I will go to the Netherlands anytime you ask me to, and primarily for one reason: Amsterdam. Amsterdam is dripping with charm. If that’s not enough, there are plenty of other cities to see in the Netherlands, and they’re all easily accessible as a day trip from Amsterdam. In addition to visiting Amsterdam on my 2004 Benelux trip, I took a side trip to The Hague and Rotterdam, two very different cities. I’d also like to visit Utrecht, the Netherlands’ university town, just about a half-hour train ride from Amsterdam. The Netherlands is a small country that packs one outsized punch. You’ve simple got to go. Don’t ask questions, just go. Well actually, please ask me lots of questions. I’d love to help make your visit to this fantastic country the best it can be.
Oh, and don’t conflate the Netherlands with Holland. Holland is a region within the Netherlands. If you’ve got that, let’s make things more complicated. Just as the United Kingdom has 4 constituent “countries” (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), so does the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. Yes, that’s right, the Netherlands is a “country” within the Netherlands. Want more? Okay. Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are all parts of the “country” Netherlands, just as much as Holland is. I’m going to keep things simple and just be concerned with the European Netherlands and pretend all those Caribbean island territories don’t exist.
At a later date, I will post my pictures and travelogues from my trip to Benelux.