Netherlands, Norway and Svalbard

[jxv]

From our base near Leersum it was not far to the Hoge Veluwe National Park. A visit here allowed us to experience nature, a rare commodity in a country of cities and farmland.

A per person entry fee applies and you can leave your car at one of the three entry points (parking fee applies), or take it into the park (for a higher fee). Once inside you can use the free “witte fietsen” (white bicycles) to get around. Further fees apply if you want to do a tour of St. Hubert Hunting Lodge, or want to visit the Kröller-Müller Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden.

Children will enjoy the museum under the visitors centre, which shows what happens underground in nature.

We took our cars inside. After lunch some of the adults in our group went off to the Kröller-Müller Museum, while others kept the children entertained with a little expedition by bike.


That evening we went to a pancake restaurant in Leersum. Mine was an “appel en spek pannekoek” (apple and bacon pancake). Pancake plates are big and the pancakes are sized to just hang over the edges.

 

[jxv]

Madurodam, the miniature village in Den Haag (The Hague), was a hit with the grandchildren!



This scene depicts the Dam in Amsterdam.


The cheese market in Alkmaar.


Schiphol Airport.


If you have been following my TR this building should look familiar!

 

[SuePa]

Madurodam

It all looks so real, until you see a giant leaning over a building!
I'm enjoying The Netherlands, even though I'm really waiting for Svalbard.

 

[jxv]

It all looks so real, until you see a giant leaning over a building!
I'm enjoying The Netherlands, even though I'm really waiting for Svalbard.

Only a few more posts about the Netherlands and we will be off to Svalbard!

When we return from Svalbard, there will be two more weeks worth of the Netherlands.

 

[jxv]

Here we all are in Volendam, an old fishing village, just North of Amsterdam, where traditional clothing is now only found in tourist shops to have ridiculous photos taken.

 

[jxv]

Taking a car into the centre of any of the big cities is difficult. Parking is nearly impossible and where available, is very expensive. Park and Ride (P+R) is the solution. There are big parking lots or multistorey car parks on the outskirts with good public transport links to the centre at reduced cost.

Utrecht is the simplest: park the car, buy a €5 ticket for parking all day and that same ticket allows up to five passengers to go on the bus to and from the city centre.

Amsterdam is more complicated: buy up to five tram/metro tickets in one go from the ticket machine at reduced rates. Once you have used these tickets with the tap-on/off terminals on the tram and the return trip started in the city centre, you will be able to buy a ticket for the car park for €1 for up to three days parking. When a crowd disembarks the tram and descends on the ticket machines, the somewhat complicated instructions, even though available in multiple languages, can cause delays, which can be unpleasant if having to wait in bad weather.

 

[jxv]

After Volendam came a visit to Amsterdam.

Walking through Amsterdam with a group of six adults and four children presented quite a challenge! In the crowds of mainly tourists we had difficulties staying together. Add to that the disruption caused by extensive roadworks and we had a recipe for disaster: what if we were to loose sight of one of the children?

We decided to take the grandchildren on a canal boat tour while the others intended to paint the town red. The boat tour was a success. The next day the grandchildren gave their parents very detailed information on what they had seen. We got them safely back on the tram, to the car park, into the car and back “home” to Leersum. There we prepared a quick meal and shortly after we had desert the parents came home, surprisingly early. They too had enough of the crowded city!

Only one worthwhile photo from the canal tour.

 

[jxv]

We had organised Saturday lunch as a family reunion. Including us, 36 of the jxv clan attended. It was really good to catch up with some family members we had not seen for years and meet some newcomers.

On Sunday we visited Utrecht, from where we drove to Venlo, near the German border, to drop off our daughter and family at the railway station to catch the train to Düsseldorf. From there they would take the night train to München (Munich) to continue their holidays.

Luckily they had left ample time for the connection in Düsseldorf, as trackworks disrupted the train service from Venlo. They had to take a local train, a bus and another local train just to get to Düsseldorf. The two extra connections were quite a hassle with two little kids and a stack of luggage!

Monday morning it was packing up time for us and our son’s family. They went off to Schiphol aiport and on to London. A few days later our daughter-in-law and the grandchildren would return to Melbourne and our son would travel to Oslo where I would meet him.

 

[jxv]

All the buildings in this modern area of Zaandam have been modelled on the traditional houses, which can still be found in the original villages around here.

The building with the clock is a railway station. Some years ago we were on a train passing through and Mrs jxv said that one day she wanted to stay in the funny looking hotel. Today is that day!

 

[jxv]

One more post about the Netherlands and then… Svalbard!

“Appeltaart” (apple pie) is a Dutch favourite, especially “met slagroom” (with cream). We have sampled it many times.

 

[BriarFlyer]

That pie and the pancake look super-yum!

 

[jxv]

We visited my sister-in-law in Heerde, between Zwolle and Apeldoorn in the East of the country (this probably does not help those with limited geographical knowledge of the Netherlands) and stayed overnight. Mrs jxv was going to stay there for the time I was going to Norway.

