Follow up: The Netherlands, by train or car

Thanks to all who replied to my earlier post about this. I received some
very useful advice, and will extend our stay in the Netherlands from 7 to 12
days.
We'll stay in Amsterdam for a few days, then take a side trip to Assen for a
few days, then spend a few more days in Leiden before moving on to Belgium.

As some had suggested, we've decided to travel mostly by train, but also
hire a car for a few days for the side trip to Assen. I know there's not
much of interest in Assen, but my wife's family is from there and she wants
to visit the ancestral home.

Our tentative itinerary for this side trip is:
Day 1: pick up the car at Schipol airport and drive to Giethoorn on the
first day, with a stop at Staphorst Stay overnight in Giethoorn.
Day 2: morning in Giethoorn, afternoon in Assen (just long enough to find
the street /house), back to Giethoorn for a second night
Day 3: drive from Giethoorn to Kinderdijk on the back roads. Afternnon in
Kinderdijk. Stay overnight nearby, perhaps in Lekkerkerk
Day 4: return the car to the airport
Does this sound reasonable or too much to cover in the time period? Any
other suggestions?

many thanks
MTB

Car is the most economical way in terms of time to do that itinery.
Don't even think about the train. A 3 hour car trip can easily be
almost a full day by train. You definitely want to go to Assen. If I
were you I would choose one location in The Netherlands, rental
bicycles for days 1-3 and then rent a car on the last day. Wake up
early drive to Assen get the car back within 24 hours. Cars are not
good in NL, bicycles are practical and fun.

MTBike1970 [on Mon, 5 Sep 2005 20:00:09 -0400] wrote:

Day 1: pick up the car at Schipol airport and drive to Giethoorn on the
first day, with a stop at Staphorst Stay overnight in Giethoorn.
Day 2: morning in Giethoorn, afternoon in Assen (just long enough to find
the street /house), back to Giethoorn for a second night

Not sure what you expect to see in Giethoorn. Sure, it's nice, espcially
if you happen to know the dutch "Fanfare". But you've seen it all in two
hours.

Perhaps you could take the Lelystad-Enkhuizen dike road from Giethoorn on
day two and visit the Zuiderzee museum. This should keep you busy until,
say, 3.00pm
Then drive to Kinderdijk, arrive around 4:30-5:00 Look around for an hour
and then have dinner.

--
Low Countries By Bike - http://lowcountriesbybike.info
Riding on two wheels in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

"MTBike1970" wrote in message
news

Our tentative itinerary for this side trip is:
Day 1: pick up the car at Schipol airport and drive to Giethoorn on the
first day, with a stop at Staphorst Stay overnight in Giethoorn.
Day 2: morning in Giethoorn, afternoon in Assen (just long enough to find
the street /house), back to Giethoorn for a second night
Day 3: drive from Giethoorn to Kinderdijk on the back roads. Afternnon in
Kinderdijk. Stay overnight nearby, perhaps in Lekkerkerk
Day 4: return the car to the airport

What time will you arrive at the airport? It may be possible to go from
Schiphol to Enkhuixen and see the Zuiderzee Museum before travelling to
Giethoorn on that day. Or maybe stop the night in Kampen (old town) and go
on to Assen the next via Giethoorn. Staphorst will probably be a
dissappointment (depending on what you want to see there). Stay the second
night in Zwolle maybe.
When driving down to Kinderdijk, Deventer and Zutphen are nice old cities.
Thence via Hoge Veluwe (moorland national park), Wijk bij Duurstede and
Schoonhoven (silversmith city) then by ferry to the other side and along the
dyke to Kinderdijk. If you have time left that day go to Bleskensgraaf along
polder roads. But I suspect you may run out of time. Or maybe do that the
next morning before returning the car to Schiphol.

Have fun planning.

