. It is situated on the mouth of the Rijn river (the famous Rhine River), and is well known as a University town.
We enjoyed wandering up and down the streets, just observing the culture. Naturally there were lots of bikes. It is well known there are more bicycles than cars in Holland, and that was certainly true here. The bike paths are very sophisticated, complete with right of way over cars at some intersections, and the bikes have their own traffic lights too. It was very common to see young men cycling along with bunches of tulips for their girlfriends in the front baskets. It was also very common to see their girlfriends riding on the bar, side-saddle.
The Dutch are famous for cheese, and we found an amazing cheese shop while in Leiden. I am not a big cheese eater myself, but Susan went in and sampled some of the local cuisine. Just imagine any cheeses you can think of, and they had it. Absolutely wonderful!
All the buildings we saw were immaculately kept. An example of this is the Latin school which the artist Rembrandt studied in as a boy. To the casual observer, the building looked like it was built in the early 1900s, but it was actually constructed sometime in the 1600s. I since discovered that in Holland the government charges big fines for poorly kept buildings. I can’t think of anywhere in Holland where there were any derelict buildings. It is no wonder the Dutch have such pride in their houses, they have to in order to not be fined!
The river traffic was pretty awesome. Lots of locals were going up and down the river, either for business or pleasure. The river and canal traffic showed the Netherlands has an obvious and a distinct part of their culture - relaxed, common yet stylish. Again, the boats were very well looked after. I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet they get fined for not looking after them too.
We happened to be in Leiden during their culture weekend. This allowed us to visit all the museums for free. So, we decided to see a medical museum and and windmill museum. The medical one had a very comprehensive collection of medical instruments going back hundreds of years. I was particularly intrigued by the world’s first microscope, developed by Leeuwenhoek. Apparently Galileo got his ideas for a telescope after seeing the microscopes that were in there. The windmill museum was good too, especially for the kids.
We finished off the day sitting on the banks of the canal, next to a playground, eating some take-away pizza. A great way to finish off the day.
Duinrell
We stayed in a campsite called Duinrell for the week. This place is a children’s paradise, because it is situated on the grounds of a large theme park, with lots of rides and fun stuff to do.
It is also the home of Tikibad, which is an indoor swimming pool with the longest covered waterslide complex in the world. We could go on all the theme park rides for free, and we could swim at Tikibad for two hours per day, also free of charge.
Well the kids had a blast! We hired bicycles, and the children just vanished for large portions of the day going on all the free rides. Tikibad was awesome too. The scariest waterslide was nearly vertical, and you would zoom through at 60 kilometres per hour! Not for the faint-hearted.
As we were only a few kilometers from the ocean, we all decided to check out the beach one day. We hopped on our bikes, and headed off. Duinrell is about 4 metres below sea-level, and this was the first time I have ever gone uphill to get to a beach. It was also very busy on the bike paths – traffic jams and all! Unlike the English pebble beaches, this one did at least have some coarse sand, but there were lots of medium sized sharpish shells mixed throughout the sand. Also, it was very dirty, with lots of cigarette butts and general rubbish just inches below the surface. Not only that, but the water was a greenish brownish colour, smelt funny, and was absolutely freezing. Lots of locals were there, and they appeared to be enjoying themselves. It was quite disappointing for us Aussies though, but definitely an unforgettable experience.
The Hague - Madurodam
The next experience I will share with you was our visit to Madurodam in the Hague. Everything is so close in Holland and any description I could give you of travel is simply so short and simple, it is not really worth it. The point is, getting from Leiden to the Hague, for example, is so easy, you can do it in less than 40 minutes. Traveling from one end of the Netherlands to the other is so easy and they have great roads and rail infrastructure which they are very well-known.
Something else the Dutch are well known for (apart from bicycles and cheeses) is little knick-knacks. It seems to me they love small ornaments, and often proudly display them in their houses. Madurodam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam) is also where you go to see miniature towns. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Holland. Up there with Minimundus in Austria and Lego Land in Denmark, this is as interesting and quaint for the kids as it is for parents.
Here we are looking inside this palatial miniature building and its interior furnishings, also in miniature. The detail and effort that goes into the exhibits was truly worthy of respect. It is an art form all of its own and something quintessentially Dutch.
Alblasserdam - The Kinderdijk
Just north of Rotterdam is the lovely town and region of Alblasserdam. We passed through here and took a cruise down the canals on our last day in Holland. The canals in Alblasserdam have the largest collection of old-fashioned, fully working windmills in the world. There are 19 of them in all, when we took in with a great boat trip. We could see that they were all lived in, and they appeared to all be in working condition. The place is called Kinderdijk, and it is another of the country’s well known tourist attractions.