I needed to catch the 19:05 SK828 flight from AMS-OSL and left Heerde at 14:30 to allow for some traffic delays. I had bid €51 for an upgrade to PE again and again was successful. Traffic flowed freely and I had ample time to enjoy the Aspire lounge (lounge 26) at Schiphol Airport. On board the B738 I had three seats to myself.

It was an uneventful flight arriving just before 21:00. I walked along the undercover walkway from the terminal to the Park Inn by Radisson, where I met my son, who had arrived earlier from LHR, after waving goodbye to his wife and children going on their way home to Melbourne.

The next morning we skipped the rather expensive breakfast at the Park Inn and had a bite to eat in the OSL terminal while waiting for our flight to Longyearbean (LYR) on Svalbard. Norwegian Air Shuttle flight DY396, a B738 with only economy seating, departed as scheduled at 08:55. I had been able to book us window and aisle seats in an exit row for no additional charge on a LowFare+ fare. Luckily the middle seat stayed empty.

After a 3 hr smooth flight and a perfect touchdown maximum reverse thrust and braking were employed. The aircraft shuddered, creaked and rattled ominously! I wonder why this was necessary.

As we disembarked we were greeted by a winter wonderland. It had been snowing a bit, just enough to make it look pretty, but not enough to cause any trouble.

 

[LadyC]

Thanks for your very detailed trip report. I am looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[craven morehead]

Signing on for this TR

 

[SuePa]

Ok, I'm ready to pick up some hints for my trip next July.

 

[jxv]

Ok, I'm ready to pick up some hints for my trip next July.

I am not sure whether my unusually cold autumn experience will be of much use in July.

 

[jxv]

Longyearbyen (LYR) is the world’s Northernmost commercial airport, at 78°14′46″N. The only commercial passenger services are operated by SAS to/from OSL via Tromsø (TOS) most days of the week and directly on some days and by Norwegian Air Shuttle directly to/from OSL 3 or 4 days a week.

Svalbard came under Norwegian rule as a result of the Svalbard Treaty of 1920. It is a “free economic zone” and a “demilitarised zone”. Even though Norway is part of the Schengen zone, within which people can travel without passport control, Svalbard is not part of it. This leads to the strange situation that a passport is required to travel from one part of Norway to another. It is confusing that one has to go through the duty free shops at OSL, but one is not allowed to buy anything with a boarding pass for a flight to LYR. For some reason I had to show a boarding pass or airline booking at the supermarket bottle shop in Longyearbyen to receive a stamped approval slip to take to the cash register to be able to pay for my bottle of wine!

Spitsbergen, as it was known then, was originally used as a whaling base. Later coal was discovered and Russian and Norwegian companies started mining operations. Mining decreased and now the main activities are scientific research and tourism. The town and other settlements are all company owned and there is very little private residential accommodation available. The citizens of all 40 nations, which signed the Treaty, have freedom of entry and don’t need work permits, but in practice they need to have a job to be able to obtain accommodation and reside on Svalbard.

 

[sjk]

For some reason I had to show a boarding pass or airline booking at the supermarket bottle shop in Longyearbyen to receive a stamped approval slip to take to the cash register to be able to pay for my bottle of wine!

I've been there the past three Octobers. You don't need a boarding pass to buy wine, only spirits. But especially as the tourist season winds down, they seem to struggle to find competent staff throughout town.

 

[jxv]

It kept snowing that first afternoon. We started exploring the town. After a quick look in the main street we gravitated in the direction of the harbour, as my son’s research had found that the only beer brewery North of the Arctic Circle is located there and their tasting bar is open on Fridays after 17:00. They also do brewery tours on Mon, Wed and Sat at 18:00 (booking required).

Looking pretty at the harbour.


The brewery is in an unassuming shed.


Going through a storage area and up some stairs we get to the tasting bar.




The beers are fine, but there is no need to ask Dan Murphy’s to start importing them.

 

[jxv]

If you own shoes or boots without laces take them on your trip to Svalbard! I am not sure whether it is customary all year round, but taking off your shoes when entering a hotel, restaurant, museum, tourist office, gallery, church, or some of the shops becomes a chore if you have to undo your shoelaces and then do them up again as you leave. Of course, to deal with your shoelaces you have to take off your gloves first. While you are at it, why not take off your jacket or coat as well? Courtesy slippers are usually provided, so you won’t get cold feet, but the larger sizes are not always available.

Longyearbyen is a small place. There are only a handful of accommodation options. We settled on the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel. The room was comfortable, had tea/coffee facilities, a fridge and free WiFi. Good breakfast was included. Every room has an outside thermometer! On ours the originally red negative scale had faded away, so we could not accurately read how cold it was!

Radisson Blu Polar Hotel entrance. The marquee on the right was for a food festival.


On the other side is the breakfast room.