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Itinerary Suggestions and Windmills

We will be based in Amsterdam for 6 days April 17-23, staying near Jordaan.
Planned itinerary (very rough) Tours can be shifted to other days as needed.
Day 1 Wednesday: Arrive early morning Schiphol from US. Walking Tour, Sightsee, Jordaan.
Day 2 Thursday: Rijksmuseum early AM, A Rijsttafel restaurant for lunch/dinner. Walk
Day 3 Friday Bus tour (where?) Volendam/Marken tour? or Brugge? Windmills? not Zaanse Schans
Day 4 Saturday: Market morning near our lodging. Haarlem afternoon walking tour Rent ebikes to coast?
Day 5 Sunday Utrecht: Canal cruise, Utrecht walk, Musical clock museum
Day 6 Monday: Keukenhof late afternoon
Tuesday Day 7

Wednesday DEPART EARLY MORNING

I've visited Amsterdam, my husband hasn't. My first priority are the tulips. Hence, going to K on a Monday when slightly less crowded. Second is visiting and touring windmills. I want to avoid touristy Zaanse Schans. Where to go to see working windmills that is also easily accessible --a VERY simple train ride or bus tour--and avoid crowds?
Looking for other suggestions on where else to go outside of Amsterdam. I've selected Haarlem and Utrecht . I've visited Brugge and it would be lovely, maybe on a bus tour, but that's a very long day. Thoughts?
WW2 sites with ties to 101st Airborne also a possibility. I am searching for specific information about a relative who was in the Screaming Eagles. (He likely was wounded before Market Garden) Eindhoven/Veghel and Arnheim seem vague possibilities but a distance to travel . My husband is interested in Patton.
Overall, I hope to visit brown cafes, enjoy the food, relax, soak up the country and go more slowly than I did the last time. Bedankt.

Posted by
11636 posts

For the best tulips you need to visit Kinderdijk near Rotterdam. Gorgeous!

Posted by
5681 posts

If you're interested-
The Flower Parade is April 20 and ends in Haarlem, after a 26 mile route. The next day, the floats are on display in Haarlem. I have this Forum to thank for that info.
Have a great trip!

Posted by
1252 posts

Arnhem was the area for the British Paratroopers, not the 101st. There is a wonderful museum in an historic house there that served as their headquarters and hospital. In Nijmegan, the impressive, original bridge that the U.S. 82nd airborne captured is still there and can be walked—along with a park where the Germans and Americans had a ferocious fight to capture this strong point. If you are interested in more sobering WWII history that doesn't include the 101st airborne, Kamp Vught is a former German concentration camp over halfway to Eindhoven, and there is a wonderful Dutch Resistance museum in Amsterdam. I don't think there are any 101st Airborne areas anywhere near Amsterdam.