HOLLAND & THE FLORIADE

7 Day Tour • May, 2007
    

Day 1: U.S.A. - Amsterdam
Depart from Baltimore Airport (other departure cities are also available) for an overnight flight to the Netherlands.  

Day 2: Amsterdam
Upon arrival at Schiphol International Airport, we meet our tour manager and coach for a sightseeing tour of Amsterdam. This city is the largest and most important in Holland and is located at the marsh like mouth of the Amstel River and Ijsserlmeer. For drainage purposes, the town was built on thousands of wooden posts. Its center is the "Dam" which is surrounded by a semicircular canal system and connected by approximately six hundred bridges. The tour begins with a visit to Anne Frank's House situated opposite Westerkerk. The house was built in 1635 in the style of canal houses of that period. The attic of the house served as the hiding place and residence of the family for several years until the Nazis uncovered it in August of 1944. The attic remains as it was on that fateful day. No furniture, a stove for cooking and burning trash, and a toilet that couldn't be flushed for fear of alerting the neighbors of the hideout. Then enjoy leisurely sightseeing aboard a glass-roofed launch gliding through the city's maze of canals. Alongside these canals, we can see 17th century merchant houses with their beautiful fronts, churches with bell-towers, and 16th and 17th century warehouses. Tonight we enjoy a welcome dinner in a traditional local restaurant. Overnight in our hotel, our home for the next five nights.

Day 3: Amsterdam - Keukenhof- Delft
After breakfast, we depart this morning and head toward the south of Holland where we will visit the famous Keukenhof flower park with its 6 million bulbs in flower and over 450 tulip varieties. Since the17th century, it has been impossible to imagine the low lands without tulips and other bulb flowers. Currently, Holland is the largest producer of tulips and other bulb flowers. Flower bulbs are cultivated in an area of about 20,000 hectares. Of these, half are tulips. On the other half of the area lilies, gladiolus, narcissus, hyacinths and other bulb flowers are cultivated. Holland exports more than two billion tulip bulbs are sent throughout the world annually. Most of them go to the United States followed closely by Japan and Germany. Of the one billion bulbs that remain in Holland, the majority is used for growing cut tulips. The Austrian botanist, Carolus Clusius, brought the first tulips to Holland in 1593. He arrived in Leiden that year to become head of the botanical garden, the Hortus Botanicus. The bulbs were so expensive at that time that only wealthy people could afford to buy them. But the tulip was so much in demand that people speculated with them on a large scale. In fact, thousands of guilders were paid for bulbs of unusual tulips. In the 17th century, that was enough money to buy a small castle. Hence the name "tulip mania". In 1637, the market collapsed when it turned out that many more tulip bulbs were sold than were being grown. We continue through The Hague and head to Delft, one of Holland's oldest towns, named in 1246. It has long been an important commercial town because of its close location to the sea. The port of Delft was Delftshaven. Parts of it today belong to Rotterdam, where horses along the canal system had pulled ships to Delft. Delft is also very famous for its tile manufacturing. In the center of the town is the market square which contains the Gothic town hall (Stadhnis) and the Gothic church (Niewe Kirk). You will visit the Royal Delft Blue Pottery factory where you will see the production of the famous Delft porcelain. Dinner tonight at our hotel.

Day 4: Amsterdam -Volendam-Haarlem
Breakfast at our hotel. This morning we drive to the lovely Volendam. We turn our clock back three centuries as we enter Volendam where the inhabitants still dress in their traditional native costumes and wooden shoes. We see women wearing their starched white bonnets and men sporting baggy black pantaloons and short jackets decorated with silver coins. We will also take a short trip to Haarlem, the "Holland Flower City of Europe". Return in Amsterdam for dinner at our hotel.

Day 5: Amsterdam-Floriade
We will leave right after breakfast to spend the entire day at the Floriade, just outside the city of Haarlemmermeer. It's the world's biggest flower exhibition only held every ten years. The preparations for this exhibition already started 6 years ago when over 25,000 trees were planted. Floriade will be open for 192 days and expects to have over 3 million visitors. Floriade 2002 will be a meeting point for horticultural trade people and, above all, a large attraction for the general public. Everything that grows and blooms can be seen, smelled, and tasted. Items that were never seen together can be admired. The Floriade constructors are putting a park together that will surprise visitors with nature, horticultural products, art and multimedia. You can even say that visitors of Floriade 2002 will spend a day in another world. It will be a colorful experience for everyone. The remainder of the day and evening free. Dinner at our hotel.

Day 6: Amsterdam –De Zaanse Schans
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will take an excursion to De Zaanse Schans where we will visit a windmill as well as a Cheese farm, where you will learn how the Dutch make their excellent cheeses. A visit to a shoe factory will be next, as they are known for their wooden shoes as well. The "Zaanse Schans" is a characteristic living and working area on the River Zaan, with wooden houses and windmills dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. In museums, workshops, and windmills, you can experience something of how the Zaan-siders lived and worked. Throughout the centuries, the windmill has been the symbol of the Dutch fight against the water. Polder mills were built from the 15th century onward in the north and west of the Netherlands because the water level in the polders could not be maintained by natural means. In the 17th century, such mills were also put into service to drain inland expanses of water. Examples of these include the Schermer, Beemster and Purmer. But mills were built not only for Dutch water management. Prior to that, mills were being put into service to meet the requirements of industry. A good example of this is the windmills in the Zaan district which were erected on the basis of the industry in the area at the time. We return to Amsterdam in time for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 7: Amsterdam--USA
After our breakfast, we visit a diamond center to appreciate how rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel.
We then transfer to the airport for our 2pm flight back to the U.S.
You may choose to extend your stay. ask an agent for options.

Price Per Person: 
$2188.00 per person - Limited Space, Reserve Early!
Single supplement:
$360.00

Price Includes: Round trip air from Baltimore to Amsterdam (discount add-on fares available nationwide), air taxes, five nights accommodations in three star hotel, all transfers and handling of luggage both at airport and hotel, buffet breakfast daily, dinner daily including welcome and farewell dinner in a local restaurant, deluxe motor coach throughout, entrances fees to Anne Frank's House, Keukenhof and the Floriade, canal cruise, local taxes, tips and gratuities to driver and guides.

Not included: Travel insurance

Attention Group Leader. Customize this tour for your group.
Call the tour planning professionals at Pilgrim.  
800 322 0788