A few days in The Netherlands… ideas?

[tramdan]

Hiya folks,

At the end of this week we will be in The Netherlands for a few days, armed with FIP Coupons. We will have a couple of days over the long weekend with flexibility do explore the country by rail.

We are already planning on visiting the Railway Museum in Utrecht on one of the days, but I was looking for any other recommendations that members might have for things of interest to go and see? I’m thinking specifically of things that would be of interest to the enthusiast - interesting traction and lines etc?

Thanks!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are there still any classic GTL trams in Den Haag? I guess so?

 

[tramdan]

Are there still any classic GTL trams in Den Haag? I guess so?

Great shout, ta!

 

[Jamesrob637]

Anne Frank Museum, haunting as it might be (Disclaimer: the queues were massive last time I was in AMS and we didn't wait around because we only had a single day there)
Heineken Brewery
A trip to Zandvoort for a classic Dutch coastal town
A nice stroll through Vondelpark

 

[ge-gn]

The national rail museum in Utrecht. Even has its own station.

 

[BeijingDave]

Anne Frank Museum, haunting as it might be (Disclaimer: the queues were massive last time I was in AMS and we didn't wait around because we only had a single day there)
Heineken Brewery
A trip to Zandvoort for a classic Dutch coastal town
A nice stroll through Vondelpark

The Rijksmuseum, especially to see The Nightwatch

 

[D1511]

For something different, try the train to Naarden-Bussum and visit the best preserved medieval star fort on the planet.
And if you have time for the White Hart café in the centre, I'd recommend the calf medallions!

 

[bspahh]

For a short trip, I prefer Delft to Amsterdam. It is smaller, quieter and hotels are cheaper.

 

[Gaz67]

Spent 4 days in Ghent last summer , Hotel overlooking the mainline [st pieters station], plenty of loco hauled pass and freight through here [proper mixed freights]. The loco hauled pass are push pull class 18 still with the older rolling stock in some cases, several class 21s in rush hour too, this was last summer and the 21s were on their last legs but 18s should still be plentiful. Hope this helps.

 

[Gaz67]

OOPS , wrong country haha , went to Holland too so may post something else when the colour from my cheeks has gone, sorry.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Spent 4 days in Ghent last summer , Hotel overlooking the mainline [st pieters station], plenty of loco hauled pass and freight through here [proper mixed freights]. The loco hauled pass are push pull class 18 still with the older rolling stock in some cases, several class 21s in rush hour too, this was last summer and the 21s were on their last legs but 18s should still be plentiful. Hope this helps.

Same language though despite what anybody (especially the Walloons) might tell you

 

[WolvertonWorks]

I was ging to suggest the Stoomtram round trip Hoorn - Medemblik - Enkhuizen but it looks like they don't open until the end of March if one looks at the timetable: https://www.stoomtram.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SHM_dienstregeling-poster-2024-Engels-web.pdf

We went some years ago and enjoyed it.

 

[duncombec]

We are already planning on visiting the Railway Museum in Utrecht on one of the days [...]

Utrecht also has trams, and the largest bus station in the Netherlands. I've never been, but I'm advised I ought to.

Are there still any classic GTL trams in Den Haag? I guess so?

The Hague/Den Haag also has the "inside tram bridge", which I find a wonderful piece of architecture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_H...ia/File:Den_Haag_CS_feestelijke_opening_1.JPG

Anne Frank Museum, haunting as it might be (Disclaimer: the queues were massive last time I was in AMS and we didn't wait around because we only had a single day there)

The Anne Frank House now only accepts visitors by advance online booking for a specific time slot, precisely because of the numbers wishing to visit. You can stay as long as you like once you're in, but there are no on the door sales.

 

[Gaz67]

I was ging to suggest the Stoomtram round trip Hoorn - Medemblik - Enkhuizen but it looks like they don't open until the end of March if one looks at the timetable: https://www.stoomtram.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SHM_dienstregeling-poster-2024-Engels-web.pdf

We went some years ago and enjoyed it.

