Holland at the Heart of Tulip Blossom

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

We are taking our second Riverside Luxury Cruise—this time to the Netherlands and Belgium. Last year we were on the Rhone sailing on the Ravel.

We have a 7-day cruise to experience. It starts and ends in Amsterdam, as these cruises typically do. As always, all the pictures are ours—most are taken by Anne.

So, let’s sail together on the Debussy!

Overview

We boarded in Amsterdam and quickly were led to our stateroom. Riverside is unique in the luxury river cruise market, as it lets us choose 4 options. They are: full board; premium all-inclusive; full board including excursions and premium all-inclusive including excursions.

We chose the premium all-inclusive and we could then add select excursions we desired. This is our experiences with the port stops and pictures, as well as a way to understand what the tours might include, even if we did not take the tour.

Our Included Night Canal Tour in Amsterdam Day 1

I took a short walk to the canal boat tour. I really liked they moved the canal boat to a location that helped avoid the constant speeding bikes in Amsterdam—excellent idea. Here is what I got to see and experience while sipping champagne supplied by the Riverside staff in the next pictures.

**The classic gables of Amsterdam. The buildings are very narrow, since the government taxed upon the frontage of the building and not the height of the building.**

**The canals are illuminated at night and provide a great romantic feel during our cruise,**

**The Skinny Bridge at night. It is said to be the most beautiful brige in Amsterdam**

Day 2

We had 3 choices on Day 2. We could go on A Discover Amsterdam Canal Cruise & Riksmuesum; or Royal Palace of Amsterdam; or the show stopper—Keukenhof Gardens.

Kuekenhof Gardens, Netherlands

There is no place like Kuekenhof Gardens during tulip season. For 8 weeks, 7 million flowering tulip bulbs will dazzle folks with their beauty. The tulips are buried in the autumn at 3 different heights to ensure they bloom during the entire 8 weeks the park gardens are open.

There are 4 pavilions in the park.

**An English style garden in Kuekenhof**

**Anne really captured the overwhelming variety of tulips in this picture,**

**A wonderful fountain in this flower park**

**Anne in front of one of the displays of flowers that seemed never ending**

**One of the 4 pavillions in the gardens**

**The logo for the 2025 show at Kuekenhof**

Day 3

Arnhem and Nijmegen

Arnhem is best known as a failed airborne assault combined with an armor attack in an attempt during WW II to capture the city and more importantly the bridge that spans the lower Rhine River. Operation Market Garden, a British planned assault, was too ambitious and although the 2nd Parachute Battalion of the British 1st Airborne Division, led by LTC John Frost heroically held part of the bridge for 4 days, the attack failed. The relieving force never made it overland, and he was forced to surrender when they were out of ammunition, food and water during this famous battle where his forces were heavily outnumbered. This operation is the subject of the movie, A Bridge Too Far.

**This is a photo I took during a 2012 tour of the airborne museum**

Sadly, the only tour offered here was a walking tour of the city of Arnhem

**Town Gate in Arnhem. The gate dates back to 1357. It is the only remaining gate of the 4 from this former walled city. The gate in Dutch is called Sabelspoort, which translates to Sabre Gate.**

In Nijmegen, the tour is also a walking tour and a Bike Tour. Here are 2 pictures of our visit in 2012:

**Town Hall and Market Square Nijmegen**

The Day 2 Gem—Heeswijk Dinther Castle

The original castle was built on this site before 1100. It has been rebult several times and withstood 2 seizes without being taken. On our tour at the end, there were several large color pictures of American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who used the castle during operation Market Garden in 1944.

This castle was restored in 2005 and has become a museum which gives visitors a good idea of what life was for nobility in the 19th century. I really enjoyed this tour—it was well worth the 60 minute bus ride.

