The Netherlands: 2025

I was fortunate enough to spend almost two weeks in the Netherlands after our river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. We spent about a week in the northern half of the country, especially in Amsterdam, and about a week in the southern half, especially in the southwestern cities of Utrecht, Rotterdam, and the Hague.

Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam in the Netherlands, is a village that protects and preserves a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best-known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. We visited the site and learned about windmill function and technology on a guided tour of the site

The windmills at Kinderdijk

Amsterdam, the cosmopolitan city of canals and culture, pot and prostitution, boats and bikes, and so much more! A fun city with a rich history, plenty of diversity, and lots to see and do. We stayed for a few days at the end of our cruise, and were able to take a canal tour, walk through the red light districts, a visit to the Rijksmuseum and the National Maritime Museum, and made visits to the hometowns of both of my parents. A nice way to end the cruise, and to begin the next phase of the trip!

More here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam

There are than 60 miles / 100 km of canals in Amsterdam. We explored them by walking along some of them and by taking a canal boat cruise. Great ways to get to know Amsterdam

The dancing houses, named because of how they lean. Like Venice, most of Old Town Amsterdam is built on posts and pilings driven into the ground. This contributes to uneven settling of many of these old houses. Kind of amazing that so many of them are still standing

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, a great amuseum with fabulous collections of western European classical and early modern art

Hobbema, "A Watermill" (1660) in the Rijksmuseum

Van Ruysdale, 1670ish, "The Windmill..." in the Rijksmuseum

Andijk is the small coastal town north of Amsterdam that my dad grew up in. Andijk literally means "on the dike." Dad's old family home is long gone, but it was still interesting to see the village, the canals, and the sea that he talked about

Canal and bridge at Edam, on the way to Andijk. Stopped here for an interesting tour of the Edam cheese making process

The dike that protects Andijk from the waters of the IJsselmeer and the North Sea

Thatched home of our B&B hosts in Andijk. We stayed in this wonderful home and got to know our hosts, who knew some of my dad's extended family.

The Andijk village church

Holten was my mother's birthplace and home for her first 20 years. Located in Overijssel near the German border, her family experienced many of the ravages of Nazi occupation during the war, including about a week in a bunker with her family during the final battles to liberate the Netherlands village by village. She spoke occasionally about her relief and joy when the village was liberated, and about her tremendous gratitude to the Canadian soldiers who did the house to house work of making sure no occupying forces remained in the village.

During my visit here, I found out she was not the only grateful citizen. The entire village continues to be grateful to Canada and the soldiers who liberated it. A nearby plot of land was given by the village to Canada to make a war cemetery for the roughly 1400 people who died during and shortly after the final battles

From a grateful community. This memorial is placed next to the train station in Holten, a village in the eastern Netherlands that was liberated by (mostly) Canadian troops on April 8, 1945. My mother, a young teenager in Holten at the time, spoke more (and more movingly) about this day than any other single day of her life in the Netherlands. Apparently she was not the only appreciative resident!

1,355 Canadian soldiers who were killed in the process of liberating the Netherlands at the end of WW II are buried here in the Canadian War Cemetery. We were fortunate in meeting a guide who showed us around. In the process, I discovered the grave of a soldier from the Welland-Lincoln regiment

The WW II Liberation Route, memorial signage in Otterlo, near Holten

On my right, likely the approximate place where my mother lived. On my left, the village church

Utrecht is an energetic old city with a youthful, very international flavor! We happened to be there during an International Pride Festival that drew thousands of people to the city! Also explored the city on foot and on a canal boat tour

Here is the Utrecht Cathedral Tower, a city landmark

The Rietveld Schröder House, also in Utrecht, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it demonstrates the transition from classical to modern residential architecture

We happened to be in town during the Pride Canal Parade. Lots of fun and lots of support from local people as well as from visitors from around the world!

Utrecht Public Library, formerly the main Post Office in town

The Hoge Veluwe National Park, a popular National Park near Arnhem, protects a large area of fallow land (not economically valuable for much) that has an interesting mix of flat sandy grassland with lots of heath and forested areas. Lots of birds in this park, which has a couple of biking trails around the perimeter and has a fleet of ~2,000 white single speed bikes that it loans out (and no extra charge) to visitors. I rented an e-bike in town....

It also has an old hunting lodge and an interesting art museum in the park. The Kröller-Müller Museum includes a large permanent collection of paintings by van Gogh

Riding bike in the Hoge Veluwe National Park, near Arnhem. The park has almost 2,000 white bicycles abailablde for visitors to use in the park

Riding in the Hoge Veluwe National Park, near Arnhem

St Hubert Hunting Lodge (now a museum), in the Hoge Veluwe National Park, near Arnhem

Monet, 1874, "Le Bateau Atelier," displayed in the Kröller-Müller Museum (an art collection in the Hoge Veluwe National Park). The Kröller-Müllers was a wealthy couple who owned the land the park now occupies, and who collected an amazing collection of art. They donated it all to establish the National Park.

