April 21-29, 2008
Plan your arrival
in Amsterdam for
the morning of April 21, 2008
Plan your departure from Amsterdam for April 29, 2008
Printable Version of
itinerary
Spend your days with original masterpieces by
Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh and Mondriaan. Walk the same streets as these
famous artists and see where they lived. Experience their homeland in depth,
exploring the countryside, small villages and national parks as well as
Amsterdam. Visit famous museums, including the Philips Wing of the
Rijksmuseum, the Kroller-Muller Museum tucked in a national park, and the
Mauritshuis and Frans Hals Museum both in 17th century buildings. The trip
is timed to catch the spectacular bulb display at Keukenhof Gardens, where
over 7 million bulbs are planted for a nine-week spring display.
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Day 0, Sunday, April 20, 2008:
Depart the US for Amsterdam.
Day 1, Monday, April 21, 2008: Arrive Amsterdam
Overnight in The Hague
Dinner included
Arrive at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. We will all meet at the
airport and travel by private coach to The Hague (Den Haag).
Settle into your comfortable hotel for four nights. Enjoy a
welcome dinner this evening.
Day 2, Tuesday, April 22, 2008: Mauritshuis Museum and Delft
Overnight in The Hague
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
After breakfast at the hotel, enjoy a orientation tour of The
Hague. Arrive at the Mauritshuis for a guided tour of the Royal
Picture Gallery where you view masterpieces of the 17th century
by Rembrandt and Vermeer in a 17th century building. This is a
“one-of-a-kind museum, one different from all others.” Have
lunch together in The Hague. In the afternoon, travel to Delft
where Vermeer lived from 1632-1675. Enjoy a guided walking tour
of the old town and visit to the New Church (built in 1381).
Continue for a guided tour of De Porceleyne Fles (Delft Blue
Factory). In Delft, walk along the canals and past the houses
that resemble those in Vermeer’s paintings. On one building
you’ll see the initials of the Dutch East India Company, the
trading giant of the 1600’s whose ships brought loads of exotic
spices to Europe, as well as precious porcelain. These blue,
white and red ceramics were so treasured that they triggered a
race to see which country could be the first to unlock the
secret of their manufacture. The blue and white earthenware made
in Delft is famous throughout the world. Return to The Hague for
dinner and overnight.
Day 3, Wednesday April 23, 2008: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem
Overnight in The Hague
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
After breakfast this morning, travel to Haarlem and enjoy a
short orientation tour upon arriving in the town where Frans
Hals lived. A guided tour of the Frans Hals Museum provides an
extraordinary opportunity to view a huge collection of art by
Frans Hals and other 17th century Dutch painters in a 17th
century building. Have lunch together in Haarlem. Continue by
private coach through a classic Dutch landscape of dikes,
windmills, fields, and cows and stop at Den Zaanse Schans to
watch pigment being ground in a working mill (named De Kat) as
it was in Rembrandt’s time. Return to The Hague for dinner and
overnight.
Day 4, Thursday April 24, 2008: Keukenhof Gardens, Leiden
Overnight in The Hague
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Today, marvel at Keukenhof Gardens where 7 million flower bulbs
are planted each year. Our trip is timed to coincide with the
spectacular floral display of Keukenhof which is only open 9
weeks each year! Then continue by private coach to Leiden (Leyden),
where Rembrandt was born. Have lunch and then take a guided
visit of the Lakenhal museum (which houses an early work by
Rembrandt) and the Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden) which was
founded in 1587 (the first in northern Europe). A professor at
the University of Leyden, Carolus Clusius, started cultivating
tulips in 1593. Return to The Hague for dinner and overnight.
Day 5, Friday April 25, 2006: Gemeentemuseum, and Het Loo
Palace
Overnight in Apeldoorn
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
A leisurely morning followed by a visit to the Gemeentemuseum in
The Hague. Be sure to check out the Wonderkamers, specifically
designed to introduce teenage visitors to art! The permanent
collection includes the world’s largest collection of Mondriaan
paintings, as well as important works by Monet, Degas and
Picasso. The museum also includes one of the world’s finest
collections of Delft ceramics. Travel east to Apeldoorn and have
lunch. In the afternoon have a guided visit of Het Loo Palace
built in 1685 and former home of the Dutch monarchy. The gardens
are also magnificent. Dinner and lodgings at our hotel in
Apeldoorn.
