Holland

A group guide to

Netherlands

Netherlands for Groups Tall Stories About e Netherlands told by Simon Walton hey say it’s a small country with a huge smile. e latter may be true, but the former is a matter of perspective. Sure, you can drive from one side to the other - from the North Sea to the Rhine in a few hours - but why would you? e sandy beaches of Scheveningen; the museums of e Hague, the craed crockery of Del, the wildlife of De Biesbosch, the bulb fields of Keukenhof and Leiden, the skyscrapers of Rotterdam, the canals of Haarlem, the cheeses of Gouda, the windmills of old Amsterdam, the watery wonders of the Polders, the muddy trails of Groningen, the raucous crowd at PSV, a restful recital in Nijmegen, an Airborne assault in Arnhem, and medieval Maastricht all lie in your way, to distract, detour and delight. All this in a country that’s only twice the size of Wales, but with much better trains, albeit with less hills and hardly any male voice choirs.

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is may come as a surprise to many Scots, but e Netherlands now begin at Rosyth, in the shadow of those Forth Bridges. At least, it will do, when sailing starts between the Fife port, famous for its 2

naval dockyard, and Eemshaven, the port for Groningen, famous for being as far north as e Netherlands gets - which is still only as far north as Tamworth (visittamworth.co.uk).

known for their industrial activities in oil rig support.

Whether you’ll be stopping off at the odd production platform mid voyage isn’t clear as we go to press, but be sure that we’ll keep you updated.

Unlike Staffordshire’s reliable three-wheel car founders town, Groningen can be reliant on being just just over two hours from Amsterdam. Given the traffic on the A5, the furthest you can get from Tamworth in two hours is Walsall. So, basically, Groningen is winning this one hands down. With it’s windmills and clogs and cheese and everything quintessentially Dutch, the provincial capital offers a different view on e Netherlands. Canals, beautiful cathedrals and gardens, and a lovely town square, all set in pancake flat and typically patchwork quilted Dutch countryside. ey even do a sort of mud larking wade out to the islands which, in all honesty, are more picturesque than Eemshaven. en again, Rosyth is no oil painting either - and I've good friends who live there and tell me so. e company behind the ferry venture is TEC Offshore (tecfarragon.com), hitherto

ey say that come what may in this ever climatechanging world, the Dutch will be the last to drown. is may have something to do with all that flood prevention technology, but it’s more likely to be their height. e land may lie low, but the Dutch are statistically the tallest people in the world. Here’s a thought to sober you up, even aer a visit to the Heineken Experience: when the average Dutchman stands on the average Dutch patch of land, sea level is at his forehead. It’s probably why they have astonishing civil engineering like the Afsluitdijk, and don’t mess about with sandbags and wellies. You can ride the 20mile long Afsluitdijk in your coach; the four-lane A7 highway is the preferred route to Amsterdam. Stop off at the Observation Tower on the way: observe the North Sea to the West and IJsselmeer to the East.

Oh, “IJ” counts as one letter in Dutch and, if you’re wondering, the

Dutch language is where all the Welsh vowels migrated to, during the great persecution by the Consonanters. As they say over here all the time, and on Friday nights in Tamworth and Rosyth: “Een klinker van een tijd in Nederland hebben.” Have a vowelly good time in e Netherlands.

Contents P. 2 JOIN US FOR A SPIRAL ROUND THE NETHERLANDS Introdutchion - Not a misprint, just being clever to get your attention Groningen - It’s the Dutch far north, it’s not even Peterborough to us Friesland - Wadden Islands and lots of mud Den Helder - Naval gazing e Randstad - Fellowship of the Ring City P.7

Amsterdam - Red hot Dutch destination Around the Big A - Haarlem, Zandvoort, IJmuiden, Zaandam and Almere

P.11 Keukenhof and Leiden - More bulbs than Philips e Capital District - Royalty in residence e Hague - And justice for all and Scheveningen by the sea Del - Dishwasher safe - Not likely P.15 Rotterdam and around - Port of authority P.18 Utrecht and Dordrecht - Different day trips Eindhoven - Gadget heaven and DAF trucks Brabant - e friendliest province P.20 Masstricht - Sign up for a treaty P.22 Nijmegen and Arnhem - Frontline cities e Nether Netherlands - Overseas, over sun, and over here Pictures courtesy of Holland image bank

Managing Director: Nigel Whittaker Publishing Director: Hugh Cairns Production: Laura Collins Design:Alexina Whittaker Beau Business Media Group Ltd Publishing House, Windrush, Ash Lane, Birmingham, B48 7TS Tel: 0121 445 6961 e-mail: beaubusinessmedia@gmail.com

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Groningen and Friesland

If your gang show up on the streets in more sartorial style, Groningen is the place for you. e August arts festival is everything that Edinburgh isn’t: relaxed, uncrowded and under priced. is university city hosts the Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival (noorderzon.nl). e local cake (koek) is less narcotic than down the road in Amsterdam, and the coffee shops actually brew coffee. e dead flat landscape is 6

laid before you if you climb to the top of the Martinitoren (Martini Tower). For ground level enjoyment, try a stroll round the Prinsentuin walled garden at its base.