I was going to suggest that aswell , did it last year using the old ferry and NS to complete the circle, very relaxing day out. Amsterdam Central is a great station to spend an hour photting and is right where you need to be for boat trips and Anne Franks house, first time to Amsterdam for us but this area felt very safe and tourist freindly. A word of warning , we lasted 5 mins at Anne Franks house as the amount of people [mainly American] having pictures taken in various states of smilie poses was disrespectful, I had to drag the wife away before she said something or worse. Thoroughly enjoyed Amsterdam though and cant wait to go back. We stayed at Lelystad , mainly because I wanted to visit the Aviodrome air museum, well worth a visit. I would also recommend the van de valk hotel here, their newest with a breakfast to die for. Hope this is a bit more useful.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I was going to suggest that aswell , did it last year using the old ferry and NS to complete the circle, very relaxing day out. Amsterdam Central is a great station to spend an hour photting and is right where you need to be for boat trips and Anne Franks house, first time to Amsterdam for us but this area felt very safe and tourist freindly. A word of warning , we lasted 5 mins at Anne Franks house as the amount of people [mainly American] having pictures taken in various states of smilie poses was disrespectful, I had to drag the wife away before she said something or worse. Thoroughly enjoyed Amsterdam though and cant wait to go back. We stayed at Lelystad , mainly because I wanted to visit the Aviodrome air museum, well worth a visit. I would also recommend the van de valk hotel here, their newest with a breakfast to die for. Hope this is a bit more useful.

Thanks to "globalisation of tourism" - the Ann Frank house is now almost impossible. Took the wife for her first last time in September 2023 and we could only get a slot for 2000 hours and it was almost impossible and frankly disrespectful in my opinion - apart from the selfies from the usual suspects - vacuous comments were grating - "Gee - kinda cool , but a but sad" etc was typical.

Much , much better - non mobbed places - the quieter churches and museums , the Beginhof enclave is superb , the tram system is excellent for sight seeing off the beater track and some marvellous old suburban areas with excellent bakers shops and old school bars etc. Obvious other attractions of course.

The Hoorn "steam tram" is excellent - but the days out to Utrecht , Arnhem , Scheveninghem and so on are well worth a consideration.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The national rail museum in Utrecht. Even has its own station.

When I went there just before COVID - it had a 3 car EMU for maybe 10 passengers with some self used electric track with copious infrastructure and a reversing move. Imagine that in say Manchester ......

It is possible to walk across the city to the museum easily , but less fun.

 

[magpiespy]

Not one for this week unfortunately, but for summer Sundays, the Museum Tram Line (Museumtramlijn) - in Amsterdam was great when I did it (2002 I think). It goes from the Haarlemmermeerstation in the city to the Amsterdam Woods (Amsterdamse Bos) which is a very large park, great for walking and a good afternoon out from the city. Apparently there are also now heritage tram rides around the city centre.

Museum Tram Line

 

[ge-gn]

When I went there just before COVID - it had a 3 car EMU for maybe 10 passengers with some self used electric track with copious infrastructure and a reversing move. Imagine that in say Manchester ......

It is possible to walk across the city to the museum easily , but less fun.

Indeed, when I went circa 2018, on the journey back from the museum at the turn back, when the driver walked through the train to reverse he invited myself and my two pre school age children up front for the 5-10 minute ride into Centraal!

 

[zwk500]

The Rijksmuseum, especially to see The Nightwatch

If they're not restoring it! Even if they are, the Rembrandts and Vermeers are worth seeing. Also near the Rijksmuseum is the Van Gogh museum, well worth a long afternoon there.

If you fancy a bit of an indirect trip, you can get the Eurostar to Brussels, then the top/tailed IC to Liege over the HSL and a stopper to Maastricht for a bit of varied traction (far from the prettiest line but Liege-Guillemins is worth seeing from a rail enthusiast's perspective), with a stopover for the delightfully historic city with excellent beer-sampling opportunities. Maastricht station still has the old customs hall labels in the old station building. Although you then will have a longish train to Utrecht or Amsterdam onwards from Maastricht.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Another possibility is the miniature world of Madurodam in The Hague, a 1/25 scale representation of the highlights of the Netherlands including quite an extensive model railway. As it lies roughly where The Hague morphs into the resort of Scheveningen you could also visit the latter which is even more of a traditional resort than Zandvoort. It even has a pier.

Same language though despite what anybody (especially the Walloons) might tell you

Sorry but the Walloons are right. The languages are certainly mutually intelligible to native speakers but for everyone else they do sound quite different. From a Wallonian perspective Flemish is a language they are supposed to be able to use on an everyday basis (and many do) but going north and coming across Dutch is a different experience. Knowing some Dutch myself I can generally understand it well enough but broad Flemish is a challenge! /OT

 

[James H]

Haarlem also a pleasant place to visit / stay - and with a very picturesque railway station

 

[Lost property]

Go and have a look at the new Rotterdam station, and try and think of what the old one was like in comparison.

For scenery, go to Maastricht, via Eindhoven and Roermond.

But don't, whatever you do, forget to over indulge yourself with frites and mayo !