Netherlands, Norway and Svalbard

[jxv]

We're in Amsterdam mid-late April so ready to take notes!

Going to the Keukenhof flowershow? It is the biggest attraction that time of year and well worth it.

 

[jxv]

In the last 15 years we have visited the Netherlands roughly every two years for about two weeks each time as part of longer trips. We usually spent the first or last few days in the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Over that period we have seen the number of tourists there increase dramatically. The prices of accommodation and activities have shot up too. This made us decide to give Amsterdam amiss this time and go straight to Rotterdam, my birthplace.

Public transport in the Netherlands is well organised with the “OV-chipkaart” valid for transport anywhere in the country. Buy one for €7.50 at a railway station or other transport office and put some travel credit on it. Australian credit cards are only accepted over the counter or at vending machines at railway stations. The machines at supermarkets etc. only take Dutch bank passes. If you intend to use the trams or busses in a big city a lot, it may be better to buy a dedicated (multi)day-pass for that city.

Every hour there are several trains going from Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam, one of them being the InterCity Direct. That happened to be the one that pulled into Schiphol Airport station a moment after we entered the platform. As the doors opened I read the notice: “Surcharge required”. With only a few minutes before the train would depart I located a railways employee and asked for an explanation. He pointed me to an OV-chipkaart touch-pole on the other side of the platform and told me that I had to tap my card there to pay the surcharge. A quick sprint to the pole and back again and we boarded the train for the 26 minutes trip to Rotterdam, compared to 52 minutes on the ordinary trains, well worth the €2.40 surcharge.

Rotterdam Central Station. This latest incarnation was completed only a few years ago. The letters and the clock were rescued from the old station.

 

[Denali]

Hi and yes, will be going to the flower show and really looking forward to it.

 

[jxv]

We prefer to stay in apartments, if we are staying somewhere for a few days. I had selected Premier Suites Plus in Rotterdam, conveniently just across the road from the railway station. We arrived at mid-day. There was a little problem at check-in as they expected me to pay, while I had pre-paid at the time I booked through hotels.com. Luckily it was sorted out quickly.

The apartment consisted of a lounge-dining-kitchen area and a bedroom, with the bathroom in between. Quite a clever layout. The kitchen had a two-ring induction stovetop, a microwave/convection combination oven, fridge and dishwasher. There was just enough crockery and cutlery plus some pots and pans. There was a laundry with free washers and dryers on every floor.

We quickly refreshed ourselves and we were soon exploring the city. At the top of the priority list was finding a fast food place where they had “kroketten en patat met pindasaus” (croquettes and hot chips with peanut sauce). This mission was soon accomplished. Generally the Dutch have their chips with mayonnaise. In second place comes peanut sauce and those with strong stomachs have “patat oorlog” (war chips) with mayonnaise, tomato sauce AND peanut sauce.

Kroket en patat met pindasaus. Mrs jxv had already started eating before I had a chance to take a photo!

 

[jxv]

Exploration continued. After a while we found ourselves on the Binnenrotte, originally part of the river Rotte after which Rotterdam is named, which marked the edge of the city. This part of the river was filled in during 1871 to facilitate the building of a railway viaduct, completed in 1877. In 1993 a railway tunnel was opened and a few years later the viaduct was demolished. Now there is a wide, open pedestrian space.

Below: the Binnenrotte, with on the left the apartment complex aptly named the “potlood” (pencil). Behind it are the “kubuswoningen” (cube houses). These are three and four level cubes set on their points on supporting columns. The whole complex is said to resemble a forest. One of the houses is open for inspection. The owner collects a small entrance fee. It is worth seeing. The flying saucer on the right is the roof over the underground Rotterdam Blaak railway and metro station, which looks like it has been constructed in a sinkhole.



The “Markthal” (Market Hall) on the other side of the Binnenrotte was opened in 2014. We saw the opening on TV a few days before we were due to return to Australia on our 2014 trip. A visit had to wait till 2016.

It is an apartment and retail complex with a big space in the centre for a market. The side walls are the largest glass windows in the world. In addition to the market area there are 228 apartments, 4600 m2 shops, 1600 m2 restaurants and an underground parking garage for 1200 cars. Also the largest in the world is the artwork on the inside walls, 11,000 m2. The apartments each have one or two windows looking into the market hall. For the top-level apartments these windows are in the floor!

 

[jxv]

The next day we swapped the modern for the historical. We visited Delfshaven, the oldest part of Rotterdam. It originally was the port for the city of Delft, 10 km to the North, hence its name. It was annexed by Rotterdam at the end of the 19th century. Delfshaven is internationally known as the departure point of the Pilgrim Fathers to America.

The Old Delfshaven Church is also known as the Pilgrim Fathers’ Church, although the connection seems to be rather tenuous. The Pilgrim Fathers came to Delfshaven to board the Speedwell, bound for America, departing on 21 July 1620. According to the chronicles the Pilgrim Fathers knelt down in prayer on the quay near the church. Much later, American visitors gave the church its name: Pilgrim Fathers' Church.

The first picture shows the tower of the Pilgrims Fathers’ Church.


Warehouses.


Flour mill “De Distilleerketel” (Distillery Kettle) at the end of the street. There is a traditional link between flour mills and gin distilleries.

 

[jxv]

The HEMA is a chain of variety stores. Their bigger stores have restaurants with very reasonable prices. For lunch we selected “boerenkool stamppot met rookworst” (mashed potato and kale with smoked sausage) for €3.50. You can’t get lunch any cheaper and it tastes better than it looks! We know a restaurant in Amsterdam that caters to tourists in search of Dutch specialities. There such a dish is priced at €12.

Foodies in search of fine dining venues should avert their eyes!