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Join savvy Amsterdammers on Wednesday for ee classical concerts in the Concertgebouw

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e run in from Eemshaven skirts round the eastern edge of Middag-Humsterland National Landscape, the oldest cultivated land in e Netherlands. At 500BC, it’s among the oldest in Europe. Like much of e Netherlands, this was once sea, and the raised mounds in the distance, upon which sit a 12th-century Cistercian monastery and a museum in the village of Aduard, were once seasonal islands, that stood marooned in time of winter floods - or “wierdendorpen” in the local Friesan language which, if you thought Dutch was difficult, takes tongue twisting taxonomy to a whole new level.

Learn more about the region and the utterly filthy Wadden Islands, at waddenland.groningen.nl.

Filthy in the sense of mud hiking, obviously. What did you think we meant?

Shop out at the antiques and fashion markets and you’ll wonder why you’ve never considered this outlying corner before. e Groninger Museum is not bad at all, and try a visit to the beautiful starshaped medieval fortress village of Bourtange, half an hour’s drive away on the German border. e renovated barracks offer unique accommodation (buertanhe.com).

Red hot dutch Tip: ere are a lot of museums in the Big G, but the modernistic Art Musuem tops the lot. another Red hot dutch Tip: At the north end of the Afsluisdijk, there’s a tiny village named Zurich.

Picturesque coastal picture stop and a nice restaurant too. den heldeR Lighthouse, water tower, naval museum, and multicoloured tulip fields.

What’s not to like about Den Helder. As far north as North Holland goes before it gets very wet, the attractions of Den Helder are not all on dry land. e

three museum ships for example: the monitor Schorpioen, and the mine hunter Abraham Crijnssen, are waterborne. Oh, and the submarine Tonijn, is somewhat under the waves.

Still, it’s a unique opportunity to get a glimpse of the command centre, if you’re not claustrophobic. ey don’t have e Fighting Temeraire, but they do have an impressive art collection to turner your head. Get the ferry from here to Texel Island nature reserve. All aboard at holland.com.

The RandsTad: CiTy on The edge e Dutch call it the Ring City, but you’ll not find it on any maps, online or off.

We know it as the greater part of the western Netherlands. A crescent of urbanisation that stretches from Utrecht in the east,

want to stay for the rest of the Amsterdam story. e famous red and white “iAmsterdam” modern art monument is right here in the museum quarter, but you’ll have to be lucky not to get photobombed when posing for your closeup.

through Hilversum, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, e Hague, and on to Rotterdam and Dordrecht in the south.

Only ESA can see it all at once. You might find it on their satellite images. Better still, read all about it here.

AMSTERDAM How about a coffee shop where they do better coffee, and cheese, and herring?

Dutch dishes are the best culture for snacks. Try the apple pie and the pancakes.

Introduce your group to Stamppot, a mashup of mashed meat and veg, arranged like a nest with perhaps a generous portion of chopped sausage on the side, and lots of gravy. Look out for a Haringstallen and try ‘broodje haring’ - the Dutch version of Rollmops.

You eat the fish, chopped in squares, with white onion and slices of pickles, or eat

it whole, from the tail, dipped in the onion and pickles.

You’ll pay a premium if you buy your snacks on Dam Square, but for the premium, you can watch the world go by. Literally.

More nationalities call Amsterdam home than any other city in the world, but it’s still Dutch through and through. Watch out for the bikes.

As a good group travel organiser, you’ll have booked ahead for your party to visit the Anne Frank House, so you can skip right past the ‘round the block’ queues. at’ll leave you much more time for the Musuem Quarter, where you can gawp at the architecture for free.

However, unlike us spoiled Brits, you’ll mostly have to shell out for a gawp inside. ere are plenty of

discount options and combination tickets for the top draws like the Rijks Museum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum (also known as e Bathtub - you’ll understand when you see it). Popular discount schemes include Stadspas, iAmsterdam City Card, I amsterdam Congress Card, Rembrandt Association, ICOM, Museum Card, and the Holland Pass voucher scheme. ere’s free stuff though, if you’re in the know. Join savvy Amsterdammers on Wednesday for free classical concerts in the Concertgebouw (concertgebouw.nl/en). ey usually last about half an hour, which leaves plenty time to take in the free handful of old masters in the Schuttersgalerij (amsterdammuseum.nl/en) but once you’re there, you’ll

Back out on the streets, check out De Neches Straatjes - e Nine Streets neighbourhood - for independent shopping. en there’s the Jordaan for cafes and canals and street art (always our favourite).

Don’t skip a canal tour - it has to be done, but do shop around. Sports fans will love the Amsterdam Johan Cruuff ArenA - whether for an Ajax game or a Coldplay gig. Tours of the renovated stadium are available in 2020 (johancruijffarena.nl).

Dodging among the bikes and the tulips, and the steep stairs in the traditional city centre buildings, go for diverse attractions like the Cat Museum (furry); the Heineken Experience (beery); the street foody Albert Cuypmarkt; and Tram depot Foodhallen and the open spaces of Vondelpark, all in and around the Jordaan and De Pijp districts and all totally walkable.

For something a bit more formal, dine in an old city gate, five minutes stroll from Centraal Station. De Waag ("weigh house"), is an authentic 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt Square. It is the oldest 7

remaining non-religious building in Amsterdam and is depicted in Rembrandt's 1632 painting ‘e Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp’ - a work you’ll find in the Mauritshuis in e Hague, along with Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring.

Take the free ferries across the IJ to the North Bank.

Industry keeps the fainthearted at bay, but you can enjoy, community cafes and attractions like the A’DAM outlook Tower, the EYE media museum, and Shoreline Park. ere’s a vibrant food, drink and cultural scene that’s less visited than the centre of Amsterdam, and this year, fusion foods are again the fashion.

