Tag: canals

Netherlands Waterway Cruise…tips and hints

Things I learned on the Netherlands Waterway Cruise:

  • Make sure you have extra battery packs and memory cards for your camera!
  • Don’t wait until you get to the airport to say goodbye to all the new friends you’ve made. With everyone busy finding their luggage and looking for the right gate, we were scattered to the four winds before we knew it. Make sure to get information to stay in touch while you’re still on the boat.
  • Take comfortable walking shoes. Also, take comfy “lounging” shoes for when you’re on the boat.
  • If you like ice cream, you’ll love ice cream in Holland.
  • Holland is full of friendly, helpful people who live in a clean, green world and are very proud of their land and their heritage.
  • Although our cruise ship is small compared to many of larger ships we saw in Amsterdam harbor, this boat can get into the smaller canals and go places the big guys can’t. That’s really what makes this waterway cruise so special. And I think it makes it a more comfy-cozy sort of trip.

It was a great time and a great trip, and if I have an opportunity to go again, I hope to meet you there!

Excursion into Friesland

Today is Easter Monday in the Netherlands. Traditionally, this is a holiday to get together with friends and family to celebrate springtime. On our excursion through the countryside, we saw many people out on bicycles or picnicking alongside the canals. Once again, the weather was ideal!

Two villages in particular seemed to pull out all the stops for this day. Rouveen and Staphorst have a number of citizens who still dress in the traditional style of years past, and it was fun to see so many of them on their way to church service in their Easter Monday finery.

We also stopped to see the hunebeds—huge granite burial chambers older than the Egyptian pyramids. I did some research online and discovered that there are over 50 of these megalithic monuments scattered over the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen, but not much is known about the people who built them.

In Giethoorn we boarded special “touring boats” and cruised the small canals into this very unique establishment where, in most cases, each house is on its own island surrounded by water. Many of us wondered what it would be like to live a life where one would grab oars instead of car keys to “run to the store for a few things.” It’s certainly a peaceful and beautiful place to visit.

The Orchid Farm in Luttelgeest was a treat for the senses. It’s a lovely place to stroll around, with thousands of orchids in all directions. We walked through the beautiful “Butterfly Room,” home to dozens of species of butterflies, ponds filled with koi, and we even met the resident iguana. Must be iguanas don’t eat butterflies. . .

Cameras were busy all through the day as we drove through or stopped at the many villages, each with its own special history and charm.

My day in images.