If the festivities in 2005 are any indication, one of the biggest parties to be held anywhere in the world this year is going full blast right now in the tiny but vibrant European country of Holland.
And Canadians are the primary guests of honour.
Every five years since the Liberation of the Netherlands in 1945 – when their Nazi oppressors were pushed back to Germany by invading Allied troops – the grateful Dutch celebrate by throwing a shindig that goes on for most of the merry month of May.
Canadians fortunate enough to be there are treated like conquering heroes – which many of them were. Although other troops were involved, it was the soldiers, sailors and airmen of Canada who figured most prominently in ridding the Netherlands of five years of deprivation, reprisals and war crimes.
Holland (a name virtually interchangeable with “The Netherlands) had been neutral during World War One and had expected to remain so during the 1939/45 conflict. But Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler had other plans. The ill-equipped Dutch Army was overrun within days of a German offensive in May 1940 and the horror began.
When intelligence reports revealed in early 1945 that the Dutch were being deprived of food and were on the verge of mass starvation, Allied commanders threatened to put their German counterparts on trial for war crimes when hostilities ceased if they didn’t allow supplies to be dropped into Holland. The result was Operation Manna – a combined British/Canadian/US airlift that sent almost 7000 tonnes of food and other necessities into the still-occupied sections of The Netherlands.
Add to this the fact that Canada provided a safe haven for Dutch Princess (and later Queen) Juliana and her family in Ottawa during the Occupation and it’s little wonder that the people of the Netherlands treat Canadians royally during Liberation celebrations – and, for that matter, throughout the year.
Every May, for instance, the Dutch government sends Canada a gift parcel of thousands of tulip bulbs – a sort of floral Operation Manna – as one way of saying thanks for what this country did for their people in the Second World War.
This gesture was the impetus for the launch of the Ottawa Tulip Festival. If you can’t make it to Holland for Liberation festivities this month (and there’s still time if you’re in a position to make last-minute travel plans) you owe it to yourself and your family to stroll the streets of the nation’s capital for a breathtaking look at the panoply of multi-coloured flowers that festoon the city from one end to the other.
But the main action this year is taking place in such cities as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Apeldoorn, The Hague and the many towns and villages in between as the Dutch welcome returning Canadian veterans, their families and other tourists for a seemingly never-ending celebration.
There are several airlines that fly to Holland from major Canadian airports – most notably KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, where travellers can enjoy a real Dutch treat or two before touching down at Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport. The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (http://ca.holland.com) or a local travel agent can help with travel plans.
Even if you miss the official celebrations, there are plenty of sights to see in Holland whenever you visit – but especially at this time of year. For instance, just a short drive or train journey from Amsterdam is the small community of Lisse and the world-famous floral parkland of Keukenhof Gardens. For eight weeks each spring, flower growers and bulb distributors display their wares in this natural setting that used to serve as an herb and vegetable garden for the kitchen outbuilding of an ancient chateau.
Everything about Keukenhof Gardens is spectacular – from the windmill that kids enjoy climbing all over to the breathtaking display of thousands of red, yellow, white, blue and multi-coloured blooms that undulate in the soft spring breeze for as far as the eye can see.
Keukenhof offers a different theme each year and for 2010 it’s “From Russia With Love” – a flower mosaic created from 65,000 bulbs that depict Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral. This greatest floral show on earth winds up its season this year on May 16. Tickets are €14 for adults and €7 for children from four to 11 years of age.
First-time visitors to Holland with only a week or so to spare might opt to concentrate on two cities – Amsterdam and The Hague, each of which has enough museums, galleries, exhibitions and other attractions to keep a person busy from morning till night.
The best way to get to downtown Amsterdam from Schiphol Airport is by train – which leaves every 10 to 15 minutes from Platforms 1 and 2 in the main arrival plaza. The cost is €3.60 for a one-way ride to Amsterdam Central Railway Station if you use a platform ticket machine. There is a € 0.50 surcharge if you don’t have the correct change and have to buy from the ticket office.