Back on Dam Square, next to Centraal Station, check out the high rise Public Library: Openbare Biblioteek. You don’t need to do Dutch to enjoy the books, movies, music, cafe and views (oba.nl). ere are a plenty more delights in Amsterdam. In 10

the south of the centre, find the secret courtyard of the medieval religious Begijnhof. Ride city tram line number 2 - it has been named among the worlds most scenic railway journeys. Visit canals, museums, parks and the suburb of Sloten, all into the OV Chipkaart bargain.

Try a visit to the Diamond Museum; a sightseeing bus tour (get a UK head-start with cityxplora.com); a visit to the Catholic Basilica of St. Nicholas; and maybe another waffle and herring from a stall. Check out iamsterdam.com. aRound The Big a e big thing about e Netherlands is … it’s so small. Couple that with the excellent transport links, and you can get around all the centres of interest in no time. Around Amsterdam, that opens up a whole suite of trips that are less day and more lunch break achievable. Here’s a selection of tasty treats that’ll have you back on Dam Square in time for dessert (train times from

Centraal in brackets for you clock watchers).

Haarlem (15 minutes). e state capital of North Holland that lives up to its nickname as the City of Flowers. ere’s a beautiful Art Deco railway station, just off the equally eyecatching Grote Markt square, the typically impressive city hall, the inspiring St. Bavo Church, and a myriad of picturesque hoes - modest cottages arranged around hidden inner courtyards. You might have to search for them, but you can’t miss the classical collections at the Frans Hals Museum, nor the modern art at Museum De Hallen. en there’s the Teylers Museum, where the eclectic collection includes the tip of Mont Blanc, a spot of souvenir hunting that would definitely be frowned upon today. For more acceptable collections, Haarlem is a relaxed alternative shopping destination (haarlemmarketing.co.uk) Here’s a culinary treat for

foodie fans. Eating Europe tours have launched in Haarlem. Not only was the town named the Gastronomic Capital of e Netherlands in January this year, for its selection of quality restaurants, culinary events, and supply of local products, there’s now a three and a half hour food tour through the medieval city, which offers seven authentic tastings, including a venue on the market square overlooked by that famous Bavo Church. Also on the tour is a traditional Dutch cheese shop, and a church-turnedbrewery (which is also almost a tradition in these parts). It’s all run by American Kenny Dunn, who operates similar tours in Amsterdam and half a dozen other European cities. Check out eatingeurope.com.

Red hot dutch Tip: Fieen minutes more from Haarlem brings you to Zanvoort, and it’s well worth the quarter hour.

Beach lovers will love this little resort. Sit down for an alfresco meal, or stroll or bike along the esplanade and the dunes. Petrolheads though will already be excited about next year’s return of F1 racing to the iconic circuit, back for the first time since 1985.

Lauda, Prost, Senna was the pole position line up back then. Who’ll be the leaders for the 35th Dutch Grand Prix?

another Red hot dutch Tip:

IJmuiden (30 minutes by coach, you can sail in two hours) e guys at DFDS get really excited at the thought of IJmuiden, and you might wonder who else would have kittens over a ferry port. Actually, if your journey started out from Newcastle, you’ll be getting excited too, but don’t feel you have to dash off just yet. Okay, ignore the steel works, that’s not going to be on anyone’s group itinerary, but the fishing harbour and the marina are respectively lively and tranquil - and both blessed with a sprinkling of cafes and bars. e tranquility is shattered by the annual yacht race from Scarborough to IJmuiden. e huge locks on the North Sea Canal are 50m wide - among the biggest in the world, and it’s no surprise that IJmuiden is on the European Route of Industrial Heritage (erih.net). Check out the steam trains at the Hoogovensmuseum, and the former harbour offices. at church tower with the clocks? It’s actually a highly ornate water tower. Since “IJ” is a digraph in Dutch one letter - that makes the river upon which this port sits the shortest by name in the world. So there. Oh, and it’s on the northern edge of the Heerenduinen National Park (npzuidkennemerland.nl).

Zandaam (12 minutes) is the funky destination just outside the Amsterdam suburbs. e totally cool Inntel has become an icon

of the city. Unmistakable as it is, the houses upon houses design made architect Wilfried van Winden cooler than Koolhaas. Love it or loathe it, it’s a comfortable stay, and super handy for a night out in town - or a night out in Amsterdam too. Lots of modernisation going on, but the old heart of Zaandam is still intact, and you can visit the house where Tzar Peter of Russia spent some 17th century time. Back in the 17th century vibe too is Zaanse Schans open air museum, just two stops north and a short walk (dezaanseschans.nl). It’s a windmill powered living neighbourhood, where yes, they do make clogs in the traditional way, as well as chocolate and pancakes.

Check out dekraai.nl.

Almere (20 minutes). For an object lesson in town planning, head north east to visit the urban utopia of Almere. Pedestrian plazas, traffic routed underground.

Pavement cafes, nice shops and friendly, polite, educated locals. God alone knows why it’s twinned with Milton Keynes. We think the concrete cow in the main square swam here and begged for asylum. In 1976 there was nothing here. In fact, your grandparents will remember this province as the Zuiderzee (Cider Sea).

Now, nearly 300,000 Dutch call Almere home.

Plan ahead for 2022 when the biggest flower show in e Netherlands blossoms into life

(hetkaninalmere.nl/en).

the Nieuwe Rijn is a must.

