2018 - Netherlands
Jennifer and I passed through Rotterdam on our way from Paris to Delft and spent a few hours exploring on foot. Rotterdam was bombed out by Hitler in WWII, so has been rebuilt almost from scratch. The result is some ultra modern architecture, some of it quite whimsical.
We stopped for two nights in Delft. It's a picture postcard of a 17th century trading city, famous for Delftware and the painter Johannes Vermeer. We stayed at a boutique hotel that was once the home of another great "Dutch Golden Age" painter, Jan Steen. The town oozes charm, and we spent much of our time just wandering the canal-side streets and taking in the ambience of the place.
We spent a few hours in The Hague on our way from Delft to Amsterdam. We had time to wander about and visit the Mauritshius, an art museum with an amazing collection of paintings by masters of the Dutch Golden Age, including Vermeer and Rembrandt.
Our next five days were in Amsterdam. One day was spent in the Rijksmuseum viewing (more) masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age, and another at the wonderful Van Gogh Museum. Except for the last day, we spent our time wandering about central Amstedam.
We rented bikes and cycle into the countryside on our final day. We got caught by one downpour, but it was otherwise a beautiful day. It was like riding in a 17th century Dutch painting (allowing for some signs of modernity like power lines, cranes and modern windmills).
We left Amsterdam on the 10:17 to Paris. Interestingly, I watched the movie "The 15:17 to Paris" on the plane to Paris at the beginning of this trip. It's the story of how some American tourists thwarted a terrorist attack on the same train we we returning on. Our train ride was uneventful!
Read MoreWe stopped for two nights in Delft. It's a picture postcard of a 17th century trading city, famous for Delftware and the painter Johannes Vermeer. We stayed at a boutique hotel that was once the home of another great "Dutch Golden Age" painter, Jan Steen. The town oozes charm, and we spent much of our time just wandering the canal-side streets and taking in the ambience of the place.
We spent a few hours in The Hague on our way from Delft to Amsterdam. We had time to wander about and visit the Mauritshius, an art museum with an amazing collection of paintings by masters of the Dutch Golden Age, including Vermeer and Rembrandt.
Our next five days were in Amsterdam. One day was spent in the Rijksmuseum viewing (more) masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age, and another at the wonderful Van Gogh Museum. Except for the last day, we spent our time wandering about central Amstedam.
We rented bikes and cycle into the countryside on our final day. We got caught by one downpour, but it was otherwise a beautiful day. It was like riding in a 17th century Dutch painting (allowing for some signs of modernity like power lines, cranes and modern windmills).
We left Amsterdam on the 10:17 to Paris. Interestingly, I watched the movie "The 15:17 to Paris" on the plane to Paris at the beginning of this trip. It's the story of how some American tourists thwarted a terrorist attack on the same train we we returning on. Our train ride was uneventful!