The Dutch have always needed to control water. This is because about half the country is below sea level. These windmills formed part of a huge system designed to raise water about one metre at a time. For the really low parts of the country, that meant they had to have two or more windmills to get the water high enough to flow to the ocean.
Summary
As a family, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Holland. We stayed away from Amsterdam and the big cities as much as possible, and our holiday was much more peaceful as a result. As a generalization, we found the young single tourists preferred to sample the sights and sounds (and night-spots) of the cities, and families tended to stay away from the cities, and visit the same places as we did.
When we got to talk with the local people, we discovered that the vast majority of them felt the same way we did. There is a lot of talk in the media about sex, drugs, euthanasia, and a general liberal outlook on life in Holland. The locals outside of Amsterdam actually don’t agree with the liberal attitudes either, which we found to be very interesting. Holland has heaps to offer for families, and we could have spent longer there if we had the time.
- Andrew Main, Travel Writer
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Travel Writer Andrew Main contributed this winning story in the "Gondwana Samurai II competition". This tale is a nice travel journal that shows Holland has a softer side than the infamous hash bars and the Red Light District in Amsterdam. it is a place for families and offers a rich culture and scenery, unique and accessible.
This well-written piece is engaging and light-hearted, I hope readers enjoy this journal and learn from Andrew's itinerary and the places he has reviewed.
- David B, Editor, Champ Magazine
In the Netherlands, it is easy to see a connection to the colour orange. It is the colour donned on national days, at events and for sporting teams, including their world-famous national football team. This orange connection comes from William I, "Prince of Orange."
William I of Nassau (Willem) was born in 1533 and was the Prince of the Dutch House of Nassau in the Spanish-controlled Netherlands. With the death of his cousin in 1544, William inherited the title "Prince of Orange", ruler of the Principality of Orange in France, its coat of arms is above. Thus meant the creation and legacy of the House of Orange-Nassau.
Seeing the cruelty being dispensed to Protestants under the Spanish and their ruthless Inquisition, William turned revolutionary. He won many battles but was assassinated in 1584 before his dream of a persecution-free and Spanish-free Netherlands could be realised. His legacy of religious acceptance and denominational tolerance would live on with his grandson William III who became the King of England and Scotland. The Netherlands has, as a result of William I and his line, had a key role in European, British and world-wide colonial-era history.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is one of the Netherlands' most celebrated sons. Born in 1606 in the city of Leiden, Rembrandt is one of the worlds best known "Impressionists". Not only did he leave a legacy of art and inspiration, Rembrandt is celebrated as a champion of democracy, racial inclusion and compassion and is revered by the Dutch as a "a great prophet".
Van Leeuwenhoek's work was vital in the establishment of microbiology as a science. This crucial work is often unsung and he is for microbiology what Einstein is for physics or Mendelayev is for chemistry. Having discovered and classified microbes for the first time, much of his work has formed the basis for the work of medical laboratories today. His invention, the microscope, has endured and is still used successfully, in its various and much advanced forms, today.
FACT:
Holland is a name derived from the term given to the local people "Hollanders" who live in the Netherlands and is also a term from former times when Holland (upper and lower) were considered regions. While it is technically incorrect to use the term "Holland"', most people know it as an accepted English language term.
The Netherlands is the true name of the nation and means "Low Lands" and the people who live there are "Hollanders". So there you go and now you know.
Founded in around 1230 AD, the Hague ("Den Haag") actually means "the hedge" and was known in former times as Den Gravenhaag which means "the Count's Wood". This is the Netherlands' 3rd largest city and is the historic capital and former seat of power for the nation.
The Hague is a vibrant mix of cosmopolitan living, light industry and commerce, making it a truly progressive and modern city with an old-world European charm.
While in the Hague's Madurodam, we were lucky to find a special exhibition of ice sculptures from Harbin in China. Timing is everything! A series of large rooms chilled to minus 10 degrees Celsius had been set up especially for this exhibition. It was too cold to stay longer than 5 minutes at a time so we went back a second time to see it all. The special lights inside the ice were designed to stop melting. Really amazing attention to detail.
Some Famous Hollanders:
William of Orange - King and Revolutionary
Rembrandt Van Rijn - Painter
Vincent Van Gogh - Painter
Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Footballer
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