Red hot dutch Tip: Keukenhof We mentioned this last time, so you really should be ready for the anniversary in 2020. When it’s Spring the place to get your tulips is undoubtedly Keukenhof Gardens, nearby to the village of Lisse and observable as that carpet of colour on final approach to Schiphol. It may only be a festival of flowers for eight weeks in the year, from late March, but it’s a blooming riot of colour, and scent to wrinkle the most discerning of noses (keukenhof.nl).

Try the terrace cafes on the ancient Morspoort Gate, nearby Centraal station.

Head for the Botanic Gardens, or the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. Don’t fall in the water, there are more canals per head in Leiden than in any Dutch city.

Don’t just take our word for it, see visitleiden.nl.

Next year is the 70th anniversary of opening and the populace will be in attendance, so book early. ere’s free parking for coaches, but you’ll have to leave your plane at the airport. Drivers (and pilots) cafe, and wifi in all the bulb fields. Top tip for the best pics: arrive early or late the light is better and the crowds are thinner. leiden When you’re done doing the tulips, put petal to the metal for about five minutes and head south for Leiden. Many places in e Netherlands vie to be the prettiest, but they wrote the book on pretty with Leiden in mind. Whether you’re strolling the canals, or checking out the windmills by night (all illuminated), Inside the medieval moat you’ll find the old city, with shopping streets and dozens of hidden boutiques. e great Saturday market along

e Capital district Head on to the capital district for a seat at parliament, the seat of justice, and a seat on the sand at Scheveningen, a tongue twisting resort that also caught out Nazi spies.

Of that more later, but first a reflection on the Hague.

The hague It’s less canal and more lake, as you reflect on the varied and vibrant Dutch heritage. e Royal City by the Sea (e Hague’s catchy nickname) abounds in museums, monuments, quirky neighbourhoods, and lots and lots of shopping. King WillemAlexander is a monarch of the people, and you may well find him on the streets.

We’ve not found His Majesty on a tram just yet, but maybe we’ve been unlucky. e seat of government and the oldest parliament building still in use in the world. e seat of the Dutch government is in a floating palace that’s in better shape than Westminster, and much older too (denhaag.nl).

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It’s just a few minutes from the central station, and everything else is easy to reach by tram too. When you’ve finished touring the gothically historic square, just exit stage le and you’re outside the Mauritshuis and an encounter with the Girl With a Pearl Earring, Vermeer’s and Colin Firth’s little cracker. Check out Rembrandt, Rubens, Jan Steen and Frans Hals too (mauritshuis.nl).

If you don’t have time to explore - and you really should make time - there’s an alternative. Just up the tram line is the miniature city of Madurodam with dinky little canals, tiny tulips, micro-sized cheese markets, reduced replicas of the Peace Palace, diminutive Delta Works, and a thousand other Dutch icons, populated by model citizens one and all (madurodam.nl). sCheveningen Push on to the end of the 14

line (about another ten minutes) and you’ll be in Scheveningen. is regal old seaside resort is still immensely popular, and dominated by the splendidly famous Kurhaus hotel.

During the War, Dutch resistance would trick Nazi spies into mispronouncing the resort name, thereby revealing themselves. eir bodies would turn up on the wide beach the next morning, maybe with, but oen without their heads.

Flashback to less dangerous times at the Panorama Message, the last surviving example of this fabulous, wrap-around diorama, depicting late19th-century Dutch seaside life (panorama-mesdag.nl). delfT Don’t break the plates.

Possibly the prettiest of the lot, Del is as easy to reach as a tram ride from Rotterdam, or the Hague, or a short train trip from Amsterdam.

Now, it may be most famous for its crockery, but the tastiest thing about Del is the butter cookies.

To appreciate Del, take a seat in Market Square, and share a bag of Scheve Jantjes with the group.

How the Dutch don’t all die of cardiac arrest is beyond us. Maybe it’s the active lifestyle and the clogs - we just don’t know, since their diet is based exclusively on butter, cheese and chocolate as far as we can tell.

Anyway, proving that the Dutch do actually live long and productive lives, get along to see Johannes Vermeer, in the centre that celebrates Del’s most famous son. Every work is here in original or reproduction, and the Vermeer Combiticket gives you entry to the Vermeer Centrum, Museum Prinsenhof (Princes’s Courtyard), the Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk and the Vermeer cube walk - a series of distinctive interpretation

boards around a trail that helps you burn off the butter cookies. e ticket includes coffee or tea with a Dutch sweet in the Vermeer Centre’s artythemed café. Oh well, so much for the calorie burning.

Oh yes, the crockery. Royal Del (royaldel.com) is the only remaining factory and Delse Pauw (delpottery.com) is a workshop open to visitors. e factories have been creating those distinctive hand-painted blue patterns since the sixteenth century.

You can take a tour and participate in workshops. If you break it, you bought it doesn’t apply, thankfully.

Delse Pauw is free to visit.

Red hot dutch Tip: Harwich to Hook of Holland with Stena Here’s an entertaining alternative for groups that don’t necessarily do the coach thing. Rail and sail and rail into e Netherlands on one ticket.

