A Scottish-Canadian in Holland.

[Wim van Velzen]

Hi Gordon,

That is great! There is so much to see in Holland as far as (old) towns and man made landscape are concerned.

For starters, there is Leiden (just 8 km from my house), the second city of the 17th century Republic, with grand canals and a lot of interesting and beautiful spots.

Then you could do some nice polders, like the Krimpenerwaard (east of Rotterdam) or the Beemster (north of Amsterdam). And some small towns along the IJsselmeer, like Hoorn or Enkhuizen.

An interesting landscape is the outer marches of the river IJssel, with some medieval towns like Deventer, Zutphen en Kampen. And while you are there, try to see a part of the Achterhoek, with a so called 'coulisse-landschap'.

Too much to mention. Do you know what: drop me a personal email, and probably I could show some of the best places (if your program allows, that is).

[GerardK]

Hi Gordon,
Welcome to our neck of the woods, when you're around Leiden try to rent a boat or something to experience the landscape from the water, I spent 3 weeks once in the Leiden area with a kayak, highly recommended I'm sure Wim will agree. I live up north near Groningen, if you come this way don't miss out on one of the Wadden islands. Have fun!

[Gordon J. Millar]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys, I'm going to make a list of them and take it with me. I'll try to visit as many spots as possible. There is so much to see I'm not sure that 2 weeks will be enough! Oh well, I'll just have to make a return trip.   Only 11 days untill I leave and I have the film packed already.  

Thanks again,
Gord

[Gordon J. Millar]

I don't know if that makes me a Scottish-Canadian, a Scottsman living in Canada or just a guy who's a little geographically confused!  

Anyway, I am going to be in Holland, the Netherlands that is, for the last two weeks of March, and I plan to take some photographs while I'm there. Big suprise!  I was hoping that someone here on Luminous Landscape, hello Wim, could point me to some nice photogenic locations. The kind of places that are not in the tourist books and that only the locals know about. I'll be staying with friends in Leiden, Wim's old stomping grounds.

Thanks,
Gord

[Gordon J. Millar]

Thanks Wim, I'll e-mail you from home.

Gord

PS: I'm very excited about the trip.

[MJB]

Hi Gordon,

Wim allready mentioned the Beemster, this polder is on the UNESCO world heritage list. If you visit the small town of Middenbeemster by the end of march you will not see any tourists. Middenbeemster was founded by rich traders from Amsterdam as a place to spend there time of in the country. If you stop by Het Heerenhuis ("The Mansion") you can have a real good dinner, it is recomended by Michelin with a Bib Gourmand. (I will be celebrating my mariage there later on this year.   ). Close to this are other real nice places to visit: Alkmaar with the traditional Kaasmarkt (cheese market), Hoorn a town from the Golden Age, Volendam & Monickendam a must see for anyone visiting Holland, Broek in Waterland, one of my personal favourites, Zaanse Schans, you'll find tourists here all year. Vistiting all these places is a +/- 100 km drive, if you want good lighting on each spot you have to come back several mornings/evenings.

Good luck!