Delft Holland

4 Jun, 2010 in art pottery by admin

Delft Holland

What can you see when you're on vacation in Holland? Is there anything of interest that is fun to do? Some of the things that Holland is known for include tulips, cheese, the paintings of Rembrandt and Van Gogh, windmills, clogs, diamond cutting, quaint buildings, pottery, bicycles and the canals of Amsterdam. You will learn about eight places you can go to see some of them right here. Find out about some of the cities, towns and villages that you'll see when you're on vacation in Holland, a small European country, part of The Netherlands, bordering Germany and Belgium, a little larger than the State of Maryland.

In Amsterdam you can take one of 110 glass-topped cruise boats along some of the 165 canals and see the world's narrowest house - only one metre wide; or visit Coster Diamonds to see how these jewels are cut and polished; walk across a few of the 1,281 bridges in the city; drop by the Anne Frank House, or take in the Rijksmuseum and feast on Rembrandt's masterpieces including the "Nightwatch".
If you prefer tulips instead, impose on the Bulb Fields in the "Garden of Europe" at Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden. Indubitably a sight to behold! Certainly a must-see when on vacation in Holland.
How about wildlife and nature trails? - A short drive will take you to Holland's largest park: de Hoge Veluwe, 5,500 hectares of woodland, heathland, lakes and driftsand; and breeze into the Kröller-Müller Museum, which houses some of Van Gogh's most famous works.
Something cheesy? - See how the famous "Edamer" cheese, as it is known, is made in the village of Edam. It has a very mild taste, slightly salty or nutty and almost no smell when compared to other cheeses. It also has a significantly lower fat content than many other traditional cheeses.
Why not check out the Zaanse Schans? - A delightful old hamlet on the banks of the River Zaan, with characteristic green wooden houses, charming stylized gardens, small hump-backed bridges, tradesmen's workshops, historic windmills, engaging little shops and discover the art of clog making too when you're on vacation in Holland.
Palatial settings? - Hang around the 17th century Het Loo, previously a royal palace with its formal gardens, at Apeldoorn. In the 18th century, William III's baroque garden was swept away for a landscape park in the English taste.
Always wondered how ornaments are made? - Frequent the pottery factory in Delft. Delftware is a blue and white pottery, part of the "tin glaze" style, in which tin-based white glaze is first applied, then metal oxide decoration and finally a lead-based clear glaze overcoat to make the surface glossy.
Want to see a village where life has hardly changed over the last 400 years? - Visit Staphorst, famous for many of its residents wearing traditional Dutch clothing. It also happens to be one of the most religious villages of the Netherlands.

As you can see you will have your favourite places to see when you're on vacation in Holland but why not plan your trip so that you can see them all? The Netherlands is not that large a country so distances are short and you can cover a lot of ground in a day when you're on vacation in Holland; the Dutch are friendly and they will make you feel welcome no matter which sights you decide to visit.

Keith J. Valentine has been traveling throughout the UK, Europe and North America for years. For more on travel, tips and a free e-zine, please visit 101 Easy Articles at http://www.EasyArticles4u.com

Holland-Duisburg?

Choice I know but , I am going to Duisburg via Delft , is it better to go via Gorinchem , Hertegenbosch , Eindhoven ,Venlo or follow the river via Wijchen . Bicycle . any advice much appreciated.
NO , no homo , sorry , straight .
the above edit was in reply to a post that has been removed .

I would look for one of the long distance bike routes through the Netherlands, leading mostly in the direction you want.

This interactive map shows the network of them for the Netherlands: http://www.fietsplatform.nl/routes/interactieve_kaart.asp
It is part of this site, the page showing a listing of all long distance routes: http://www.fietsplatform.nl/routes/routes.asp
There is also an short English version of the site:

http://www.fietsplatform.nl/english.asp

You can combine several routes if you like, you will just have to pay for two or more maps or booklets.

The routes take you off the main roads, mostly using free laying bike 'roads', using secondary but good local roads with little car traffic where needed with just the normal roads where there is no way to avoid them.

Which ever way you travel, your first part will be very flat and open and only near the end of your journey the hills might play enough of a role to even consider them.
I have not been in the part of the country so I can not advice you one route or the other, but if you can get a good route guide in English for one of the routes but not the other, consider that one for convenience.

Added:
I found an other site, this one selling the maps, each of them, and also offering GPS instructions for some of the routes:

http://www.fietsrouteplanner.eu/content/view/44/58/

And here is a link to a site that can even get you a route combining the different routes:

http://planner.holland.com/fietsroutes/Clear.jsp?np=RoutePlannerForm.jsp?

Enter the names of the towns, (it even knows Duisburg and will offer a border town as alternative, Venlo Grens meaning border,) or point them out on the map, and click on 'bereken de routes' calculate the route in the bottom border of the window.

If you get stuck on the Dutch on the site, feel free to e-mail me through my profile.

8 Cycling in Delft Holland