Netherlands – Oh, the Places We See . . .

The many delights of Maastricht

It would be hard NOT to fall in love with Maastricht, a town in Holland known for its markets, open plazas, and rich history. And so, we, too, fell in line with others who agree that this is a free-spirited place for shopping, touring, and relaxing. Known for its open-air markets selling everything from clothing […]

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Tulips and windmills: Just another day in The Netherlands

None of us would imagine a trip through The Netherlands without seeing tulips or windmills. But, of course, tulips don’t bloom year-round. And with that thought, we figured that if we booked a tour of Holland in May, we wouldn’t expect to see tulips in bloom. But Viking’s cruise — Holland and Belgium — had […]

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The Netherlands will have to wait!

As fate would have it, my right shoulder has a tear in its rotator cuff. So I’ll be out for surgery (only a day) and then recovery. But writing may not be possible for a while. So, a trip to the classy little town of Hoorn and many others in The Netherlands and Belgium will […]

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Orchids, too, at Keukenhof Gardens

In our previous post, Ribbons of Color: Keukenhof Gardens, we touted the sensory overload of giant swaths of spring tulips at Keukenhof, the gardens near Amsterdam priding itself (and with good reason) on their plantings of over 7,000,000 tulips each year. What a spectacular site that was for us and the thousands of other visitors […]

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You gotta do it: Amsterdam via canal boat

Seeing a city can take on many forms from private driver in a limousine to a jaunty ride on a hop-on, hop-off bus. But in a waterway city, there’s nothing better than a slow-paced tour in a boat, complete with a guide narrating the landmarks in a city he loves! We’ve written about the architecture […]

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On the move in Amsterdam

We never saw it coming. Even though our driver from the airport in Amsterdam (where we began our trip through The Netherlands and Belgium) told us about the bikes, we never guessed the volume, speed, and daily dose of cycling we’d see first-hand. But as soon as we arrived in Amsterdam, we were especially grateful […]

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Coming Your Way: New Series on The Netherlands and Belgium

Our long-awaited trip to The Netherlands and an add-on jaunt through Belgium just ended. But oh, the places we saw! In coming weeks, we’ll share sights, sounds, and highlights in the hope that you’ll remember your own adventures in that part of the world, or you’ll schedule a future trip of your own. Travel is […]