We are a kiwi couple on holiday in Europe in May. We finnish a cruise in Amsterdam and start a bike ride in Strasbourg 8 days later. We are looking for suggestions on what to do for those 8 days. We prefer small towns and villages.

Ha Ha! I have replied to your original question as I didn't spot this one till later! Click on your username to find your post if you can't otherwise find it.

Hi B,

You don't want to go to Paris?

If you are going by car, you can take the www.viamichelin.com "sightseeing" route:
Amsterdam, Brugge, Nancy, Strasbourg.

OR

Amsterdam, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Heidelberg, Strasbourg.

We spent several days in this area last year and loved it.

http://www.mosel-ferienland.de/UK/UKhome.html

Check out Cochem and Bernkastle-Kues

H

PS,

What I would do is
Train Amsterdam to Brugge - 2 nights.
Train to Paris via Lille Flandres (usually cheaper than via Brussels) - 4 nights
Train to Nancy - 2 nights
Train to Strasbourg.

ttt...

Bruges for at least a couple of nights.

For this, you'll be spoiled for the choices you have

Two possibilities I could think of:

1.) Look around Netherlands and Belgium and then go to Paris. From there exists a fast train to Strassbourg.

2.) Go from Amsterdam to the Rhine and the Mosel area. They offer a really beautiful landscape with a lot of little villages and castles and May is a great time to visit. From there you can go to the region around Heidelberg, if time permits (great for biking and a lot of things to visit).

If you go via Germany, you're basically just interupting the train ride, so no time lost with lengthy detours.

Hang out in Amsterdam before you go anywhere. Nearby Haarlem is much smaller but is not a small town. Rent a bike and enjoy the dunes. If it is early May go to Keukenhof to see the magnificent tulip garden. The bike ride from Haarlem is through the flower fields. Beautiful.