Train operator Greater

Anglia, which is run by Dutch company Abellio, offers fares from all their stations - which serve London and East Anglia then sail with Stena, then rail to anywhere in e Netherlands with NS, the national rail carrier. It all works seamlessly, this Dutch - Swedish - Dutch collaboration. Sail from Harwich aboard one of the two superb ‘superferries’ and arrive ready to double your Dutch experience. In fact, with a choice of quiet lounge seats, or a range of private cabins, organisers will only have trouble getting the group to disembark. Don’t forget to check for any stragglers in the restaurants or the cinema. Keep a lookout at stenaline.co.uk. another Red hot dutch Tip: Port authority e Hook is the very western edge of Rotterdam port, but that hardly tells the story of a vast, fortykilometre long complex of rivers, docks and channels that stretches from the North Sea right into the heart of Rotterdam. Now, if that sort of thing impresses your group, then you should disembark and head straight for FutureLand at Maasvlakte, on the edge of the Hook of Holland docks. It’s free to visit and, with typical Dutch panache, the strikingly modern building oversees the continuing development of the port.

For the more ambitious, there are trails and cycle paths right through the

Port, all the way to the city.

For a more leisurely exploration, boat trips are available too. Visit the port site to get your sea legs at portofrotterdam.com. For tours, you’ll find Spido is well entrenched (celebrating their 100th year in business in 2019) but other operators are available too at holland.com. By the way, there are plenty of waterbus routes, just like buses only wetter, and they’re all part of the public transport network, so your Rotterdam Pass or OV Chipkaart works on them.

Just saying…

RoTTeRdam From nul points to high points, Rotterdam is to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020. ank you, Duncan Laurence. He was this year’s winner, in case that slipped your mind. Pack your bags for 16 May, as the musical mania heads for the Ahoy Arena. e town may be full of thigh-high booted Swedish nuns and Finnish goth-rock icons along with sexy British cabin crew but apart from those usual visitors, you’ll also have to deal with musical acts from forty vaguely European countries - and Austrailia.

Still, as the greatest trading port in Europe, a mix of cultures is nothing new to Rotterdam.

Sky-high Manhattan on the Maas is possibly the overlooked group destination in e Netherlands. It’s time for you to sing a different tune,

and serenade your group over to the second biggest city in the country. ose super-tall Dutch say Rotterdam is the trendier place to be, if you want to see modern Dutch culture at its most flamboyant. We were going to say ‘sky-high Dutch’ but thought you’d get the wrong impression, given the coffee-shop culture and all that. ere’s the largest rooop garden in Europe for starters - so much for the urban dystopia theory. e Dutch say see the place by bike, but the Dutch would do everything on a bike if they could get away with it.

So, if you don’t do two wheels, don’t feel you have to succumb to the peer pressure. So much for that stereotype as well. e only pier pressure we fell for was a trip to the Feenix Food Factory on Katendrecht, one of the harbour’s original piers. Fab food and drink. It’s so much fun we almost rented an office ( fenixfoodfactory.nl).

Check out the classical Holland - America building, now dwarfed by the skyscraper port buildings, but still taking pride of place on the pier, complete with a park, echoing Manhattan’s Battery Park in New York (New Amsterdam as it once was), where the shipping line’s cruisers once sailed up the Hudson River. Stroll up the pier towards the Erasmus Bridge, and settle at De Garage cafe for some traditional Dutch Kapsalon

- a chicken based salad with lots of cream. Scots beware - the tempting Rotterdam staple diet seems to be sugar, and you can have it deep fried too, with cheese.

Get up even higher than the high-rise with a trip up the Euromast.

Annoy the cube house residents by taking a trip (Blaak metro station) or just visit the cube house open house to see inside Peit Blom’s curious design. ere’s also a museum of chess pieces in another cube house, and some cube houses have been converted into a hostel. ere’s even a district called “Cool”. If time is short, take a 24minute day at MiniWorld, a model city recreated in 1:100 scale, where even the days are scaled down, albeit 1:60 scale. It’s next door to the central station, and you can walk there from the Erasmus Bridge in 30 minutes (tram 25 does it in ten minutes). ere are fullsized tigers at the nearby Rotterdam Zoo (a further five minute bus ride). e City Hall survived the 1940 Blitz (one of the few landmarks that did) and its open to groups. Needless to say, it’s in the heart of the city’s best shopping district.

Rotterdam lights up aer dark. Check out the bridges - even more impressive by night. If you’d rather hit the clubs, check out en.rotterdam.info.

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Utrecht and Dordrecht Different day trips uTReChT Take a quick train ride via cheesy Gouda to Utrecht, just 45 minutes to the east (only 25 minutes from Amsterdam on a cool double deck double Dutch train). e never ending list of pretty Dutch destinations includes Utrecht, a quainter version of Amsterdam, with lots of students, and even more pavement cafes. Climb the tower of St Martin’s Cathedral so you can count every one of Utrecht's 400,000 inhabitants. Well, it’s been the done thing since the 8th century. e tower hasn’t been connected to the cathedral since a storm demolished the nave in 1674. e official city website (visitutrecht.com) recommends Hotspots guided tours in English. doRdReChT Historically confined to an island which it still covers, Dordrecht is a lovely and easy visit from Rotterdam just twenty minutes if you’re hanging about at the cube houses and jump on the train at Blaak station.

Plenty of medieval buildings, and then there are the windmills. In the carefully maintained 18

wetlands around Dordrecht, the windmills of Kinderdijk must be wilting under the weight of photographic attention.

Nineteen traditional windmills, all built around 1740, are still part of the regional water management system. eir silhouettes are a Dutch emblem, and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 (kinderdijk.com).

