The Netherlands
Kinderdijk windmill. With truck.
Our route through the Netherlands
Starting our second European overlanding week, We were feeling full of big cities so skipped Brussels and headed into the Netherlands. Another beautifully lush flat country. Looking for our daily hike, we stopped off in the first national park along the way.
De Biesbosch National Park - lots of water
And agriculture
Feeling suitably stretched out and exercised, we drove on to the iconic Kinderdijk windmills outside of Rotterdam.
Kinderdijk windmills - beautiful. Reputed to be the best authentic and old windmills, they lived up to their name.
With wild camping being once again mostly illegal, we booked campgrounds online in Netherlands as well. They were still running around $20 a night, more outside of big cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Similar to Belgium, most of the campgrounds had great toilet and shower facilities, but often had other features we did not need or care about (playgrounds, shops, cafes, swimming pools even!) We tried to seek out the more basic ones. One of our favorite sites was on the Rhine river outside of Rotterdam where we sat in the evenings and watched the tug boats and freighters go by.
Recreatiepark de Oude Maas, entertaining campsite outside of Rotterdam
Waiting for the next ship
ROTTERDAM
Using our campground as a base we headed into Rotterdam to check it out. Once again, we arranged for our favorite tour - the free walking tour of the city. Rotterdam was raized by bombs in WW2 so it has been rebuilt with an eye to design and an eclectic mix of architecture.
Rotterdams’s crazy cube houses - according to our walking tour guide they have come in and out of favor as people figure out whether or not they feel disoriented living in them.
Rotterdam’s downtown inside market building.
The art walk - sculptures line the walkway to the museum row.
Old port area
Rain came and went and came in force as we crossed the famous Erasmus bridge.
GOUDA
It’s all about the cheese. And it’s worth it. Stopped off to learn about cheese making and visit the old farming village center. I had rather live with cheese and garlic in a windmill.
Tasting and learning about Gouda cheese
Central square of Gouda - just a little wet
All of which led to our most excellent Dutch breakfast the next day.
THE HAGUE
On to explore more architecture, next stop was The Hague with the International Court of Justice, beautiful gardens and museums.
The Hague - Dutch parliament buildings
Church in Binnenhof courtyard, Den Haag (The Hague)
The Peace Palace - or International Court of Justice. Unfortunately closed to the public when we were there.
LEIDEN
Because you can never visit enough gorgeous medieval towns set on canals, we set off to Leiden next. Enjoyed a fabulous day wandering the small streets and ended with outside coffee (Dawn) and tea (Andy).
AMSTERDAM
Our final stop on the Netherlands tour - the crazy, quirky city of Amsterdam. We had a great time here, possibly as there was a distinct lack of tourists and we found a great camping spot that allowed us easy access to the city. The combination of our quiet camping spot with easy access to the cultural sites and sounds of the city worked well.
Campin Gaasper outside of Amsterdam - 15 minutes on the metro to downtown. Almost to ourselves at first.
And then others arrived on the weekend.
Wake up camping and then 30 minutes later at a world class museum - wow! Spent a morning at the Rijks Museum.
Once again we enjoyed a free historical walking tour learning about the history and people of the city. Every one we have done has been amazing and well worth the time and guide tip. We also did a canal tour in Amsterdam and although they are commonly recommended, did not enjoy it as much. We may have chosen the wrong one, but we sat on the boat and listened to a canned tour in multiple languages and left unsatisfied. Dawn also visited the Van Gogh museum which was a great deep dive into his life and art.
Seven bridges point on the canals
Central plaza - starting point for walking tours
Canal architecture
Central Station
Although we didn’t visit inside as we had both visited in the past, we spent a moment remembering Anne Frank.
Bike parking at the metro station in Amsterdam, more bikes than cars
Common site in the Netherlands, bikes rule the roads.
Feeling like we had explored Dutch culture, food and architecture we set off. We realize that we barely scratched the surface of what there is to see in Belgium and the Netherlands, we still felt like we saw some of the highlights and were able to appreciate the people and history.
And a final mention, not the Netherlands, but on our way to Denmark we stopped by and stayed with our family friends in Hamburg, August and Franzi and their daughter Ida. Thank you for the great food, bed, hospitality and laundry facilities. We look forward to meeting up again soon!
