When you think of Holland, notice the Netherlands and Holland are somewhat interchangeable, the Netherlands is the entire country and Holland is comprised of two provinces of the Netherlands, but many interchange these two titles. The citizens themselves are called Dutch, as is their language. In any event, when you think of the region what comes to mind? Would it be something like windmills, wooden shoes and tulips? It certainly was for me. With that in mind, my first trip to the Netherlands was in May so I could see the tulips. I was a couple of days too late for the full field bloom due to very warm weather but it was still amazing!
I went to a park whose nickname is “the garden of Europe”. The Keukenof, its official name, actually means “kitchen garden”, which is what it actually was. The garden is positioned on the 15th century hunting grounds of the Hainaut castle and was also the location of an herb garden for the castle’s kitchen. The castle changed hands and the new owners hired a couple of landscape architects to create a flower exhibit where growers from around Europe could show off their hybrids and help support Dutch exports. Today it’s home to over 7 million bulbs in over 800 varieties of tulips, and castle Keukenhof (as it’s now known), is open for visitors from mid-March to mid-May. Even if you miss the peak bloom this is still a worthwhile visit as it’s absolutely breathtaking! It’s an easy day trip from either Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
You can’t go to Holland and not visit the iconic windmills of Kinderdijk. Remember the era of flooding in the 1,100s I mentioned in previous posts and the outcome being that of building dams and bridges and controlling the water supply more efficiently? Hence the names AmersterDAM and RotterDAM? It might surprise you to know that the old windmill farms of Holland are about the management of that water supply more that the generation of power, like windmills are today. Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage location and is an easy day trip from Rotterdam via boat. Hours vary by time of year but it’s open year round.
Transitioning from spring and summer activities in the Netherlands to winter sports. With the 2018 winter Olympics wrapped up, the Netherlands brought home 20 medals in speed skating. They are serious about their skating! So much so, that during a recent business trip to the region our team activity was curling. Watching curling on TV is deceiving. Curling is NOT as easy as it looks. I spent more time on my backside than I did scooting on the little slider under my shoe. While we were there, the rink filled up with speed skaters moving at breakneck speeds. Now mind you, this was during the Olympics so their best where certainly not in the rink while I was there and it was still amazing. If speed skating and curling are your thing, check out Colosseum in Enschede.
I’ve still a few things I want to visit that are outside the metro areas like, the street-less village of Giethoorn, the Slagharen Pony Park and Maduradam, the miniature village. Fortunately for me, my work sends me to this fair country every once and a while, so updates are sure to follow!