If you’re a cycling fan like me, Valkenburg means one thing – the Cauberg. The most famous summit in one of the Spring Classics, the Amstel Gold Race which takes place every April (global pandemics permitting, it was cancelled in 2020). Yes, there are hills in the southern Dutch province of Limburg and they’re a…
Category: The Netherlands
Hidden Holland: the nativity scenes of Liempde
This post may not seem very seasonal, but I was looking back through some old posts and realised I once planned a series on hidden corners of Holland. With a Dutch husband I visit a couple of times a year, but perhaps because it seems so familiar, I rarely write about it. The small village…
Magnum: Contact Sheets at Foam photography museum in Amsterdam
Photo credit – Marco Derksen – Creative Commons It’s been a while since I visited Amsterdam. Despite many visits to the Netherlands over the years, most of those are family-based so I don’t get chance. Plus there seems to be some North-South rivalry going on; ‘above the rivers’ is different to the south, or so…
On the trail of Operation Market Garden: 70 years on
It’s 70 years since Operation Market Garden came to an unexpected end in Arnhem; the infamous Bridge Too Far. The events of that time have left a deep impression on the area, commemorated recently with memorial services and reenactments to mark the 70th anniversary. The plan was to take a number of bridges from Eindhoven up…
Hidden Holland: tips and highlights off the tourist track
Despite (maybe because of) being married to a Dutchie, I’ve never written much about the country here. A couple of recent trips have inspired me to put that right, so I’m starting an occasional series on hidden highlights that aren’t on the usual tourist route in Holland. There’s more to life/travel than just Amsterdam and…
Delft
You can’t go into a souvenir shop in Holland without falling over dozens of knick-knacks painted in blue and white. The traditional pottery comes from the town of Delft, a gezellig little place halfway between Den Haag and Leiden. So is Delft a tourist trap, or is it worth a visit? Like many southern Dutch…
Party by the river in the land van Cuijk
Isn’t it often the countries that you think you know the best, where strong visual images of the countryside come easily to mind, that can surprise you the most? Most people think of Holland as canals and windmills, but head south and the landscape changes completely. Just back from another week in Holland, enjoying the…
You’ll never walk alone: up to 40,000 hit the streets of Nijmegen for the Vierdaagse
Nijmegen, 4am. 40,000 people, awake at the crack of dawn, assemble on a city centre street. While the air still holds a certain chill, everyone’s dressed for the warm day ahead. As the starter gives the signal, tens of thousands of people spill out across the bridge over the Waal, silhouetted against the early morning…
Vier dagen lang
This guy must be really plugging his single, because we came across him four times last week, twice in person. First up, J’s parents wanted to take us to the Flag Parade which is the traditional launch of the Vierdaagse, he was there. Then he turned up singing to the walkers at 4am as they…