Expeditions Travel Club traveled to Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany this past spring. Lead by the club founder, Kathy Schmauss, we started in Amsterdam, the city built on about 11 million wooden poles and cris-crossed by over a100 canals. Of course, we took a canal cruise that passed by the Anne Frank House before visiting the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands. This museum houses the largest collection of Dutch masters. Rembrandt is the star of the show with a couple of self-portraits on display. The next day we visited a Dutch village with windmills. We had a demonstration on how wooden shoes are made and tasted some Gouda cheese. We then headed to the Keukenhof Gardens to see their7,000,000-plus bulbs in full bloom only from March to May. These are perhaps the top floral gardens on Earth!
(Submitted by Julie Mallak)
Next, we headed to Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge Memorial. We visited the museum’s American Memorial honoring the 70.000+ American soldiers killed during this valiant victory on the Western Front. Then, on to Luxembourg for a walking tour of Luxembourg City and saw the Palais Grand Ducal and Cathedral of Our Lady. Afterwards, we drove to Trier, the oldest City in Germany, known as the “Rome of the North”.
(Submitted by Julie Mallak)
We visited Waterloo—the site of Napolean’s1815 defeat and then continued to Bruges, the “Venice of the North”. Here we enjoyed a canal cruise and Belgian chocolate bonbon tasting. We also saw a demonstration of the exquisite art of the centuries-old style of Belgian bobbin lace making in Brussels. We toured the Delft Pottery factory. We then went to the fascinating city of Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world. We stopped by the Cathedral of Our Lady with some of Ruben’s fine artwork on display, and the Platin-Moretus Museum, home to the world’s oldest surviving press.
(Submitted by Julie Mallak)
This trip built lasting memories of battle sites, art museums, and beautiful blooming flowers. Of course, we ate waffles, white asparagus, cheese, and chocolates along with sampling of various beers. Check Kathy’s ad in this magazine as she has many trips and cruises available. She hosts monthly travel events at Kiwi Tennis Club. Kathy is an experienced travel consultant that often travels with her clients and sees that they have exceptional care and visit significant sites.
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