I and my family were keen to have a short trip on this (2019) Easter break but were not sure how the weather would treat us. And, so with quite limited options we decided to visit Netherlands as it is quite close to Germany. Here we had good 4 days, but I feared it won´t suffice—and you see I was right, not because we couldn’t capture a lot of places ( the country is small, so it is quite easy and convenient to reach out from North to South in few hours) but I loved the place so much, that it was hard to bid farewell.
I always thought that, Netherlands was a week-long or more days destination, but the country size took me to a great surprise because of which we could cover a lot of places with leisure.
Day 1: Kinderdjiik and Rotterdam
We started early on the Good Friday as we dint want to hit a lot of traffic and of course to get good amount of time at the Windmills and the Rotterdam city. Kinderdijik is UNESCO World Heritage Site, consisting 19 windmills that were used to pump out water and reclaim their existing lands, which otherwise would have been under the sea. With such creditable history, these windmills are worth a visit, situated just 30 mins from Rotterdam, for us it was on our way to Rotterdam from Germany(Cologne).
More on Kinderdijik
Rotterdam: After a lengthy afternoon– walking miles along the windmills, we reached Rotterdam in next 60mins. We had reserved our parking in advance at Lijnbaan Parking, which was located right in the centre and seemed reasonable (10€ for a day). So, we saved a bit of time to reach the centre but of course had to face some traffic being that central.
Here we walked through the busy street with all the shopping outlets and eateries. Visited the Market hall which is a modern building holding more than 50 stalls of food vendors and stores, it is quite impressive to see how the city has converted a Bazaar into a modern complex. There is an array of food items, local to international cuisines, also there are many stalls for confectioneries. You can use this opportunity to enjoy some evening snacks or meals and buy some local Holland famous cheese. The market hall is open only till 8pm.
Right across the street are the innovative and architectural awe, Cube Houses designed by Piet Blom– based on the concept of “living as an urban roof”. You can visit one of these unique Cube houses and get inspired. Just another 15 mins walk from the cube houses gets you to the modern suspension white bridge, locally known as ´The Swan´. From here you get a wide view of the entire city and can easily capture the skyline of this modern city.
After catching a hot meal at a small Asian joint, we ended our day with memories of two contrasting tourist spots of different ages, one totally modern and other in History.
Where we stayed?
We had booked Airbnb in The Hague for our trip and made one-trips from here, which was pretty convenient.
Tip: Our apartment was close to the centre, which made parking our biggest issue. And we had decided on taking bikes or public transport for in-city expedition. Hence, we decided to park our car in the Parking garage on the days we were not planning to use it. But luckily, we landed on a website — Parking which showed us free parking spots nearby.
Day 2: The Hague
We started our day by buying one-day ticket, which allowed us to use trams and buses with-in The Hague. It is the 3rd largest city in Netherlands. We first went to the Binnenhof (the Parliament), which is a beautiful old brown bricked building with a wide-open space to its front, accompanied by few other historic buildings on the sides.
We passed by the Mauritshuis, which is a museum beholding world renowned art work. The Binnenhof adjoins a beautiful pond with a fountain in the middle and roadside shopping stalls to its other end. The other tourist attractions like the Prison Museum, History Museum, Noordeinde Palace, Escher in Het Palace are at a short walk.
We were not keen on visiting the museums and monuments, we roamed on the streets near the Binnenhof, which had a lot to offer– Fine dines, shopping arcades, parks, bars etc. So, we spent some time in and around this area as it was quite lively.
Then we headed to the Peace Palace (Judicial Court), which wasn´t open for visits that day for some reason, yet clicked few pictures and enjoyed an ice-candy. Next on our list was Madurodam, a miniature park depicting Dutch landmarks, turbines, windmills, historic building, the daily life routines. It was very fascinating to see those small-scale structures and figurines. There is a 17.50 € entry to this park.
We enjoy nature, and so we had added Landgoed Clingendael to our itinerary. It is a beautiful elaborative historic manor house, surrounded by parks, canals, ponds, farms. It was very refreshing to visit this park; we also got a chance to feed some sheeps at the farms.
After a long day of sighting, we reached the best end of The Hague, the Scheveningen Strand, the beach, where we finally throw out shoes and sat on the cold yet calming sand. The evening temperatures were low, so it wasn’t crowded, and perfect to experience sunset at the beach. Though there were quite a few enjoying the adventurous activities– Buggy jumping and zip-line at the sea shore. There is also a Sea-life museum at this end of the city. But we were too tired to even consider them, so we rested at the beach with few drinks and a million-dollar view!
Day 3: Delft
Away from the hustle bustle of the city, we spent our day purely at the cute little town just at the outskirts of The Hague. Here, again we had bought the one-day ticket which includes trips in trams and buses, so that we could conveniently move around in Delft. Delft gave a very homely feeling; the town is just appropriate to cover on foot or with a bike. It has a very fairy-tale kind of feel to it, with cobble stoned streets, small lanes with vivid colors, cute little bridges, water canals across the main town, people picnicking while rowing the boats. It reminded me of Venice.
Nieuwe Church opens wide into an open space, and right opposite to it is the town hall. The area is filled with food joints, cafes, food stores, souvenir shops, cheese stores, etc. There are few museums close to the centre. There is also an old church and a chapel near the town hall.
We explored the town by roaming in the narrow streets and amused by the awesomeness that this town had to offered. You can consider renting a boat and exploring the town from the water.
Once we got tired, we decided to head back and jumped into the wrong direction tram, which helped us exploring the rest of the town, without having to walk. 😉. So, we got till the last stop and returned to The Hague.
We were early, so we headed to the beach and spent the rest of the day there.
Day 4: Keukenhof, Lisse
Last day in Netherlands couldn’t have been better! We had planned our last day at Keukenhof (Tulip Garden), because we had to travel back home, which is about 5 hours journey. So, that left us, only the other half of the day. Keukenhof, turned out to be our best decision, as it was a bright sunny day. Weather is an important factor, that you should consider for this visit.
Keukenhof is worth a visit, as it displays 8000+ Tulips and the creative, artistic approach takes it to another level. It is a perfect picnic spot, for a family with enough food options and children activities.
To know more about my trip to Keukenhof: World´s Beautiful Spring Garden
We loved the country and the area we visited. People are quite generous and friendly. Most of them speak in English, specially in Restaurants and public spots. Public transport is very convenient, you can consider buying OV chip card, which lets you commute via all public transport; you can recharge you OV chip card every now and then, depending on your travels. There are quite a few vegetarian and vegan options available at most restaurants.
I hope this information helps and if it does, then do share your experience. And here, I promise to share more and more exciting vacation destinations.😊
Happy vacations!
Author: Kinnari
Welcome! I am Kinnari, a 20 something Engineer from Pune, India. Presently residing in Germany, which got me an opportunity to explore the world around me! Staying far from my family also got me a chance to step into the kitchen and put my apron on! Altogether a big opportunity to share my experiences with you!
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