Day 6, Saturday April 26, 2008: Kröller-Müller Museum, Hoge
Veluwe
Overnight in Apeldoorn
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
This morning take a short drive south to the Hoge Veluwe
National Park near Arnhem. Although difficult to pronounce, Hoge
Veluwe is a beautiful 13,000 acre nature reserve with a famous
museum. Founded by Willem Kröller and his wife Hélène Müller,
the museum has important paintings by Van Gogh and Mondriaan as
well as French masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Signac
and Seurat. We will have a guided tour of the museum. Outdoors,
stroll through a 25 acre sculpture garden, Europe’s largest, and
explore works by Maillol, Rodin, and a huge blue trowel by Claes
Oldenburg. You can even walk into, under and on top of
Dubuffet’s Enamel Garden, a vast white honey-combed sculpture.
After lunch, relax in the park, pedal beneath the trees on one
of the famous white bicycles, and work up an appetite for
dinner. Return to Apeldoorn for dinner and overnight.
Day 7, Sunday April 27, 2008: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Overnight in Amsterdam
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Today we have an early departure for Amsterdam after breakfast.
Upon arrival glide along on a private canal boat cruise to see
Amsterdam from the water, passing by Rembrandt’s house and the
Anne Frank house. After lunch immerse yourself in the art of
Vincent Van Gogh on a guided visit of the Van Gogh Museum. See
selections from the largest collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s
work, including nearly 200 paintings and 500 drawings. You can
follow his short 37 year life in his art, from dark brown
canvases of Dutch peasants to blasts of sun-drenched French
sunflowers all painted in a brief nine year burst of activity.
Settle in for two nights at our hotel in the Museum Quarter.
Tonight enjoy a traditional Indonesian meal (rijsttafel), one of
the rich legacies of the Dutch East India Company.
Day 8, Monday April 28, 2008: Rijksmuseum and Rembrandt’s
House
Overnight in Amsterdam
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
The crescendo of our museum visits is the Phillips Wing of the
Rijksmuseum which houses the masterpieces of the museum selected
by the curators to remain on exhibition while the main building
is being restored. On our guided visit this morning you’ll see
masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen
that symbolize the Golden Age of Dutch art. Painted over 300
years ago, these canvases capture a time when ships connected
Amsterdam with its colonies as far away as India, Indonesia, and
America (New York was originally New Amsterdam). On display are
Rembrandt’s Night Watch, Self Portrait at an Early Age, Old
Woman Reading; Frans Hals’ The Merry Drinker, Judith Leyster’s
The Serenade, and many more. After lunch, choose to come on a
guided visit to the Rembrandt House Museum to tour the house
where Rembrandt lived for 20 years. Alternatively, spend the
afternoon on your own in Amsterdam. Tonight savour your memories
of the Netherlands at a farewell dinner and the retire to your
room at our hotel on a canal in the Museum Quarter.
Day 9, Tuesday April 29, 2008: Fly from Schiphol
Breakfast included
After breakfast, transfer to the airport near Amsterdam for your
return flight to the U.S. or continue to travel on your own in
Europe. |
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Other
Details about this Trip
Dates: April 21 – 29,
2008
Trip Leaders: Amy Boyce Osaki and Dutch guides
Price: $3,945
Single room for entire trip: $680
Lodging: 8 nights lodging in 4 star hotels based on twin bedded
rooms with private baths
Meals: 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 8 dinners
Meeting Point: Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam at
approximately 12 noon on April 21, 2008.
Departure Point: Trip services end officially in
Amsterdam after dinner on April 28. However, your lodging for
that evening, breakfast and your transfer to Schiphol Airport,
Amsterdam on the morning of April 29 are included in the price
of the trip. |
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