Skip the town and head for National Park De Biesbosch, a unique freshwater tidal area, replete with rare plants, wildlife, and active walking.

You might even go native, and cycle around (more at Holland.com). A bit like CSI Miami without the crocodiles or unfeasibly high murder rate, this bit of everglade among the polders is well worth your visit. eindhoven Lightbulb moment. If you are ever in Eindhoven, you should not miss Strijp-S. is former factory site, which was only accessible

by Philips employees, nowadays is home to trendy shops, good restaurants, and pavement cafes. en there’s the Philips Museum

itself, right in the centre of th city. Exhibitions of all sorts - from the first lightbulbs to how the founders outwitted the Nazis and saved thousands of Jews. ere are full instructions on site, but they’re too complicated to understand. Don’t forget the DAF museum either Eindhoven’s other claim to Industrail fame. Not surprisingly, the city has a brilliant light show, which rather amazingly brightens up the vast Stratumseind nightlife district. Check out e Admirant shopping mall, entered via the futuristic glass omnihedron, which the locals call e Blob. Young Steven McQueen wold approve. No lightweight is Eindhoven. Visit holland.com.

Red hot dutch visit: BRaBanT It’s about as south as it gets in e Netherlands, but it’s official name is prefixed by “North”. It’s a legacy of the complicated politics of the Low Countries, and the intertwining ambitions that rival imperial powers shared down the centuries.

Everyone from Philip of Spain - to Phillips of Eindhoven - lay claim to

what calls itself the friendliest province: North Brabant. Given the number of flags that have flown over the territory and the number of languages spoken be would-be rulers, it’s hard to argue with friendly bit. ese days, while you’ll not find catholic conquistadors from Cordoba nor Napoleonic protagonists from Paris, you’ll hear Spanish, French, German, and, dare we say English spoken as widely as Dutch in the cosmopolitan city streets and the comely countryside in this prosperous and populace province.

Almost entirely enclosed by e Meuse and, less interestingly, by Belgium, Brabant has its fair share of tongue twisting Dutch destinations to visit. So let’s get the toughest out of the way first, shall we? ’sHertogenbosch has an apostrophe, a lowercase charter and a hyphen - all before we get to the tough bit. Luckily, even the Dutch agree, so you can call this fair city by its alternate name: Den Bosch.

Helmond, which has some of those cube houses

Panorama Mesdag: an experience in space and time

Step back in time and experience a unique view of our cultural heritage – the oldest 19th century panorama in the world on its original site. e Panorama was painted in 1881 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and commissioned by the panorama society, ‘Société Anonyme du Panorama Maritime de la Haye’. Ably assisted by the painters from e Hague School – Blommers, De Bock and Breitner – and his wife Sientje Mesdag-van

Houten, the painting is more than 14 metres high and 120 metres in circumference, e Panorama offers today's visitors the opportunity to discover Scheveningen as it was in 1881. An artistic view of the picturesque fishing village from the 19th century, the emerging cosmopolitan beach life and the encroaching city of e Hague are presented in a feast for the senses. e Panorama opened on

1 August 1881. Vincent van Gogh was among the guests who, impressed by the Panorama complained that the canvas had but one fault, that it was faultless!

In the 19th century, panoramas were a global phenomenon: an antecedent to photography and film, travelling panoramas were used to communicate news. In this way, visitors could find about what was going on elsewhere. At one point, there were around 300 panoramas in existence.

Mesdag's Panorama is one of the few remaining examples and the oldest panorama in the world still at its original location.

Since 1910, the Panorama and associated collection of paintings and sketches have been administered by a family company that derives from Mesdag's will, in which he made his then

33 living cousins shareholders. irty-three descendants of the Mesdagvan Houten couple still care for their continuing existence. e Panorama offers today's visitors the opportunity to discover Scheveningen as it was in 1881. An artistic view of the picturesque fishing village from the 19th century, the emerging cosmopolitan beach life and the encroaching city of e Hague are presented in a feast for the senses.

Panorama Mesdag is open Monday – Saturday: 10.00 – 17.00 hours, unday and public holidays: 11.00 – 17.00 hours and closed on December 25th and January 1st. Groups of 15 + will receive a discount and coach can be parked only 20 metres away e-mail info@panoramamesdag.nl or visit www.panorama-mesdag.nl Panorama Mesdag, Zeestraat 65, 2518 AA e Hague 'e magical illusion of Panorama Mesdag is an experience that your group will never forget!'

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20 H 2RE0OPEN C R MA WILL ED

IN E MUSEUEMLY RENEW TH

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DISCOVER THE FAMOUS BATTLE OF ARNHEM IN AIRBORNE MUSEUM HARTENSTEIN IN THE NETHERLANDS DURING THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM IN 1944, THE CURRENT MUSEUM WAS BRITISH HEADQUARTERS OF MAJOR-GENERAL URQUHART. STORIES OF BRITISH, POLISH AND GERMAN SOLDIERS COME TO LIFE IN THIS MUSEUM.

WWW.AIRBORNEMUSEUM.NL/EN

Learn about textiles in Tilburg, or, if the weather is too good to be indoors, pose for a group shot at the Sky Mirror art installation

by Anish Kapoor in front of De Pont Museum. For more striking pictures, try Breda’s Musuem of the Image, and the classical North Brabant Museum in Den Bosch ('sHertogenbosch) Another couple of Red Hot Dutch Visits:

e Corso of Zundert is Brabant’s blooming big flower show. It’s the biggest flower parade in the world bar none, and all voluntarily too. On the first Sunday in September, twenty heralds compete against each other to build the most beautiful float, judged by a professional jury. By blooming big we mean floats nine meters high and nineteen meters long - and they’ve only recently been restricted to those maximum dimensions. at’s a lot of flowers. Sniff out verhaal.corsozundert.nl.

