If you were waiting for something to kick-start you into paying a visit to the Netherlands, try this. That busy, compact nation is putting on a yearlong party to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt. And with spring coming up, you could be there in time to see huge fields of tulips in bloom.
The focus is on the artist at Rembrandt 400, where you can search for activities by city and date, including the Rembrandt Festival in July at Leiden, his birthplace. Events in Amsterdam range from exhibits on his works and life to “Rembrandt the Musical.” There’s a surprisingly brief overview of his paintings under “Rembrandts Work.” And if you slide your cursor over “Rembrandt” on the top menu bar and then click on “Rembrandts Footsteps” you’ll find a guide to places to visit.
Before you move on, click on “Packages” for hotel deals and bicycle tour information.
The artist’s home in Amsterdam has been preserved, and clicking on “Museum” will take you to a virtual tour of the rooms. If you don’t get the English version right away, click on “Nederlandse website” and then look for “English Language” in the lower right corner. Rembrandt’s House is in central Amsterdam, just a few minutes walk from the main train station; the map is confusing until you’re familiar with the city, or you could look for the link on getting there by canal boat.
A longer stroll across the center of the city will take you to the Rijksmuseum, home of 20 Rembrandts and scores of other masterpieces. Click on the three vertical bands of color on the left to open special exhibit information pages, and then just slide your cursor over the right side of your screen to get to the main information menu.
Don’t leave without seeing the rest of Amsterdam, where you can wander along picturesque canals, browse through shops and lunch in dozens of little cafes. Click on “Amsterdam Surprise” for information on bicycle touring, ferry rides, the floating flower market, the narrowest house in the world and other things unique to the city.
For finding places to stay, you might have better luck at Amsterdam Info, which also has more tips on sightseeing. Don’t miss the section on shopping, where you can learn about diamond industry tours and the city’s specialized shopping districts.
Get out of the city and tour part of the Golden Circle the towns around what used to be the Zuider Zee, an extension of the sea, which is now the freshwater Ijsselmeer. You can take bus tours from the heart of Amsterdam to places including the one-time fishing villages of Marken and Volendam.
It’s a small country but there’s much more to see and do and the Official Holland Site will help you pick out destinations.
Roger Petterson, Associated Press
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