Gerrit - Oz

My wife's family is from Assen. Staphorst sounded interesting with people
in period dress, old farmhouses with thatched roofs, etc...and it's on the
way to Assen. I thought we'd stop there for an hour or so before going on.
thanks...MTB

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 20:00:09 -0400, "MTBike1970"
wrote:


What's the attraction of Staphorst other than it's fame for an
avoidable polio epidemic caused by religious beliefs that forbid
vaccination?
Is Staphorst where your wife's family is from?
--
Martin

Thank you. the Michelin Green Guide does not show anything of interest in
Asssen. Is there something we should check out...other than my in-law's old
house...all the family left many years ago.
cheers...MTB

wrote in message
oups.com...
Car is the most economical way in terms of time to do that itinery.
Don't even think about the train. A 3 hour car trip can easily be
almost a full day by train. You definitely want to go to Assen. If I
were you I would choose one location in The Netherlands, rental
bicycles for days 1-3 and then rent a car on the last day. Wake up
early drive to Assen get the car back within 24 hours. Cars are not
good in NL, bicycles are practical and fun.

thank you for your suggestions....
Geithoorn sounds like it would be interesting from a photography point of
view...old houses, canals, foot bridges etc...
regards...MTB

"Erick T. Barkhuis" wrote in message
...
MTBike1970 [on Mon, 5 Sep 2005 20:00:09 -0400] wrote:

Day 1: pick up the car at Schipol airport and drive to Giethoorn on the
first day, with a stop at Staphorst Stay overnight in Giethoorn.
Day 2: morning in Giethoorn, afternoon in Assen (just long enough to
find
the street /house), back to Giethoorn for a second night

Not sure what you expect to see in Giethoorn. Sure, it's nice, espcially
if you happen to know the dutch "Fanfare". But you've seen it all in two
hours.

Perhaps you could take the Lelystad-Enkhuizen dike road from Giethoorn on
day two and visit the Zuiderzee museum. This should keep you busy until,
say, 3.00pm
Then drive to Kinderdijk, arrive around 4:30-5:00 Look around for an hour
and then have dinner.

--
Low Countries By Bike - http://lowcountriesbybike.info
Riding on two wheels in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

Thank you Gerrit:
We plan to pick up the car at Schipol around 09:00 hours to avoid the rush
hour traffic. I hadn't considered that loop... Schipol to Enkhousen,
Enkhousen to Geithoorn for the first day. For the second day, Assen in the
morning then drive down to Kinderdijk in the afternoon. We could spend the
second night in that area and explore the polder as suggested on day
three....
I know we can't see all of the Netherlands with one visit, so we'll have to
prioritize.
regards...MTB


"Gerrit 't Hart" wrote in message
...

"MTBike1970" wrote in message
news

Our tentative itinerary for this side trip is:
Day 1: pick up the car at Schipol airport and drive to Giethoorn on the
first day, with a stop at Staphorst Stay overnight in Giethoorn.
Day 2: morning in Giethoorn, afternoon in Assen (just long enough to
find
the street /house), back to Giethoorn for a second night
Day 3: drive from Giethoorn to Kinderdijk on the back roads. Afternnon
in
Kinderdijk. Stay overnight nearby, perhaps in Lekkerkerk
Day 4: return the car to the airport

What time will you arrive at the airport? It may be possible to go from
Schiphol to Enkhuixen and see the Zuiderzee Museum before travelling to
Giethoorn on that day. Or maybe stop the night in Kampen (old town) and go
on to Assen the next via Giethoorn. Staphorst will probably be a
dissappointment (depending on what you want to see there). Stay the second
night in Zwolle maybe.
When driving down to Kinderdijk, Deventer and Zutphen are nice old cities.
Thence via Hoge Veluwe (moorland national park), Wijk bij Duurstede and
Schoonhoven (silversmith city) then by ferry to the other side and along
the
dyke to Kinderdijk. If you have time left that day go to Bleskensgraaf
along
polder roads. But I suspect you may run out of time. Or maybe do that the
next morning before returning the car to Schiphol.

Have fun planning.

Gerrit - Oz

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 09:39:53 -0400, "MTBike1970"

Enkhuizen. Better get it right or you'll never find it.:-)
Martin

That's why I'm taking my Dutch wife along....If you think my spelling is
poor, you should hear my pronounciation... my wife is still laughing about
it, although I think she's getting a bit irritated at my continual reference
to her home town of Assen as "ass hen" heh..
Thanks for your suggestions...
cheers...MTB