Nearby, the Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught near Den Bosch commemorates the Nazi concentration camp that occupied this site. e combined memorial centre

and museum is spread out over several buildings and outdoor areas. You can book a tour in English by visiting nmkampvught.nl Find out more about the province of Brabant at visitbrabant.com/en en ere’s Maastricht Keep going south to that tiny bit of e Netherlands that’s nearer to Germany and France than it is to e Hague - but still totally Dutch. ey’ve been doing treaties here for centuries, so they know how to strike a bargain, and you’ll strike a bargain too when you visit.

Don’t restrict yourself to the markets and the shops, there’s plenty else to see in this small city with a big heart. Roman, medieval and contemporary architecture all sits, side by

“

side, cooing for your attention (maastrichtportal.nl).

head for Good Food 33, and try the Dutch Weed Burger - it’s not what you might expect.

“

mentioned earlier is better known as a gastrodestination, If you can work up an appetite in the museums and galleries, head for Good Food 33, and try the Dutch Weed Burger - it’s not what you might expect. ere are plenty more choices on Kamstraat.

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Battle of Arnhem

Commemoration of 75 years of eedom

The city of Arnhem is located near the German border and played a pivotal role during the final days of the Second World War. Arnhem is located at the northern end of Liberation Route Europe, the international remembrance trail which follows the path of the allied invasion during the Second World War. The Battle of Arnhem, which was fought on the banks of the Rhine in 1944, was part of Operation Market Garden.

Operation Market Garden was the code name for a large offensive to advance from liberated Belgium straight up the middle of the Netherlands and turn right into Germany.

The aim was to conquer the bridge. However, the German forces proved too strong.

Operation Market Garden had failed, Arnhem was a ‘bridge too far’. Much of the old city centre was destroyed. After the battle, the German authorities ordered all Arnhem residents to evacuate. Subsequently, Arnhem was systematically looted by the German army. Arnhem turned into a ‘ghost town, Arnhem and its surroundings

22

have many historical and interesting sites that remind us of this violent period. Some of the highlights are listed AIRBORNE MUSEUM HARTENSTEIN - BATTLE OF ARNHEM EXPERIENCE This museum tells the story of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem. At the museum, you experience the airborne landings and the days that followed. Stories of British, Polish and German soldiers come alive at Villa Hartenstein.

The museum has a large collection of authentic weapons, documents and imagery. Even the location of the museum is special in itself. Villa Hartenstein, the building in which the museum is housed,

was Major General Urquhart's residence during the battle of Arnhem. History was written here! For more information visit: airbornemuseum.nl/en AIRBORNE AT THE BRIDGE The museum at the John Frost Bridge tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost’s men and the final mission on the bridge near Arnhem.

For more information visit: airbornemuseum.nl/en/airborneat-the-bridge AIRBORNE OOSTERBEEK WAR CEMETRY At the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek, there are 1770 war graves of British soldiers who died on Dutch soil in the fight

against the occupying forces between September 1944 and April 1945. Most of them died during the Battle of Arnhem.

LIBERATION MUSEUM The newly renovated Liberation Museum is set in the beautiful landscape near Nijmegen, Arnhem and the German border, a unique location because Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history took place here in September 1944, and Operation Veritable, the Rhineland Offensive, the final road to freedom in Europe, started from here in February 1945.

For more information visit: vrijheidsmuseum.nl CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY GROESBEEK The Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek commemorates the 2,617 Commonwealth servicemen buried here. The memorial also commemorates 1,047 British, Canadian and South African soldiers who died during the advance from France between 30 August 1944 and 5 May 1945, and whose bodies were never found or identified.

75 YEARS OF FREEDOM COMMEMORATE, REMEMBER, EXPERIENCE AND CELEBRATE In 2019 and 2020 it will have been 75 years since many brave American, British, Polish and Dutch men fought for our freedom. With a program full of exhibitions, shows and parachute jumps, liberation festivals, commemorations and other events, Arnhem and surrounding areas will commemorate the war and celebrate 75 years of living in freedom. An overview of all related activities can be found at gelderlandremembers.com.

Some highlights: DAILY – SUNSET MARCH NIJMEGEN (NEARBY ARNHEM) The Sunset March is a daily tribute to the Allied soldiers who fought for the liberation of The Netherlands, especially to those soldiers who lost their lives. The march takes place at the bridge called De Oversteek (The Crossing). De Oversteek is located near to the area where members of the US 82nd Airborne Division crossed the River Waal on 20 September 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden. Every evening at sunset, a military veteran walks the Sunset March. For more information visit: sunsetmarch.nl/en AIRBORNE COMMEMORATION AND PARACHUTES AT GINKEL HEATH Every year in September, hundreds of parachutists land at Ginkel Heath. British parachutists of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, members of the 11th Air Manouvre Brigade from The Netherlands, paratroopers from the US and several other NATO countries and parachutists of the Parachute Group Holland jump from Hercules and Dakota aircraft.

