Eight Ways To Vacation In 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 Valentine began his solo excursions at fourteen throughout the south of England, though at a younger age he participated in a guided youth hostelling tour in Wales. He has toured extensively in Europe and North America. Now 52, he travels throughout Ontario with his partner, whom he met near Niagara Falls. If you would like to read more free articles, visit our travel articles page.

Six Places To Visit On The Mediterranean

What sights will you see when you're on the Mediterranean? You'll get to know six popular areas of interest here. You can learn about some of the cities and islands on the Mediterranean that are located in and around this virtually inland sea the size of the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador combined.

• These are a few of the main attractions on the Mediterranean on the west coast of Italy:


• Florence: See the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria; the domed cathedral known as the Duomo; and the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge across the Arno River, whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges. This city is without a doubt one of the most memorable destinations for me on the Mediterranean.


• The Leaning Tower of Pisa: Intended to stand vertically so as to serve as a bell tower, but began leaning soon after construction started in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation. The tower has 294 steps, has a height of almost 57 metres on the highest side and weighs an estimated 14,500 tonnes.


• Naples: The San Francesco di Paola church, situated in the middle of Piazza Plebiscito, a semicircular square, which offers a spectacular view of Mount Vesuvius; and Castel Nuovo, a 'new castle' completed in 1282, known for its important Renaissance work.


• Costa Smeralda: Sardinia's 55 kilometre-long coastal area on the Mediterranean, developed by Prince Karim Aga Khan. This "Emerald Coast" is popular with highly affluent European and Arabian VIPs visiting from entertainment, politics and industry.

• Also on the Mediterranean, the Spanish eastern coastal city of Barcelona offers the Plaça Reial: a popular square next to Las Ramblas, a busy, kilometre-long tree-lined pedestrian mall, a favourite with both tourists and locals alike. Usually full of street theatre, cafés and market stalls, it serves as the emotional hub of the city.

• When you're on the Mediterranean you can visit Marseilles in the south of France and see the statue of the Virgin and Child on the belfry of the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica. At 162 metres, this ornate church sits atop the highest natural point in the city. As well as being a major local landmark, it is the site of a popular annual pilgrimage every August 15th.

You can see that some of these places on the Mediterranean are perhaps more interesting than others, but if you want you can check out all of them. Ask yourself which ones are most appropriate for your travel itinerary, decide how you plan to see them, whether by cruise ship, tour bus, car, train, plane, bicycle, or even on foot, and go ahead! Take that step! Enjoy yourself on the Mediterranean, and see for yourself!

Keith Valentine began his solo excursions at fourteen throughout the south of England, though at a younger age he participated in a guided youth hostelling tour in Wales. He has toured extensively in Europe and North America. Now 52, he travels throughout Ontario with his partner, whom he met near Niagara Falls. If you would like to read more free articles, visit our travel articles page.

A Pleasant Drive To Amsterdam

When you are travelling in a foreign country, it’s different. There is a certain kind of intellectual curiosity that can never be there when you are in your own country. With no familiar surroundings, you stop and think about how different everything really is.

I remember being driven through backcountry roads and autobahns from Cologne in western Germany, heading northwest through Holland toward Amsterdam, for over three hundred kilometers. I saw giant fir trees that just seemed so much taller than ones I had seen before, and road signs that meant absolutely nothing to me even though I pretended they did, like “Nog een prettige dag!” or “Schönen Tag noch!”, if only just to wish me a nice day. I felt that I was in a wonderland that only I knew how to interpret.

It’s also true that there’s an “edge” to travelling abroad. There is the knowledge that you have been somewhere that most of your friends probably have not. The de Valkenier’ amusement park in Valkenburg, or walking across one of the 1,281 bridges that cross the 165 canals in Amsterdam, or standing beside one of the 1,762 graves at the Oosterbeek War Cemetery at Arnhem – these things were felt effortlessly. You become aware of how others in this world live. This is an exciting experience – and a good one.

My favourite aspect of this particular journey is that it was my first adventure outside of England where I was born. We become so acquainted with our local environment that we tend to believe it is just the way things are and that there is nothing beyond our peripheral vision. There is always a little tedium in coping with our everyday existence.

Consider something as simple as resting alongside the road for ten minutes, leaning on a fencepost watching the four sails of a windmill go round and round. Even while it is a needed rest for one, it can be an unnatural break in the rhythm for another, and yet a decision must be made to stop or not. On the other hand, decisions flow almost without thought when you’re on a trip to somewhere you’ve never been before. What a wonderful relief from the complications of ordinary life.

Keith Valentine first began traveling at eleven, and traveled the south of England alone at 15 and has toured extensively throughout Europe and North America. Now 52, he travels throughout Ontario with his partner, whom he met near Niagara Falls. If you would like to read more free articles, visit our travel articles page.

Mediterranean Cruise - July 2000

On Saturday, July 8, I landed in Barcelona, Spain, having flown in from Toronto, Canada, via London; just had time for a sightseeing tour and paid a visit to La Rambla. The next day I boarded the cruise ship: Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas and sailed south to the Spanish island of Majorca, spending the afternoon in Palma De Mallorca. In the evening the ship sailed northeast toward Marseilles, France. On the Monday I took an excursion around Marseilles and in the evening I sailed east toward Livorno, Italy. The following day my bus excursion took me to Florence via Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. That night the ship sailed southeast toward Naples. On Wednesday I took an excursion around Naples and in the evening I sailed southwest toward the Italian island of Sardinia. The next day my excursion took me from Cagliari to Villaggio San Priamo and that night the ship sailed northwest toward Spain. All day Friday was spent cruising across the Western Mediterranean, arriving back at Barcelona the following morning. That afternoon I flew back to Toronto via London.

Keith Valentine began his solo excursions at fourteen throughout the south of England, though at a younger age he participated in a guided youth hostelling tour in Wales. He has toured extensively in Europe and North America. Now 52, he travels throughout Ontario with his partner. If you would like to read more free articles, visit our travel articles page.

Welcome to the Travel blog!

Hello Everyone! I am the blog owner: My name is Keith Valentine, and I will be posting more messages every day to provide information and sources for free online travel articles. I just wanted to mention that as an author of online articles, I intend to publish articles on a variety of travel topics but at first I will be focusing on youth hostelling - a pastime I enjoyed immensely as a teenager.

Keith Valentine began his solo excursions at fourteen throughout the south of England, though at a younger age he participated in a guided youth hostelling tour in Wales. He has toured extensively in Europe and North America. Now 52, he travels throughout Ontario with his partner. If you would like to read more free articles, visit our travel articles page.