Lord Jim of Dilling - Diplomat Magazine

D I P L O M A T I C T R AV E L Q A s p e c i a l f e a t u r ecomplex system of pumps designed tokeep water levels in balance. NowadaysKinderdijk is a UNESCO World HeritageSite, and visitors walk paths or takeadvantage of tour boats to navigate canalsand take in the world’s most comprehensivecollection of historical windmills.Exciting citiesApart from the polders, the Netherlandshas great cities. Amsterdam, Rotterdam,The Hague and Maastricht each offer aunique view of the country. Amsterdam,the country’s capital, holds the economicheartbeat and is known for its concentriccanal ring. Rotterdam is home to oneof the largest and best ports in the world.The Hague houses the Dutch RoyalFamily of Orange-Nassau and the governmentof Holland. Maastricht is oneof the oldest cities of Holland, locatedin the hills of Limburg, and is the site ofvarious Roman ruins and caves. Thereis something to do and to see for everybodyin Holland.Suzanne Geerts:‘Jump on a bike’We arrived last summer in Ottawa,and we all love this city. But one thingwe miss is our daily biking trips. TheNetherlands is really a country ofcyclists. Almost every person in theNetherlands has at least one bicycle,which means that there are actuallymore bicycles than people. A bicycleis better than a car for getting aroundtown. It’s quicker and better for theenvironment too.Holland is the perfect place to spenda cycling vacation. And because mycountry is so flat and has a mild climate,it’s very doable for everybody. I knowHolland offers packages to cyclists ofall levels, offering everything from daytrips and weekend trips to fully fledgedcycling vacations for both groups andindividuals.Easy to find your wayThe Dutch have built a network of separatebike paths exclusively for cyclistsin both rural and urban areas. You ridethrough the most wonderful landscapes,and you never see a car close by. All bikepaths are mapped out and the maps areavailable in Holland in local book stores,local tourist offices (VVV’s), or at allof the ANWB (the Dutch automobileassociation) branches. So, it’s easy tofind your way around on a bike. And ofcourse, you can use your GPS and downloadmaps of the Dutch bike paths.Bikes can be rented by the hour, day,week, or even longer at most train stationsor bicycle shops for about eightEuros a day or 35 Euros a week.By the way, if you have a chance, itwould be neat if you could join my dadon a bike ride in Ottawa, on May 31. Thisis the first day of Canada’s EnvironmentWeek. Closer to this date there will bemore information available at www.netherlandsembassy.ca.Thea Geerts :‘World-class cultural offerings’Many of the world’s famous painters areDutch, such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh,Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Ifyou would like to understand the Dutch,K i n d e r d i j k i s a n o t h e r U N E S C O W o r l d H e r i ta g e S i t ediplomat and international canada 51