Which one would you spend your 55th B-Day in?
Please tell me your experiences in these places and share any photos,
We will be arriving by canal boat and will moor overnight in one of these towns,

Tough one.
Ossenzijl is a small village (500 people) on the edge of the Weeribben National park. There is not much to the town, but you can hire a boat or a bike to explore the park and other villages nearby.
Steenwijk (pop 17,000) is a nice old market town, and fortified city dating from the 16th century. The church is interesting I seem to recall.You may see ladies from Staphorst doing their shopping here - they wear a distinctive costume. Don't photograph them though without consent - they are very strict Protestants, against graven images etc. It is lively enough on market day but I'm not sure there is enough to do for a whole day. It will certainly offer a good selection of restaurants. Depending on when you are there there are various festivals going on through out the summer.
Again you could hire bikes and explore the area - I can recommend Blokzijl as a lovely old town to visit. You can also get there by boat! For a special meal, costing lots of dosh you could go to the Michelin starred Kaatje bij de Sluis in Blokzijl.
Giethoorn is a small village, which can be overrun by tourists during the day with not much going on at night as I recall. It is a lovely village though - with canals instead of streets. You cannot take a motor boat through the main part of the village - you have to use either a punt or an electric Fluisterboot. (The same is true of parts of the Weerribben - motor boats are banned , but are open to electric boats).
Zwartsluis is also a lovely old town, like Blokzijl it is a former fortified city dating from the 16th century. There is a big yacht harbour - 1200 boats! There are several art galleries and the like in the town. I don't know about restaurants there though.

Hetismij,
thank you for your detailed info,insider tips,and firsthand info. Your help on here is invaluable.

Steenwijk or Zwartsluis may be our best bet with regards to easy moorage.

Has anyone else been there recently and can share your experience?

Hi Het..
can you please tell me how far it is from Strand Horst to Amsterdam? Is this way too far to take a cab verses the train?

Yes way too far. Get a cab to Harderwijk and get the train from there. You will need to change trains in Amersfoort. The train costs €11.40 pp single.
The harbour master will probably be able to help you call a cab, or call 0900-9292 and they will put you through to the nearest cab company.

Het,
If we left Strand Horst around 9am, would we have enough time to make 12:26pm train out of Amsterdam to Paris?

The train journey takes 1.15 minutes.
The trains leave Harderwijk at 16 and 46 past the hour and get you into Amsterdam at 31 and 01 past the hour.

So you could get the 09.46 train from Harderwijk and be in Amsterdam at 11.01, in plenty of time for you train to Paris.
You change trains at Amersfoort arriving on Platform 7 at 10.13, departing platform 5a at 10.28.

The guys dont want to take taxi then train to Amersfoort then train to Amsterdam.
Can you give me a ballpark figure on what taxi or private car would cost. It will be 4 adults with one 19inch carry on a piece.

Thanks...

I had a look at this site http://www.taxinederland.com/
and they quote €158. That is for up to 4 people. If you need a bigger car it will cost more.
The postcode for Strand Horst is 3853 LB and for Centraal Station it's 1012 AB.
I have no experience with the company they were the only one I found where I could get a rough idea of the price for you.
The normal taxi fare is €7,50 for the first 2km and €2.20 for every km after that. Which is roughly what taxinederland are charging - it is about 68km to Centraal Station from Strand Horst.

at the moment 158euros is $224. Divided by 4 people is $56.00
per person.
To beat the hassle of a taxi then 2 trains, I think we will go with the taxi. Its worth $56.00 to me.
Thanks again for all your help.

Make sure you book a taxi - don't just call on a local one on the day - they may not be prepared/able to take you that far!

yes, we will book the taxi in advance si there are no surprised or delays.

Hi Het,
I heard back from Nedertaxi. They quoted 150euros and said that they would pick us up at 10:15am in strand Horst.
You info was right on target. thanks so much.

Glad to have been of help. Have a great trip and a really happy birthday whoever is celebrating!

Thanks Hetismij,

I will be turning 55 (Sept.22) on the trip !!

Also DH first time over the pond. He can talk of nothing else. Well, I cant either so I think we are a good pair.

Hi Hetismij,
i have a question. hopefully not too dumb
Do they have tortillas at the grocery stores in Holland?

Yes they do. Only flour tortillas, not maize ones, but yes.
Albert Heijn, and most of the other supermarkets have them. i can't guarantee a small store in a village would have them but I would be surprised.
Not long now. I hope the weather is kind to you.
Check out http://tinyurl.com/mx744z for the two week forecast for Sneek (and anywhere else you want to try).

Thanks Hetismij,
flour ones are good

if it rains, it rains.
we are from Seattle and use to it