Travel Tales: Have You Been to Amsterdam?

Attorney Anita M. Lamar Owner, Managing Attorney

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By Pam Walker, CTC, ATC, DS, LS I am sure if you do any international travel to Europe, at one time or another you must have transited Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The first time I did, it was scary: so big, so confusing, and everyone speaking Dutch. Lately, it has aquired quite a fame along with London’s Heathrow, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle, and others. Post pandemic travel is back with a vengance, and these airports, with staff problems and multilple airlines and gates, have proved challenging. That said, the next time you have to go through Amsterdam, I suggest you stop and “smell the tulips” as it is. The Netherlands (or Holland as we know it) is a fascinating country with lots to do and see.

Aside from the Tulip Festival (from the end of March to mid May every year), you can see fields and fields of tulips growing in the “Bulb” region of Lisse not far from Amsterdam.

Known as the Land of Water, the Netherlands is about the size of a large city in the USA. Start your stay in Amsterdam itself, which is full of museums and bycicyles. You have to be careful when walking through the streets as there are more bicycles than there are cars. Don’t forget to visit the Anne Frank House, made famous by her reknowned diary about life in an attic during the Nazi invasion of Europe.

From there you can take day trips to Marken to see real windmills and how wooden shoes are made. En route you can see the amazing fields constructed below sea level, with dams and dikes holding back the water till harvest. Or you can take a short trip down to Utrecht to see it’s quaint canals with historic buildings and castles. There is also the beautiful Dom Tower which is beautifully lit at night. Go to Gouda where the cheese was first made, where all the street lights in the old town look like rounds of cheese. Rotterdam should round out your stay for shopping and enjoying all of the mostly duty free “goodies” you can find in the amazing and very modern port city.

There is a lot more to see and do in the Netherlands besides Amsterdam’s Schiphol. So the next time you have to connect there, stay a while. It may be a small country, but there are lots to do and the Dutch people are happy to share it with you.

Pam Walker is a Virtuoso Travel Advisor. More information at pam@walkeradventures.com