Van Gogh, 1888, "Bridge at Arles," displayed in the Kröller-Müller Museum (an art collection in the Hoge Veluwe National Park)

Delft is a smallish town on the outskirts of The Hague. It is home to the Royal Delft Company which makes the world famous Delft Ceramics. It was home to Johannes Vermeer, an old Dutch master who lived in this town pretty much for his whole life. It is home to the Niewe Kerk (New Church) where Dutch Royals have been entombed since the first Dutch King, William of Orange, who was assassinated in Delft, was buried in the church in 1584. And Delft now attracts tourists to check out the town for a day or two. It is also very conveniently located between The Hague and Rotterdam, making Delft a great base from which to do some regional exploration (as I did)!

The last of the walled city gates in Delft

The Royal Delft factory offers tours of its high end blue porcelain. The objects are pricy in part because each object is hand painted

This pretty canal scene features the New Church spires, first built in the 1300s. I attended a very good Organ and Chamber Orchestra concert here, and also climbed up to the top of the tower for WOW! views of the neighborhood, including Rotterdam and The Hague skylines

Rotterdam turned out to be one of my favorite Dutch cities! Over 650,000 people call this city home. As a shipping and transportation center, it was devastated by a massive Nazi bombing campaign in May of 1940; it lasted only 15 minutes but left the city in shambles, and led the Netherlands to surrender to Germany early in the war. So, while there are a few old buildings that survived, post war reconstruction made Rotterdam a decidedly modern looking city. Buildings are new, cool, and interesting, and Rotterdam is once again the shipping capital of Europe.

So for a couple of days I checked out the downtown area on a self-guided tour, joined an architectural tour, visited the historic emigration center in town (sort of like Pier 21 in Halifax, Canada or Ellis Island in the US), took a harbour cruise, admired (and walked across) the very cool cable-stayed Erasmus bridge, soaked up an ultra modern central library, and along the way spotted some very intriguing looking residential and commercial buildings that seem like they could make city living fun!

The futuristic prow of the Rotterdam Central Train Station

Rotterdam has plenty of interesting, innovative and unusual residential housing. These single family unit "Cube Houses" were designed by architect Piet Blom. Turns out they are cute and eye catching but not very practical or easy to live in. That does not stop some people from giving it a try. (I sure would!)

The Erasmus Bridge is a beautiful example of a side spar cable-stayed bridge. It is called 'The Swan" by local people because of its resemblance to the bird. It spans the Maas River and connects the north and south sides of Rotterdam

De Calypso, a mixed use building on the Mauritsweg in Rotterdam, by Will Alsop, completed in 2013

Residential living along the waterfront of the Maas River

The Hague is the functional capital of the Netherlands, while Amsterdam is the official one. The Hague is where the Binnenhof (the national legislative assembly), the Supreme Court, various administrative agencies, the Prime Minister's residence, the royal palace, and many foreign embassies are located. The city is also home to the well known International Court of Justice.

On the day I was there, I did a self-guided walking tour of the city center (thanks, AI!), visited an interesting art museum, and, because it was hot hot hot that day, I, along with maybe a quarter million other people, headed off to the VERY popular Scheveningen Beach

A high rise cluster and the Mauritshuis, a smallish art museum (home to Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring"), next to the Binnenhof, the governmental center of the Netherlands

The Binnenhof (the Dutch Central governmental offices and agencies) is undergoing a multi year renovation, so tours of the complex were not possible

But we could peek into the Binnenhof from the construction viewing platform

The International Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice

It was a hot day on the day I was in The Hague, so I thought I'd check out one of the area's most popular beaches at Scheveningen. I think the shot speaks for itself!

The dune on the right is one of the highest points in this part of Holland

The two weeks I spent in the Netherlands were quite interesting and fulfilling for me, particularly as a child of parents who emigrated from there to Canada. It was fun to experience this lively, confident, and liberal country compared with the impressions I'd formed from the stories they told me about the country especially during the pre-war and wartime years.

There's lots more to see and read about my experiences in location specific albums. If you are interested, you can take deeper dives via the links to more photo blogs below

More pics and details here:

Amsterdam:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UDXAP94tQssSYSmy7

Andijk:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vLmyENGrsZz1QfFd6

Holten:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U5YCm937cksXfd1m8

Rijksmuseum:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AMQfQwS7dAkY8ptJ6

Hoge Veluwe National Park:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zy3Eo2ZTyeHCAtZ97

Kroller Muller Museum: