Travel to the Netherlands

**Tokhuah** · 05-10-2016 17:46

I am traveling to the Netherlands during the last week of July through the first week in August. I have my wife and precocious daughter with me. We plan to land in Amsterdam and head south, dipping into Belgium. Local travel advice would be appreciated!

Random thoughts:
- In the past travels we would hire a car but how about trains, is it easy enough?
- I am into history. We know about the Anne Frank House, any other suggestions?
- Any ideas related to Medieval castle type buildings or cool architecture?
- Anything flight related (as in planes from the first half of the 20th century)?
- Ypres Salient, Belgium is an important site in military history but is there anything to see there now?
- My daughter found something about shelved toilets on the internet and has concerns. Anything special we should know about them?

Edit: I also really like Vermeer and would like to see his works in person.

**Guntruck** · 05-11-2016 05:29

In Oosterbeek just outside Arnhem, you have the wonderful Airborne museum (http://en.airbornemuseum.nl/). At Soesterburg there is the new National Military Museum (https://www.nmm.nl/en/), with plenty of aircraft and other heavy metal. The Aviodrome at Lelystadt is worth a visit as well (http://www.aviodrome.nl/). All these are driveable from Amsterdam.

In Ypres there is the In Flanders Field Museum covering WW1 (http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-sali...ers-fields.htm), and if you get as far as Brussels there is the Royal Army Museum with a vast aviation hall with loads of original WW1 types.

I am sure others will pile in with other suggestions

**Lt. S.Kafloc** · 05-11-2016 08:34

You could also visit Waterloo and walk the battlefield. Then there is Eben Emil but check website for times and when guided tours are on.

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 05-14-2016 04:22

If you visit Den Haag, there is the Peace Palace, Ridderzaal, and Gavangenpoort Prison which was the setting for Dumas' Black Tulip novel, and also a plaque on the pavement nearby where the Brothers De Witt were murdered by the mob.
Toilets are no problem they just have a porcelain shelf about half way down the throat which your poo rests upon, then washes off with the flush. Thus you get no splash back from the drop. Not all toilets are like this however.
Rob.

**Nightbomber** · 05-14-2016 04:43

Battle of the Bulge museum in Bastogne - be sure not to miss this one. Arnhem - as well. Waterloo - too. Take the train round battlefield with a guide.

**Guntruck** · 05-14-2016 06:06

Too much information Rob!

**Aardvark1430** · 05-15-2016 08:34

Originally Posted by Tokhuah

I am traveling to the Netherlands during the last week of July through the first week in August. I have my wife and precocious daughter with me. We plan to land in Amsterdam and head south, dipping into Belgium. Local travel advice would be appreciated!

Random thoughts:
- In the past travels we would hire a car but how about trains, is it easy enough?
- I am into history. We know about the Anne Frank House, any other suggestions?
- Any ideas related to Medieval castle type buildings or cool architecture?
- Anything flight related (as in planes from the first half of the 20th century)?
- Ypres Salient, Belgium is an important site in military history but is there anything to see there now?
- My daughter found something about shelved toilets on the internet and has concerns. Anything special we should know about them?

Edit: I also really like Vermeer and would like to see his works in person.

Hi Scott,

I'll try to give you some answers (omitting the things that have been said already):

* hiring a car is no problem at all, friends of us from Chicago that were here just two weeks back, hired a VW automatic at Budget Car rental, perfect (almost brand new) car and not too expensive. Budget has rental offices all over the country and of course cars can be hired / reserved via internet.
* travelling by train is not a problem either. If you would also like to use local public transport (tram and/or bus) you need to have an "OV-Chipcard" (public transport chip card) which you can buy at most railroad stations and I think also at Schiphol Airport (that's where you're entering the country, I think), you'll need one for each member of your party though. They cost € 7,50 (roughly $ 10) each and you have to put money on them. Swipe entering the transport and swipe leaving the transport. It will work in all Dutch cities for local transport as well as trains country wide. If you want I can try to find out where you can purchase them.
* history, lot's of it, what exactly would you look for ? For instance the "Scheepvaart Museum" (we are a sea going nation after all ...) in Amsterdam is quite good.
* medieval castles, some nice examples are Slot Loevestein (www.slotloevestein.nl, for English click on the menu-button) and Kasteel Heeswijk (www.kasteelheeswijk.nl), but there are many more ... (www.kasteleninnederland.nl). Most of them are not easy to reach by public transport though ...
* the Dutch airforce museum has been amalgamated with other military museums and together they now form the Nationaal Militair Museum in Soesterberg. Lot's of history from the Romans onwards and a good selection of airplanes (www.nmm.nl)
* Lelystad airport also houses a very nice museum, I recently went there with Joaquim (Blackronin) and his girlfriend.
* Ypres is, as you know, in Belgium, I can't give you info on that, google is the word (or the Belgian Wing ...).
* info on Dutch toilets you already have been given in detail ...
* Vermeer's work is in the museum "Mauritshuis" in The Hague ("girl with the pearl earring", "view on Delft" to name but two) and the Mauritshuis has a lot of other Dutch masters, but other work by Vermeer will also be in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The latter is also home to Rembrandt's "Nachtwacht" ... If you come to The Hague the museum "Panorama Mesdag" is a must !
The Mauritsdhuis is adjacent to the "Binnenhof", which is a medieval castle which houses the "Ridderzaal", the "House of Parliament" and the office of the Prime Minister. Across the road is the medieval prison "Gevangenpoort".

Of course there is much more to see and do... So, If you have any particular question, just let me know and I'll (try to) answer it

Cheers,
Guus

**Tonx** · 05-17-2016 08:59

Scott, I hope you are well as I have not spoken to you for ages. how are the WGS games going?

Which Carrier are you travelling with please? Reason I am asking is that you may be able to book a through ticket to a Belgian airport with a break of journey included at AMS. This is different from a transit stop at AMS because you will be allowed landside instead of having to remain airside whilst at AMS. A break of journey can also last a number of days: If you stop over in the Netherlands you may have to at least transit at the same location if not stopping over again on your return journey.

In terms of travelling to / from Europe from the US I would heavily recommend flying into AMS and back to the US from there as opposed to using Brussels \ BRU at the moment: As you may recall Brussels a k a Zaventem International Airport was the scene of a terrorist bombing in early March 2016. Several Carriers have yet to return services from being suspended as the result of what has happened. Those which have returned are experiencing disruptions and delays. However flights into Belgium from AMS are available landing you in Bruges / Liege - close to Brussels in fact / Antwerp instead of the affected location.

One Belgian airport you will be delighted that you missed by the way is Brussels - Charleroi \ CRL ... Which is in fact nowhere near Brussels and a former airbase which is located in the middle of nowhere. The principal user of CRL is Ryanair and I am sure that one of the pilots I once knew with FR said to me that it was actually 50 miles away from Brussels! Should you find a flight available from AMS to 'Brussels' Charleroi you know now not to be fooled by this ploy: But that's what friends are for

**Tokhuah** · 05-19-2016 00:56

Everything is going fine Barney and thank all of you for your comments. I have been a bit gaming deprived over the past few weeks because I work in government and have been consumed with taking the fight to Washington over reentry employment opportunities for low income seniors and vets. I will stop there because I do not intend to dip into politics. I will finally have some time this weekend to do a coastal raid with those B-25's I picked up from a Miniature Market sale.

Back to the Netherlands!

It occurred to me that I forgot to ask about my third favorite thing in life, eating! To start with, I am spending my first three days in Amsterdam. Where do I go to eat and drink if I want a local food/drink experience? I saw photos of a deep fried fish street food called Kibbeling. This is the sort of think I like to seek out food wise much more than fine dining. Is it acceptable to bring a tween into a pub that serves food?

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles: My wife wants to go places not directly serviced by trains so it looks like a car is in order. The last thing I want to do is drive around in something that makes us stand out but I am too tall to be comfortable in most compact cars. Do people outside the rental car world drive Passats? How about the Opel Zafira? Too much?

**Aardvark1430** · 05-19-2016 02:50

Hi Scott,

kibbeling is (are ?) small(ish) pieces of cod in batter, deep fried. Depending on the place where you eat them they can be delicious or desperately greasy ... If you want to eat fish of a very good quality and not in a posh restaurant I would suggest you wait with that until you reach The Hague or rather it's coastal area called Scheveningen. They still have a fishing fleet there and at the harbour there is this extremely good fish "restaurant" (meaning: not posh at all !). It's called "Simonis" (http://simonisvis.nl/vestigingen/aan-de-haven). It's also the best fish-shop in the Netherlands, I dare say ...
I don't think there are Dutch dishes as such. Always having been a nation of merchants and sailors we have our "cuisine" influenced from all over the world. Food from our former colony Nederlands Oost Indië (now: Indonesia) is something you will not find outside Indonesia or the Netherlands. So that's a must, I would say. The taste of that food ranges from delicate, sweet to extremely spicey !

Usually when renting a car you can't specify a specific make of car, you reserve a type, which may be a VW Passat or something of the same size / quality etc (e.g. Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna, Peugeot 508, Opel ...). And yes Passats are a popular car here, as are the others I mentioned. You won't stand out, no worries there.
I hope this helps, and ...

... more questions ? Ask

Cheers,
Guus