![]() ![]() Everything we'll see is within an hour of Amsterdam. In the west of Europe is the Netherlands, with 12 provinces, including North and South Holland. We'll marvel at Dutch masters, smoke some eels, pull out all the stops on an unforgettable organ…and start up a classic windmill. ![]() We'll cruise through a mighty port, go for an old-fashioned sail, and visit the ultimate flower market. Even with a dense population and an ongoing battle with the sea, the Dutch are warm and even-keeled. Traveling here, it's easy to see how the Netherlands is a lot like its people: efficient, a good balance of old and new, hard work and fun, innovation and tradition. The people here claim if you stand on a chair you can see all across their country. Hi, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe. ![]() See the Travel Details above for recommendations highlighted in bold, excerpted from Rick's guidebooks. A visit here meshes well with the Amsterdam–Hoorn–Medemblik–Enkhuizen–Amsterdam "Historic Triangle" train/boat loop trip, as boats from Medemblik dock directly at the museum. On weekends, children enjoy trying out old-time games, playing at the dress-up chest, and making sailing ships out of old wooden shoes. You're welcome to take their picture, but they won't smile - no one said, "Have a nice day," back then. You'll meet people who do a convincing job of role-playing no-nonsense 1905 villagers. The museum's original buildings were collected from around the Zuiderzee. The building that houses the museum is perfectly suited for its task, dating from the 1630s, with a distinctive, ornate facade. Located in the town of Hoorn, this museum - with a curiosity cabinet, still lifes, devotional art, city bigwig group portraits, and elegantly furnished living rooms and a kitchen - takes the art and heritage of the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch Masters and puts it in the context of a real town and Golden Age community. Consider attending - even just part of - a concert to hear the Oz-like pipe organ (regular free concerts Tue at 20:15 mid-May–mid-Oct, additional concerts Thu at 16:00 July–Aug). Quirky highlights of the church include a replica of Foucault's pendulum, the "Dog-Whipper's Chapel," and a 400-year-old cannonball. Note how the organ, which fills the west end, seems to steal the show from the altar. Its more than 5,000 pipes impressed both Handel and Mozart. This 15th-century Gothic church is worth a look, if only to see Holland's greatest pipe organ (from 1738, 100 feet high). Take a close look at the people who built the Dutch Golden Age, and then watched it start to fade. Stand eye-to-eye with life-size, lifelike portraits of Haarlem's citizens - brewers, preachers, workers, bureaucrats, and housewives. This refreshing museum displays many of Hals' greatest paintings, crafted in his nearly Impressionistic style. Haarlem is the hometown of Frans Hals, the foremost Dutch portrait painter of the 17th-century Golden Age. For the best floral variety and auction action, the earlier you visit, the better (best before 9:30). The flowers are shipped here overnight (for maximum freshness), auctioned at the crack of dawn, and distributed as quickly as possible. About half of all the flowers exported from Holland are auctioned off here, in four huge auditoriums. You'll wander on elevated walkways over literally trainloads of freshly cut flowers. Get a bird's-eye view of the huge Dutch flower industry in this cavernous building where the world's flower prices are set. While some may think this is just an excuse to shop for Delftware, it's a worthwhile stop for those who enjoy porcelain. Three centuries later, their descendants are still going strong, and you can see them at work in this factory - the only one left of an original 32. The Chinese designs became trendy and were copied by many local potters. The Dutch East India Company, partly headquartered in Delft, imported many exotic goods from the Far East, including Chinese porcelain. The Delft Blue earthenware made at this factory (known as the "Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles" in Dutch) is famous worldwide, making this the biggest tourist attraction in town. On a clear day you can see the towers of The Hague and, in the other direction, Rotterdam. This is a particularly dizzying tower climb, one of Europe's more dramatic. If you want to work off your pannenkoeken, you can climb the New Church's tower (three levels and 376 steps in a very narrow staircase). The can't-miss-it New Church rockets up from the Markt: It's the needle around which Delft spins, and holds the most important tombs of Dutch royalty. Delft has two grand churches that hold tombs of prominent local residents. ![]()
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