Going double Dutch with the kids
by Marybeth Bond
Holland is a great introduction to European travel - It's foreign yet friendly, easy to get around, and communication is simple since English is widely spoken.
Last summer our family learned to do like the Dutch - get out of the car and onto bicycles. Since Holland is flat, this was a big hit for all members of our family. We pedalled on water bikes through Amsterdam's canals and cruised on big black 'granny' bikes through the countryside past windmills dotting a Van Gogh landscape of dazzling sunflowers and blue irises. Even in busy Amsterdam, the locals patiently offered help when they saw us reading maps and extended a warm welcome to our children.
In Amsterdam
Cycle through the canals
Let the kids work off excess energy as they pedal you through tree-lined canals, past narrow 17th-century homes with flowering window boxes and under shadowy, arched bridges. Families of floating ducks and nesting pigeons catch the children's attention as you peek in the windows of wooden houseboats. Yes, you'll keep your feet dry - and no, pedal boats don't sink!
Canal Bikes: 020-626-5574
Hands on Nemo Science Museum
The motto of this museum is: Please do touch. Kids can blow a soap bubble so large that they can stand inside it or dress up in a scientist's white coat and make licorice in a laboratory. Our kids directed their own music video! Scores of young tourists, all ages, fill the museum's dance floor, swinging to the beat of Britney Spears and Michael Jackson.
Telephone: 900-919-1100
Rollerblade or bike in Vondelpark
You can easily and inexpensively rent Rollerblades or bikes at the entrance of Vondelpark, an immense, clean and safe public recreation area in the centre of Amsterdam. Unlike Hyde Park and other major open spaces, busy streets and traffic don't crisscross the meadows and forests. You'll only have to share the paved trails with cheerful and courteous Dutch bikers and rollerbladers. Don't be surprised to see fashionable ladies in high heels and hats zoom past you on their old-fashioned, one-speed bikes.
Eat your heart out
Kids experience a country through their stomachs. Few children can resist the traditional Dutch pancake lunches, snacks of thin, buttery waffles made with layers of syrup, chocolate milk, Italian gelato (ice cream) and the famous Dutch chocolate. It is even possible to be a dough-tossing chef and make your own pizza - or one for your parents!
Pizzeria Paprika: 206-86-6107
Look out for Pirates
Learn about Holland's rich maritime history, from ships and canals to great explorers. Visit the 18th-century Amsterdam Ship and Maritime Museum to see costumed seamen fire cannons, sing sea shanties and sew sails. Kids see first hand what life was like aboard a vessel that transported tea and exotic spices from China and Japan during the Dutch Golden Age.
Telephone: 205-23-2222
A doll's house fit for a princess
In the Rijksmuseum, you can climb steps to peer into the ornate rooms of two beautifully furnished, multi-storied dolls' houses. Tiny dolls sit in ornate rooms with walls of silk, Italian marble floors and party tables set with miniature silver and embroidered napkins.
Telephone: 020-6747047
A Serious Trip through History
No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without going to the Anne Frank house, the hiding place where this teen wrote her world-famous diary, symbolizing Jewish suffering during World War II. I realised that even young children grasp the tragedy of the Holocaust when seven-year-old Austin asked, ''Mummy, where would we hide if this happened to us?'' To avoid a long wait outside the museum during the summer, plan a late dinner and make your visit after 6pm when the queue is shorter.
Telephone: 020-556-7100
In the Dutch countryside
Miniature Magic
Outside Amsterdam, families of all nationalities flock to the largest miniature city in the world: Madurodam. Windmills turn, ships sail, canal boats float between charming houses and modern trains traverse the city. With its over 1000 models, a family can spend half a day seeing a cheese market, the queen's royal procession and a tiny woman sunbathing (topless!) on an Amsterdam rooftop garden.
Telephone: 703-55-3900
Holland's Version of Disneyland
Efteling Park, the charming Dutch version of Disneyland, is a not-to-be-missed, clean, non-commercialized amusement park. Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, lovable gnomes and other storybook characters are all here. Kids with nerves of steel can ride roller-coasters with passages that go both in the dark and upside down.
Telephone: 41-628-2000
Hike or Bike through the National Park
A network of bicycle paths criss-cross the Hoge Veluwe National Park, the largest park in the Netherlands, located north of Amsterdam. Over 1,000 bicycles are available for use by visitors - free of charge! A hike or bike tour through the endless moors, forests, expanses of grassland and sand drifts is beautiful in any season.
Telephone: 031-859-1627
Bike and Barge through the Countryside
Holland is a brilliant place to learn to ride a bike. It's flat as a pancake and has thousands of miles of bike paths, separated from motor traffic. It also has a vast network of waterways, so almost every attractive spot in the country can be reached by bike or barge. You can unpack once and then dine and sleep aboard a barge that follows you on your bike and anchors at the end of each day. Detailed maps are available to help you cycle through the greenest landscapes, the most scenic windmills, the oldest towns and the best outdoor cafes. One-week trips in six areas of the country are available, or you may charter your own barge for eight or more people and design your own itinerary.
Cycletours: 20-627-4098, or visit www.cycletours.com.
For excellent information about activities, art and culture and hotels, visit www.holland.com.
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