Netherlands – Northtrotter

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Times visited: 3
Cities visited: Amsterdam
Towns and villages visited: De Lutte, Boxtel, Baarle-Nassau, Raamsdonksveer, Wijk aan Zee, Franeker, Dokkum, Moddergat
UNESCO sites visited: 2/13

I’m not quite sure how many times I visited the Netherlands as a child. My family often took the ferry from Hoek van Holland to England, but it was always just a transit point, never a destination. The first time I truly visited the Netherlands as a tourist was in the summer of 2017, during a one-day stopover in Amsterdam en route to Luxembourg. Truthfully, the Netherlands had never been high on my travel list. I always imagined it as Denmark’s slightly flatter twin with less dramatic nature. But I’d heard great things about Amsterdam, and since flying there and taking a night bus to Luxembourg was the cheapest option, I figured it was the perfect chance to give the city a try.

I made the most of my eight hours in Amsterdam, starting early with a long sightseeing walk through the city centre. I took a scenic canal cruise and wandered endlessly through picturesque streets, soaking up one postcard-perfect canal view after the other. Still, despite the beauty and the buzz, Amsterdam didn’t quite win me over. I couldn’t help but compare it to Copenhagen, and that just isn’t a fair fight. Maybe it was the crowds or the expectations, but I left feeling underwhelmed.

I never thought I’d return – but six and a half years later, I found myself back in Amsterdam. In late 2023, while travelling overland from Scotland to Denmark with my little dog, I passed through the city and spent several hours exploring. Although I tried to keep an open mind, Amsterdam just didn’t grow on me.

But a country is always more than its capital – and in November 2024, I finally discovered what makes the Netherlands special. During a roadtrip to Scotland, I had the luxury of time and a car, which gave me the freedom to explore lesser-known parts of the country. On the way there, I started in De Lutte, a tiny town near the German border, before heading to Boxtel to admire its striking medieval castle, Kasteel Stapelen. I then dove into the fascinating exclave puzzle of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau, where Belgium and the Netherlands intertwine in the quirkiest way imaginable. I ended the day in a cozy hotel in Raamsdonksveer.

On the return trip, I set my sights on Frisia, the least-populated region in the Netherlands. Known for its quiet charm, sweeping countryside, and endless canals, it felt worlds away from the hustle of Amsterdam. After a beach walk in Wijk aan Zee, I crossed the impressive 32-kilometre Afsluitdijk dam into Frisia. There, I spent time exploring the charming towns of Franeker and Dokkum before ending the day with a moody sunset over the Wadden Sea in the village of Moddergat.