 

[BriarFlyer]

Okay, so I am a foodie although not so much a fine-dining foodie as an I-love-to-try-new-foods foodie. But chips with peanut sauce? I'm now reconsidering how adventurous my palate actually is!

(BTW, I did snag a business seat and claimed the dessert you sent back on that first flight.)

 

[Pushka]

Okay, so I am a foodie although not so much a fine-dining foodie as an I-love-to-try-new-foods foodie. But chips with peanut sauce? I'm now reconsidering how adventurous my palate actually is!

(BTW, I did snag a business seat and claimed the dessert you sent back on that first flight.)

Like satay sauce maybe which I can eat on it’s own!

 

[kermatu]

For lunch we selected “boerenkool stamppot met rookworst” (mashed potato and kale with smoked sausage)

An old Dutch farmer friend of my family in NW Tasmania introduced us to this dish many years ago (before kale became famous). Absolutely love it. It's fine dining as far as I'm concerned.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Yep, I do enjoy satay but my palate just can't pair it with chips.

jxv, is it a traditional dish you grew up with or a more recent addition to the chips-with menu?

 

[jxv]

jxv, is it a traditional dish you grew up with or a more recent addition to the chips-with menu?

When I grew up it was either chips with or without mayo. The peanut sauce came much later, as came “patat oorlog” with mayo, tomato sauce AND peanut sauce. It makes me feel unwell just thinking about it!

 

[jxv]

Our wanderings through the centre of Rotterdam took us past the “Delftse Poort” (Delft Gate) completed in 1995. This is a steel outline and some remnants of the original building, which was destroyed in WWII.



Mrs jxv had seen a documentary about floating trees and recycled floating gardens. After consulting Mr Google we knew which tram to take across the Erasmus Bridge to get to the Maashaven. The spectacle was less than impressive.

The floating trees.


The recycled floating garden seems to be a pilot project for taking plastic rubbish out of the river and recycling it, but it won’t do much here in a quiet corner.

 

[jxv]

It was time for relaxation. Beer and bitterballen at nearby Hotel New York! This hotel is located in the original headquarters of the Holland America Line. The modern cruise terminal next to it takes the place of the sheds from where many Dutch people boarded ships to America, Canada and Australia in search of a better life.

 

[jxv]

On our last day in Rotterdam the weather turned cold with high winds and a few showers. We visited Rotterdam Museum, interesting for locals, but not so much for tourists and we caught up with some relatives.

Saturday morning we picked up our car, which had to accommodate us, our daughter and son-in-law and two grandchildren for the next ten days. We drove to Gent (EN: Ghent, FR: Gand) in Belgium, where we picked them up from the railway station. They had spent time in Paris and had fun in Disneyland. We were going to stay two nights in Gent before returning to the Netherlands.


Our grandson thought it was funny that he had to share his third row seat with our luggage! Luckily it was only for a short trip to our Gent Airbnb accommodation and one longer trip two days later.

 

[jxv]

It started raining soon after we arrived in Gent and it did not stop till we left. I had brought a pair of waterproof hiking shoes that had never before been tested for being waterproof. They passed with flying colours! While everyone else ended up sloshing in their soaked footwear, I had toasty dry feet.

We did spend the day exploring the Gent sights, but I did not take any photos, because of the rain. I will just slip in a few shots from a previous visit.

The centre of Gent is full of historic buildings: St Baaf Cathedral, the Lakenhal, the Belfort, the Town Hall… Then there are all the beautiful buildings along the “leien” (quays) and the Gravensteen castle. With more pleasant weather one could spend a few days here! Going on a canal tour is recommended.

A view with several of the important buildings.


The Graslei (Grass Quay)


The Gravensteen.


The view from the upper level of the Gravensteen.

 

[Denali]

OK, I cant be the only one that laughed out loud!

 

[jxv]

Grolsch is my favourite Dutch beer. It is a refreshing pilsener style and I prefer it over Heineken. I sometimes buy a slab in Australia when it is on special for around $43 – $48. Every time I spend that money it hurts, because I know what it costs in the Netherlands!

 

[jxv]

For our week together with the children and grandchildren I had booked two adjacent bungalows in a holiday park: one accommodating 8 for them and a 4-person one for the two of us.

The Dutch holiday parks are a nice accommodation option. Outside the high season they are good value too. There are many throughout the whole country. Some look a bit suburban, with proper streets and houses. The one I chose had the bungalows and chalets spread through a forest. Most parks have a (free) swimming pool and other entertainment options (some require payment). One drawback is that rental usually is for a weekend (in Fri, out Mon), midweek (in Mon, out Fri) or on a weekly basis (in Mon or Fri). The price looks super on the webpages, but keep in mind that bed linen, making the beds before arrival, towels and cleaning on departure often are extras.

Molecaten Parks, Landgoed Ginkelduin near Leersum, province of Utrecht, right in the centre of the Netherlands. An 8-person bungalow. (photos taken from their website).

 

[jxv]

Our son, daughter-in-law and our two granddaughters were supposed to join us at the holiday park on the Monday of the last week of September, arriving on the night train from Vienna. Unfortunately the bad weather on the weekend, which caused the rain in Gent, raged in Southern Germany, stopping all trains. They were delayed by a full day and missed out on our first family activity, a visit to Kinderdijk.

Rows of windmills were used to pump the water out of a lake. The first row pumped the water up to an intermediate level canal and the second row pumped it from the canal into the nearby river. The lake is now dry, but pumping needs to continue to remove rain and groundwater. A few windmills are still used for demonstration purposes, but an electrically driven mill now does the real work.

Visiting the site is free, but a ticket is required to inspect a mill and see an explanatory movie. Taking the ferry from Rotterdam is a nice outing. Combination tickets are available.