new reclaimed land in the Netherlands
Review - A car tour to the new reclaimed lands and Giethoorn. Spring 2014, I got in touch with Gail, who was planning a trip to Europe. Although normally not too keen on tours by car, to be honest I do prefer getting some exercise and fresh air, the places she wanted to visit made this the most practical way to go. That's why indeed, as Gail states, this was my first official full day car tour. I added this possibility to my website for visiting plans that are difficult to realise otherwise. Since I was going to pick up Gail and her niece at their hotel in the old centre of Amsterdam, and as we had to walk to the station to pick up the car (far more efficient than driving in rush hours), I proposed to combine with a short introductory Amsterdam walk. Edmond Van Putte - www.guideholland.com Here's Gail's review : My wonderful full day tour by car with Edmond. I cannot say enough about how incredible our full day tour with Edmond by car was. I didn't know my grand niece & I were the first ones to do a car trip with Edmond; it seemed like he had been doing it all his life. It was obvious that he put a great deal of time & preparation into our day.
It was certainly a day that we will remember all of our lives! It all began because I was researching a 2 week trip to Bruges, Belgium & Holland on the Internet, for weeks ahead. Like Edmond, I love reading & research & history. It seemed that every place I looked up & everything I wanted to do or find out about, Edmond's web site had all the best info by far. I was so impressed. I planned most of our trip from his web site info .
I emailed him to tell him so , & we continued to write back & forth until my 12 year old grand niece I left for Holland. For a few years I had heard & read about a wonderful, picturesque small town about 100 miles from Amsterdam, Giethoorn, where there are no cars & roads, just canals & walking , bike riding, & boating.
I asked Edmond if it would be possible to go there with him, by car. We met him at our hotel in Amsterdam & before we left, he took us for an amazing walking tour for an hour or more, of Amsterdam.
My niece & I had taken an Amsterdam city tour by both bus & canal boat, but we learned far more from Edmond than in both of those put together, thoroughly enjoyed our walk. Amsterdam sights Then we walked to the train station to take it 15 minutes to his home & car, with him buying our train tickets & also doing me the favour of looking up the train schedule to Delft for a day trip , & buying our tickets for me, as I don't do much train travel here in the states. There seems to be nothing he doesn't know about Holland , history, other places, etc., etc., & has such a pleasing personality, making him the perfect travel companion as well as tour guide. He had emailed me asking about our interests, as we had time to do other things besides Giethoorn. We saw a variety of pretty scenery & places of interest, learned a lot about Holland's history & the polders & dikes, & so much more. My 12 year old niece must eat gluten free, and had been craving a pancake in Holland, so he arranged for us to have lunch in a pancake house where they would fix her a gluten free one.
He is so thoughtful & considerate & in tune to all of anyone's interests.
He let her drive our little boat through the canals of Giethoorn for an hour, which was definitely a highlight for her of her trip to Holland. boating in Giethoorn canals I would never go to Holland without spending a day or more with him, & I will make sure that all my friends who go there, get in touch with him for a walking or biking or car tour with him. I can honestly say that our day with Edmond was the best of our entire 2 week trip. Gail Huisking, North Carolina, USA
April 2014 link to more reviews In the wide open fields of new reclaimed Flevoland, the former Zuyder Zee, markers show where shipwrecks are still buried. And WWII airplanes, an amazing 6000 were downed over Holland. Mostly allied planes on bombing mission to Germany. More reviews : click here or on images above. Click here to download this review in PDF. to top of pageto top of page
History & Heritage of the Netherlands | GuideHolland © | home | contact | sitemap | Twitter | LinkedIn