The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
DUTCH DELIGHT
Jim Douglas took his family on a return trip to the Netherlands and discovered the country has much more to offer than just Amsterdam
Following two years of cancelled trips and long waits for refunds, it was great to finally get on a plane again and return to the Netherlands. After two enjoyable trips to this area in the past, it was a natural choice for us to return. Our good mood was slightly dented after landing at Amsterdam airport. The queues for non-EU travellers at passport control were so long that staff were not even allowing passengers out of the terminal and towards the immigration area.
Thankfully our kids remained in a good humour throughout the lengthy wait, and eventually we reclaimed our baggage and headed towards the car rental desks.
Then came a more pleasant surprise – the rarely spotted upgrade. We had reserved a mid-sized electric car, but were given the keys to a Tesla Model S.
The Netherlands is far from being one of Europe’s largest countries, but it has more charging points than anywhere else in the EU, with around 80,000 locations. This helped to remove any anxiety about range for our vehicle.
The other noticeable difference was that not only were charging stations much more frequent, but the availability of rapid-charge
NUMEROUS DAY-TRIP OPTIONS, WITH EINDHOVEN AND ROTTERDAM LESS THAN AN HOUR AWAY
points was much more common than in Scotland.
Our choice of holiday venue was Beekse Bergen Safari Park, near Tilburg, just north of the Dutch border with Belgium.
For those on a larger budget, the park offers cottages and treehouses which overlook some of the animal enclosures. We stayed in the holiday park area, which offers themed bungalows and camping. Our accommodation was functional rather than fancy, but perfectly suitable for a week-long stay.
As well as a huge range of animals to see in the safari park, Beekse Bergen also has an amusement park and kids’ club, with activities for younger children every day of the week.
Admittance to all three attractions is included for overnight visitors, and given
the changeable weather during our stay, we
were glad of the diversions. Guests are also issued with a pass which allows free entry to several other attractions owned by the same parent company.
A short drive from Beekse Bergen is the Netherlands’ most-visited attraction, Efteling. In fact, despite not being particularly well known in the UK, Efteling is Europe’s fourth most popular theme park, well ahead of rivals such as Legoland and Port Aventura.
The secret of its success seems to be in the storytelling, with music enhancing each attraction. Although there are some rollercoasters, the attraction is perhaps best for primary school children. The park is large, but perfectly walkable, and has a very relaxed ambience.
For those who would prefer to stay on-site, the Efteling complex also includes two hotels and a holiday park with a range of self-catering options.
There are numerous day-trip options in the Tilburg area, with Eindhoven and Rotterdam less than an hour away by train.
We were lured across the border to Belgium for one of Antwerp’s newest attractions, Chocolate Nation.
This is one of the world’s largest chocolate museums which served up a fascinating look into the story behind Belgian chocolate and an obligatory tasting session at the end
which, unsurprisingly, proved very difficult to drag our kids away from.
Chocolate Nation is directly opposite Antwerp’s main railway station, making for a very straightforward visit.
Our son has gone slightly dinosaur mad over the last 12 months, so he loved our visit to Het Oertijdmuseum, the largest geological museum in the country.
Along with a selection of dinosaur skeletons, the attraction has a large dinosaur trail, with a vast number of replicas. Although most of the printed descriptions are in Dutch, my son soon discovered a version in English was available if we scanned the QR code, which led to more work for me than I might have planned at the outset.
Meanwhile, my wife and daughter amused themselves at the excellent high-ropes adventure centre in nearby Vught. There was a wide range of options for different ability levels, along with a high-net park for younger children. The centre has a great setting next to a lakeside beach, with a restaurant that is very popular with locals.
Netherlands is a very easy place to enjoy. Although many visitors don’t venture beyond Amsterdam, there is so much more to see.
Despite the fact that this was our third visit, I’m fairly sure we’ll be back with our kids sometime in the near future.