This is my first trip to Europe, (though I've lived in Asia) so we want to see what we can, but will be financially tight. We'll be staying with our kids in Amstelveen, Netherlands, but the middle week we'll rent a car and take off - somewhere. Suggestions, please? We'll do this for the three years our kids will be there, so we'll start slowly. Save Paris and London for a year when we can save up for it, and stay closer this year.

There is so much in Holland but you don't say what you are interested in. I suggest buying a copy of the Michelin Green Guide Holland. Also, Haarlem is a good day visit with many trains per day. Holland has excellent public transportation with senior discounts available.

Senior discounts are not available on trains in the Netherlands. You can buy a pass which gives a 40% discount for travel outside the rush hour. For that you need a passport photo and you can only buy it at a service point at a major station if you ant to use it the same day, otherwise it is sent your your home address, in the Netherlands only. Since the pass is valid for a year but costs €55 I doubt it is worth buying for a three week trip, certainly when you have access to a car for one week of the trip. There is a reduced tariff strippenkaart available for poepl over 65 for use on the buses, but you have to carry ID with you to prove you are over 65.

What interests you?
I would suggest for your first visit you stay in the Netherlands and maybe Belguim.
When you have a car available I would suggest going and exploring the north and east of the Netherlands, which are not so easy to see by public transport. You can do this as day trips from Amstelveen or book a couple of nights away.
If you tell me a bit more about what you are interested in then I can suggest some specific places to visit.
I also suggest you buy, or borrow from the library a good guide book, Fodor's, Lonely Planet or whatever you can find, to help you decide what you would like to see.

I love history and architecture, but my husband's a retired engineer, working on rockets and missiles. He loves techno stuff and how things work. Between the two of us, we'll be happy with anything from people watching to eating the local foods. Especially that. I want to experience the age and culture of the countries. It looks like we'll get to Ghent, Cologne, Brughes, Brussels and Luxembourg for a day each, not in that order. I guess I'd like a "defining moment" or two at each city, a taste to remember. I've been in all fifty states, and can certainly close my eyes and bring up something unique about most. I want that for these places as well, much to ask, I know. (I'm so excited...)

Your husband may enjoy a visit to the Space Expo at Noordwijk, next to ESA. http://www.spaceexpo.nl/gen_content.asp?PageID=53
Not as impressive of course as teh Smithsonian for instance but interesting enough - we went because my husband worked on satellites in the UK including an NL/US/UK one and they have a mock up of it there.
Noordwijk is also a nice seaside town so don't feel you will miss out!
There are things like the Deltaworks for him to visit. Lots of lovely old villages you could go to. I suggest going to Friesland where you can visit the harbour town of Harlingen anf Franeker which has a wooden planetarium http://www.planetarium-friesland.nl/engels.html.
You can drive over the Afsluitdijk with the sea on one side and the fresh water Ijsselmeer on the other to Harlingen. Maybe stay a night or two there. Then drive down through Friesland, maybe visiting Hindelopen and other small villages on the way. Visit Urk, whihc is not Friesland but is on the route back. It is a former island and a fishing village. Nearby is Schokland, an UNESCO site, again a former island, now surrounded by land. Blokzijl is another lovely village nearby. If you have the time you could go to the Weerribben National park and hire a whisper boat, or go to Giethoorn and take a trip around the village which has canals instead of streets. You could then either return through the new land or a nicer but longer route would take you along to Deventer, Kampen and back through the edge of the Veluwe.

Other places you could visit are Muiderslot castle, and the village of Muiden. Naarden is a fortified town with a wonderful church. In Spakenburg you will still see ladies wearing their traditional clothing. These are all places you can get to easily by car from Amstelveen if Friesland is too far for you. Soestdijk palace is the home of the late Queen Juliana and is open to the public, you must buy tickets on line for that but you can go around the gardens by buying a ticket at the gate.
Hoge Veluwe National Park and the Kroller Muller museum are worth visiting. Utrecht is a lovely old city once you get past the shopping mall that joins the station.

And that's just for starters!

The Netherlands train site http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers has details on tickets and provides schedules. Schedules are also posted in all train stations.

Details for Strippenkaarten are given at http://www.vbn-bv.nl/content.php?pagina_id=284. Stripenkaarten are valid for transport on trams and buses throughout the Netherlands and on the Amsterdam Metro.

Also an engineer, I recommend the Cruquius Expo on the southern edge of Haarlem. This is a huge steam engine, vacuum principle, which helped to pump out the Haarlemermeer (Lake Haarlem). Schiphol airport now sits on dry land under sea level on the reclaimed land. See http://www.cruquiusmuseum.nl/.

An interesting museum in Haarlem with plenty of old scientific instruments and a hoard of various other stuff is the Tyler's Museum. See http://tinyurl.com/2u6aal, unfortunately in Dutch.

This is simply awesome information. Your suggestions are perfect. Castles, Space Expo and a fishing village - The steam engine, Cruquius Expo sounds right for us as well. Thank you both so much. If you're ever in Colorado....

That's great three weeks of travel. I can recommend a visit to Zaanse Schans a village museum. It's probably be best to go by train from Amsterdam as it is close and roads around Amsterdam are often very crowded.
http://theamsterdamguide.planeteye.c...illage-museum/

A train trip to The Hague is also a very good outing
http://theamsterdamguide.planeteye.c...-to-the-hague/

Have a great time!

So many possibilities, but considering your interests I might mention Leiden for history (the Pilgrims once lived there) and Delta Works for engineering (major flood control project). Yes down to Bruges and maybe Luxembourg if time. Access our report from a recent visit...Springtime in Holland Belgium. But how fortunate to have family in Nethelands...surely they will have ideas.

Ozarksbill