Netherlands Travel Forum

Hello dear Vters,

My boss just told be yesterday that I have to pack and be sent to the Hague for 2 weeks starting 13th May next week. :-)

So this is a bit last minute. Love to hear from you guys as to what I should / can do during the weekends -

a) I have been to Amsterdam and the Hague so hoping to go to other NL cities which have a different twist.Day trip or overnite? Any suggestions ?

b) Is there any major festivals or events or exhibition during the two weeks of
13-26 May that I should not miss ?

c) I was also hoping to visit one of the Scandinavian countries during one weekend ( eg Copenhagen )

- is it easier to travel by air or by bus / train ?
- how long is the journey ?
- is it easier to visit Sweden or Norway compared to Copenhagen ?

d) I saw in one of the forum thread that Schipol airport is somewhat like Terminal 5 condition . Is that true and when does the holiday in NL starts and ends ?

e) If there is any nearby and easy to access European cities of countries worth considering other than Copenhagen please shout :-) . France is out of the question because it is part of my annual Pilgrimage.

Many many thanks

Kenny

My preference would be to use trains to see some places. You only have two weekends so you have limited time really.

Its a 12 hour journey to Copenhagen by train with many changes so its hardly worth doing this for one night. If you really want to go then I would take the train from Den Haag to Schipol and fly from there.

Cologne is a beautiful German city and you can go there by train in 3 hours.Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels in Belgium are also worth seeing.

Closer to home Kinderdijk is a lovely day trip. Take the train to Rotterdam and then bus (no 90) or boat to Kinderdijk. Some Rotterdam trains go via Delft so you can stop off there as well.

A good general info website is: www.whatsonwhen. Delft is an interesting city near the Hague. For wine, the Mosel River Valley in southwest Germany. Luxembourg/Luxembourg City are interesting. Gary

a) Lots of other cities: Delft, Leiden, Gouda, Rotterdam are nearby.
Utrecht, Breda, Haarlem and Alkmaar are a little further away. All very good to visit in a daytrip by train.

b) See: http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=DOORWAYNEWS-uk
Select Events in The Hague

c) By plane is far the best. See: http://www.pricefightertickets.nl/ for deals and low cost carriers

d) Normally Schiphol is fine, but .... yesterday a number of the luggage handling workers were going on strike. So getting your suitcase on the moment takes a klittle longer. Hope this will be over soon.

e) Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne (all by train)


BTW We have the VT Euromeet at KArlsruhe at the end of the month:
http://meetings.virtualtourist.com/2/meeting-3893-1-0-0-World-1210415950776-1241951950776-meeting.html?wosid=k85AdO2rOWzPHjUtxzjrgM


PJ

Off the top of my head:

a) Different twist:
Maastricht (overnight, down south)- lots of nightlife, beautiful city
Up north: Assen (has an exhibition of the Chinese terracotta army - www.gochinaassengroningen.nl)
Combine this with the Groninger Museum in Groningen (museum of modern art), student city, nice night life
Visit one of the Wadden islands (Texel for instance).
Leiden: historical city, rent a bike, explore the area (flower fields, beach at Katwijk or Noordwijk).

b) The Hague has the 50th Pasar Malam Besar, starting May 21st (until June 1st daily from morning to evenings), the largest Asian market in Europe, in tents on Malieveld, walkable from Central Station Den Haag

May 14th in Rotterdam about the bombing of R'dam 14 May 1940: http://www.gemeentearchief.rotterdam.nl/brandgrens/index.php?&lang=EN
And Rotterdam itself, worth a visit!

Keukenhof is still open until May 18th, www.keukenhof.nl (the famous bulb flower park)

As I said: off the top of my head so there are probably lots more ideas!