For more information visit: gelderlandremembers.com Bridge to Liberation Using true accounts, Bridge to Liberation is an experience encompassing music, film and dance that takes you back to the time of the Battle of Arnhem in a spectacular fashion. Visitors experience both the impact of war and the value of freedom at the historic John Frost Bridge in Arnhem. For more information visit: bridgetoliberation.nl LIBERATION ROUTE EUROPE Liberation Route Europe is an international remembrance trail

connecting important milestones of modern European history. The route links the main regions of the advance of the Western Allied Forces. Special boulders, called listening spots, can be found in dozens of locations, including in Arnhem and its surroundings. Each listening spot has an audio recording available so that you can get a sense of the dramatic events experienced by civilians and soldiers at that location towards the end of the Second World War.

MORE INSPIRATION FOR REMEMBRANCE TOURISM If you want to learn more about events related to the Second World War and what historical sites to visit, go to gelderlandremembers.com or download the Gelderland Remembers App for an overview. The app is available for free in the AppStore and on Google Play.

For more information visit: (liberationroute.com)

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Banks of the Rhine Turning back northwards, following the River Maas, with the towns of Sittard, Enschede, Apeldoorn, and Zwolle all to be discovered, you’ll be on the road or the rails to Nijmegen and Arnhem. It’s a completely different feel here, even though you’re less than 90 minutes om Schiphol and Amsterdam. Sure, there are plenty of tourists in these lovely, modest-sized cities, but it’s a different sort of tourism, more laid back and much more European.

Whether you’ve been living it up in the Randstad, or been taking it easy in the natural beauty of the Hoge Veluwe, you’ll find either city is a hospitable a nd accessible base of operations.

Arnhem’s location, near the border with Germany, played a pivotal role during the final days of the Second World War. It’s at the northern end of the Liberation Route (liberationroute.com), the commemorative trail through e Netherlands and Western Europe. Arnhem of course is the city of ‘A Bridge Too Far’, and its wartime history is recounted in the splendid Airborne Museum in nearby Oosterbeek, which served as allied HQ (see accompanying story).

Survey the land from the 73metre high viewing area on the Eusebius church tower, or stroll around at ground level, browsing the shops and cafes in the back streets of the compact and picturesque city centre. Roggestraat, Jansstraat, Vijzelstraat and Grote Oord are the shopping streets to find. ere’s a Wine Museum to explore too, unique in e Netherlands. Tasting sessions are included in the tour.

Check out also the Burgers’ Zoo, the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem (Arnhem Museum of Modern Art), and the Holland Open Air Museum, which is where old windmills go … to live 26

(openluchtmuseum.nl).

Nijmegen bears comparison with her near neighbour. It’s the oldest city and the biggest Roman settlement in e Netherlands. It’s possible to drive through the city centre, and see the striking difference between the medieval old town on one side and the modern centre on the other.

You can choose a hotel in the lively city centre or, head just a few minutes out of town for relaxing hotels with riverside views.

On the edge of Roman Nijmegen, visit Museum het Valkhof to see many of the most beautiful Roman finds in Holland, alongside colourful contemporary art and some magnificent ancient art.

Charlemagne built his castle here too, so there’s plenty to explore in the city’s illustrious history (www.museumhetvalkhof.nl). ere’s boutique shopping in Houstraat or Van Welderenstraat. For vintage, try Stikke Hezelstraat and Lange Hezelstraat - the latter is the reputedly the oldest shopping street in e Netherlands.

Nijmegen’s cafe culture is influenced by its student population, and is lively all day long. For something different, try the African village at the Africa Museum. At the muZIEum, you can feel, taste, smell and listen - but not see daily life for a visually

handicapped person. It’s an experience that, despite being totally dark, will shed light on living with blindness. Don’t be put off, it’s the most upliing experience you’ll have all day.

Get more of the twin cities from holland.com Red Hot Dutch Visit: A visit to Arnhem would not be complete without a trip to the Airbourne Museum, in the outlying village of Oosterbeek.

A matter of minutes in a cab, it was the scene of the bloody engagement between German General Model’s armoured divisions and the spearhead of Mongomerie’s Operation Market Garden task force. e Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek was allied HQ during the failed attempt to form a bridgehead on the northern banks of the Rhine in September 1944. e awardwinning Airborne Experience exhibition, housed in the building, depicts the area around Arnhem and Oosterbeek during the battle. e museum also provides fascinating insights into the Allied, German and civilian perspectives (en.airbornemuseum.nl). panoOverseas - the nether Netherlands and almost time to bid farewell We’re almost back at Groningen, that northerly outpost with a new British connection in the planning.

Heading overseas doesn’t

necessarily mean leaving e Netherlands behind. While Dutch influence can still be found, particularly in Asia and Africa, there are some places in the world where the horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue still flies.

Formerly e Netherlands Antilles, the three Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are special municipalities in e Netherlands administrative structure. e larger islands of Sint Maarten, Curacao and Aruba are all constituent countries forming the Kingdom of e Netherlands. ere’s a huge ethnic mix in e Netherlands, and always has been. e principal traders of Europe have embraced cultures and people from all around the world. ey even embrace their Flemish neighbours, with a handful of Belgian enclaves contained within the province of Brabant. ere’s even a Dutch enclave within a Belgian enclave, within Dutch territory. Now, if that doesn’t bring a huge smile to the face of the people who live in this small country, we don’t know what will. Have no fear, as your group heads home, weighed down with cheese, DAF truck models, Philips gadgets, and clogs, you’ll be waved a smiling goodbye, and ushered back again soon … and bring more vowels.

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