owinsmom

I am going with my son to visit some of his friends around the Hengelo area. We will drive there and hopefully then just leave the car parked at least to go into Amsterdam one day. Any other suggestions? With this said, I live in a town called Holland, which is very Dutch and we have a windmill and Dutch village etc. We are not too interested in museums, though the Van Gogh museum might be good. I really would like to get a feel for small towns with atmosphere, little shops, good food, drink etc. ANy suggestions? We will be there 3rd week in May Thurs/Fri - Sun

hetismij

Hengelo itself is quite industrial, but there is lovely countryside close by. My husband works there at the moment.
You could hire some bikes and do a bike trip around the area.
From Hengelo you could drive up to Drenthe, Friesland or Groningen for a day.
Or visit the Weerribben, a national park, and combine that with a visit to Giethoorn - a village with canals instead of streets, Blokzijl, an old fortified town and Staphorst, a deeply religious village where the ladies still wear their traditional costume. You could even venture a bit further and see Schokland, an island stranded in the new land, (a UNESCO site) and Urk a former island, now on the Ijsselmeer coast.

owinsmom

THis sounds exactly what I am looking for. Pardon my for my igonorance, but what is UNESCO? I have seen that before and not sure what it is. THank you so much for your help. Need to get the map out and start planning. Where would I rent bikes in Hengelo?

MyriamC

UNESCO sites are sitse on the World Heritage List. Here's some more information: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/

owinsmom

Thank you for the link. Very interesting. I have one more thing to look for now.