One of the biggest bargains in Holland is the “I Amsterdam” tourist booklet available at Amsterdam Tourist & Convention Board outlets, including those at Schiphol Airport and the Amsterdam Central Railway Station, or in advance on-line at www.iamsterdam.com. The cost is €38 for a 24-hour pass, €48 for 48 hours and €58 for the use of the printed guide and its contents for 72 hours.
The booklet, which can be carried in a purse or pocket, features a user-friendly map of the city, and is jam-packed with good deals, including a voucher section giving discounts at a number of restaurants, museums, souvenir shops and car or bike rental agencies. There is also a smart card featuring an electronic chip that can be used for free admission to a number of major attractions. There is even a transportation ticket allowing unlimited use of the city’s bus, tram and metro systems.
If you want to get to know Amsterdam quickly, take a canal boat tour where knowledgeable guides point out the major attractions that you can visit at your leisure once your water “tourbus” adventure comes to an end
Here are just a few of the not-too-be-missed attractions in the city:
• The Van Gogh Museum boasts the world’s largest collection of artwork by Vincent Van Gogh, consisting of about 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters. A bonus is that many of the letters contain sketches illustrating the people and places the artist was writing about.
• Just around the corner is the Rijksmuseum, featuring more than 400 masterpieces by such artists as Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer, and Jan Steen. Elsewhere in the city, Rembrandt fanciers have another treat in store with the opportunity to tour his 17th Century home and workshop – laid out as though he might return at any moment to Museum Het Rembrandthuis.
• There is a Canadian connection when you visit Anne Frank House. The doomed little girl, whose family hid from the Nazis in an apartment behind false partitions at a downtown warehouse before their eventual betrayal and capture, decorated her bedroom walls with photos of her favourite movie stars. Two of the cut-outs, still on display, are of Deanna Durbin, a Winnipeg-born singer and actress popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
• The nearby Tulip Museum explains the history of this popular flower – from its origins in the mountains of Central Asia hundreds of years ago to its world-wide popularity today.
The North Sea city of The Hague is the seat of the Dutch legislature, the Dutch Supreme Court, the International Court of Justice, and foreign embassies. It is less than an hour’s trip from Amsterdam by car or train.
Some of the worthwhile venues in this vibrant and modern community of half a million people are:
• At the Panorama Mesdag, you’ll swear you’ve been transported back in time to the seaside community of Scheveningen of 1881 when you climb the stairs up to the world’s largest circular painting. Artist Hendrik Willem Mesdag, his wife Sientje and three other painters created a totally lifelike scenario, using a massive canvas that tricks the eye into thinking you are standing in the middle of the action as you slowly turn 360 degrees. Adding to the illusion is a foreground of real sand, sea grass, beach chairs and even one abandoned wooden shoe.
• Although the subject of the painting bears only a passing resemblance to Scarlett Johansson, who portrayed the Girl with a Pearl Earring in the Johannes Vermeer biopic, a trip to the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery to view the masterpiece is worthwhile. Visit the building after lunch though because you’ll lose your appetite after staring at the massive and grotesque Rembrandt scene of a partly dissected corpse in The Anatomy Lesson, another popular canvas on display.
• One other gallery well worth visiting is the Gemeentemuseum, which offers the largest anthology of works by Mondrian and a vast collection of modern art dating back to the 19th Century.
• If you’re travelling with children, it’s worth the 15-minute tram ride north of The Hague to visit the miniature city of Madurodam. The kids will feel like the Jolly Green Giant as they stomp around exhibits of palaces, shipyards, airports and even a soccer stadium built to scale.
• Another 15-minute tram ride and you can visit the actual seaside town of Scheveningen that features miles of soft sand, crashing North Sea waves and such appealing attractions as the Sea Life Centre with its vast array of marine life.
While touring Holland, don’t forget to wear a maple leaf lapel pin or some other indication that you’re from Canada. It will open doors to you as if you’d been given the keys to whatever city (or town or village) you happen to be visiting.
Photo by Tom Douglas
This article appeared in Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
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