**A good picture of the moat surrounding the castle**

**Inside the Watch Tower Heeswijk Dinther Castle**

**Armor Display Heeswijk Dinther Castle**

**The Dining Room Heeswijk Dinther Castle. This room is sealed to protect the wallpaper.**

**Heeswijk Dinther Castle game room and parlor**

**Heeswijk Dinther Castle kitchen area**

Day 4

Antwerp, Belgium

In Antwerp, there were 3 tours we could take. One was called Antwerp, Cathedral & Diamonds; another was called Antwerp City Walk & Chocolate and the last was an Antwerp Pub Crawl. As we have been here before, and the docking location allowed us to walk in on our own, we enjoyed a tour of this interesting Old Town area.

**The Guild Hall Buildings in the Old Town Market Square**

**Another picture of the guild hall buildings taken by Anne**

**A good picture of the tall steeple of the Church of our Lady**

**Anne captured this excellent picture of the fountain with the cathedral in the background**

**The Brabo’s Fountain Moument. The hero Barbo defeated a gaint Antigoon who terrorized sailors who refused to pay tolls for safe passage on the River Scheldt**

**Steen Castle (now a shipping musem) in 2025 photo Anne Schrader**

Day 5

Gent, Belgium

In Gent, the tour offered is a panoramic canal cruise, or medieval Ghent and a visit to the Castle of the Counts and a special short tour of the Highlights of Brugge, which we did not take since we planned to spend 4 days after the cruise in this wonderful city!

A picture Anne took in 2012. This is the Graslei quay and guild halls which were used in this important trading port. Wool and cloth were the primary traded items and created a thriving textile industry in Gent, which included weavers, dyers and other trades.

Here is a picture we took in 2012 which is something you would see if you took the Castles of the Counts tour.

**Castle of the Counts. This is the only remaining medieval castle that remains intact in Flanders. There is a large display of medieval weapons and armour**

Day 6

Middleburg

We had 3 choices on this morning stop. We could take a Yerseke Oyster Tasting & Oosterschelde Museum, A Charms of Middleburg walking tour or a Bike Tour of Middleburg and Cheese Farm Experience. Since we were docked near the Old Town, we walked in on our own.

A great little lane decorated with baskets

As you would expect in the Netherlands, there are always flowers if the weather cooperates

Veere

After a short sail, we arrived in Veere. Here we had 3 options—a E-bike tour and Cheese Farm Experience, or the Delta Water Works and the last option was A Taste of Veere tour. Again, docked so close to the small village we walked in on our own.

**Great looking building near the marina area**

**Colorful shutters on this building along market square**

**The marina area and the the remains of the old town fortifications**

Day 7

Dordrecht

We were ported in the morning at Dordrecht. The tour option offered were: Discover Delft with Factory Tour; Windmills of Kinderdijk; and A Walk Through Dordrecht. Since we were docked within easy walking distance, we cold have explored this charming village on our own, but we decided to relax on the ship instead.

**Sailing by the Groothoofdspoort Gate. It is the only remaining part of the fortifications of the city.**

Kinderdijk Windmills

There a 19 windmills at Kinderijk. This is the largest concentration of windmills in the Netherlands. They were built from 1733 to 1740 and were used to keep water out of the polder (dikes) of this area of reclaimed land in the Netherlands. The windmills are still working but electric pumping stations have replaced their water management function

Rotterdam

After another short sail, we were docked in Rotterdam. Three tours were offered at this port stop. They were: Archtectural Wonders of Rotterdam; or The Hague & Mauritshuis Museum and a For the Love of Gouda tour. We just decided to stay on the ship on our last full day, as we would sail overnight to Amsterdam for our disembarkation.

Day 8 Disembarkation

In a nice touch after breakfast, we got a chauffeur ride to the airport, where we were going to get our train to Brugge. Very classy and seamless, but the real surprise was an employee who met our ride and the escorted us to the train elevators to catch our train. Since we have done this numerous times on our own, it wasn’t necessary for us but it would have been great for a first time visitor. Well done Riverside Luxury Cruises!

Our Final Thoughts

We have visited this area several times and it never gets old. Riverside does an excellent job but should include a tour of the Arnhem battle sights.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision-making process. We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 53 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Riverside Luxury Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Brit Agent

Holland at the Heart of Tulip Blossom—Riverside Luxury Cruises

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