The Low Countries

I am going back to Amsterdam next week for a month. This will be my third trip to the city for work. Up until now, I have flown in, fulfilled my contractual obligations, and flown out. This trip will be a little different. I am going to stay longer than necessary and see more than the neighborhood around Vondelpark. Not that there is anything wrong with Vondelpark. It is a wonderful place for a leisurely stroll or a quick run, and I love the surrounding neighborhood. But if I have the opportunity to spend some extra time in a country with an excellent transportation system, and I don't even have to pay for a hotel, I'm taking it. Christmas would have been a great time to explore, but I had too much going on at home. Easter will have to do.

There is still much of Amsterdam to see, but my goal is to leave the city. I will have limited time on future trips, so this is my big chance to see other parts of Holland, or even the rest of the Netherlands. It is a tiny country, but when you just go to Amsterdam and then leave, you never get to see much of anything.

When most people go to Amsterdam, they stick around the Centrum borough. That is like going to New York and staying in Manhattan the entire time. Some will say that is all you need, but in both cities, there is so much more. Since my apartment is near Vondelpark, I am automatically in an outer borough. I am essentially in Brooklyn. They have all the big tourist sights, but we have the best parks.

There are plenty of things to see and do around the country, but sometimes it is a matter of timing. Leiden has a big fair in October that I can look into later this year. There is a carnival in Maastricht, but only for a weekend in November. I might never see that. There are all kinds of music festivals throughout the summer, but I'm coming back home in May. Maybe next time. Spring is a big time for flowers, so I'm sure I will find something flower related. Holland has a few tulips lying around.

If I had several years, I would take it slow and explore the country province by province. But I have absolutely no idea how long I will be working in Amsterdam. When I worked in Tel Aviv, I assumed I could make it last at least ten years. Circumstances beyond my control cut it down to one. Ten years is still not enough time to really get to know a place like Israel, but it is enough time to go to pretty much every district. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are both wonderful in their own ways, but no country is only two cities. It would be a shame if I only saw Amsterdam during whatever amount of time I have left.

My current goals are to see some of the bigger cities – Rotterdam, the Hague, Delft – but also get out of town. I would love to go down to Kinderdijk and check out the windmills. There are surprisingly few in Amsterdam. Ideally, I would go when the river is frozen enough to skate.

I have always wanted to go to Alkmaar during the cheese festival, but everyone tells me it is nothing like it used to be. What was once a great festival is now a show for the tourists, apparently. Either way, not far from Alkmaar is Edam, the capital of cheese and the old style villages of Zaanstreek-Waterland.

Across the sea from Amsterdam is Noordoostpolder, which is supposed to be the best place in the world to ride a bicycle. I will be the judge of that.

Just south of Amsterdam, I can see some ancient ruins in Utrecht, which is relatively close to Hoge Veluwe National Park and even closer to Gouda, the second capital of cheese.

Maastricht is about as far south as you can get, and also supposed to be a good looking city. From there, it should be easy to pop into Belgium and/or Germany as long as I'm in the neighborhood.

Most people don't think about islands and the Netherlands together, but the entire northern tip of the country is capped by an archipelago. The West Frisian Islands are supposed to be culturally unique, which often happens on islands.

How long will it take to see all of these places? I probably never will. Experience has shown that even if I make a list of places to go, something will come up that takes me somewhere else. Whether the detours are better than the route remains to be seen.