Amsterdam, the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam is a unique town, 750,000 people and three times that many bicycles. Built on over 100 canals which are 9 ft deep in water. 40 museums and a different culture than the rest of Europe.

Two languages, Dutch, and Fries. People think of “Holland”, as windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, cheese and great artists. There are 12 states that make up the Netherlands and North Holland and South Holland are just two segments of the entire country. It means the lowlands. Locals say God made the earth, but the Dutch made Holland.

Schiphol airport is one of the most frightening and largest in Europe. Seven miles in all and you can take a train, or a bus, just to change terminals. I usually have my clients VIP’s with a guide to take you between terminals so you don’t get lost. It is a delight to sit on a golf cart and go past the mobs of people all dashing somewhere.

It is a very organized country, but excellent bus service and trains running everywhere you need to go. Holland is a biker’s dream. You can rent bikes at most train stations.

I’ve been to Amsterdam many times. My parents went there every Spring to buy bulbs from Keukenhorf Park, so I know it rather well. We always went to Alksmaar to see the cheese, and to Alksmeer to see the flower market. Delft is a lovely little town to see the home of the famous Delftware pottery.

Must sees of the town are the Rijksmuseum, even if you only go to look at the famous Night Watch by Rembrandt

Take a city tour, and a canal cruise. Go look at the flower market,

When the Germans occupied in country in 1940,the Royal Family fled to England where they stayed for the five years of the war. After the war, the Dutch Queen said she would send thousand so bulbs to England every year as a thank you for saving them.

100,000 thousand Jewish people were killed by the Nazi movement.

One tour which is excellent is Coster Brothers Diamond Factory just opposite the Rijksmuseum. In 1940 there were 2800 diamond cutters, all Jewish, and they all got taken to the death camps. Only 200 of them survived the five years of the war. The diamonds all disappeared from the factory. Today, it is a thriving business and people come from all over the world to buy a diamond. Why, the quality is the finest, and they have a cut which no one else can do, the Royal 201. Many Americans come to buy because they get the finest gems in the world, and pay no tax. It is breathtaking what they show you, and you watch the cutters at work on priceless gems. The selection of rings, earrings and pendants on display for sale is overwhelming.

There are 600 coffee shops in Amsterdam. You can’t get food there, just coffee and marijuana. You go in and ask the staff at the counter, “Can I see the cannabis menu”. The Dutch police feel it is safer for the public to buy drugs from a licensed shop, than buy it illegally on the streets. If an ambulance is called for someone with a drug overdose, medics just say, “drink something sweet and go for a long walk.” One coffee shop advertises in the Amsterdam Visitors Guide Book that they will give lessons to new users.

One tour which always have a long queue outside is the Ann Frank House. This is where a Jewish family hid for two years and someone tuned them in to the Gestapo and a Dutch colleague told me that people come out of the house after the tour in tears. There is a statue of Ann in the park at the end of the street, and people leave flowers there every week and even after seventy years, they still donor the dead.

If you want “food” then you go to a Café. Lots of Europeans smoke cigarettes so you have to get used to smoke while you are eating.

A tour which is very popular at night is the Red Light District. Prostitution has been legal since 1980 and the women rent space and run their own businesses. They usually rent their space for 8 hour shifts, and must have a license. They sit in the window and wave at the passers by, hoping to attract a customer.

Two hotels we use are the De L’Europe Amsterdam, and the Hotel Pulitzer. Both in excellent locations,

And our clients get a room upgrade, a $100 dining credit, free breakfast, a free cocktail, and free wi-fi

Because we are part of the Signature Travel Network. This is thousands of dollars in savings.

Maureen Jones

All Horizons Travel/Frosch

825 Santa Cruz Ave

Menlo Park, CA 94025

650-961-2340 direct

www.froschvacations.com

www.froschluxurytravel.com