The Netherlands has a lot to offer for any traveler, despite being small in size. I’ve been living in the Netherlands since 2011 and I can’t really complain about anything here…except for the weather. Sure it has its rainy, cold, foggy, and windy days, but when it’s nice….it’s beautiful. I love the change of seasons, something I don’t have much experience with growing up in Miami. As a travel photographer, the seasons provide me with ever-changing landscapes to photograph.
Amsterdam and other beautiful cities in the Netherlands
Being almost completely flat, the country is easy to navigate and extremely well connected to the rest of Europe. Up north, you have the calm and quiet islands in the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO protected wildlife area and the vast, quiet provinces of Friesland and Groningen. As you go further south, there’s an abundance of beautiful cities and their stunning architecture, Amsterdam ofcourse stealing the show being famous all over the world. But I can recommend anybody visiting the Netherlands to not just visit Amsterdam, but also include cities like Utrecht, Haarlem or Amersfoort in their itinerary to escape from the tourists and experience the real Dutch life. Close to Amsterdam, make sure to visit the village of Zaanse Schans, where you can get a glimpse of what life in the Netherlands used to look like in this beautifully preserved wooden village, filled with colorful wooden windmills are still in use.
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Windmills of the Netherlands
One particular image that comes to mind when a lot of people think of the Netherlands is the windmills in the countryside. There are quite a lot of places where you can see these impressive windmills, with Kinderdijk and Zaanse Schans being my favorite. Many of them are still in use and you can actually take a look inside to see to learn more about the impressive techniques that are used to process grains.
Tulip fields and castles
I particularly enjoy driving through the Dutch countryside, passing windmills and thousand-year-old castles and looking out at the endless tulip fields in the springtime. Come during mid-April to early May, and the entire west coast of the country blossoms with millions of tulips and other flowers. If it’s castles you’re after, try to include de Haar castle near Utrecht and Heeswijk castle in the south. These medieval castles are extremely well preserved and are straight out of a fairytale. The Netherlands is full of these castles, reflecting the rich history the country has.
Veluwe National Park
What a lot of people don’t know is that there are quite some national parks in the Netherlands. The biggest of them all, the Veluwe National Park should not be missed. Particularly in August, this park transforms as the heather blooms, turning the rolling hills of the park into a deep purple carpet.
