The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. This time I was attending a conference in Delft and attending meetings in Utrecht as well.
So I flew from Bristol to Amsterdam and then it was a short train journey from Schiphol Airport down to Delft. After finding my hotel and checking in, I went for a walk around the heart of Delft.
It’s a beautiful city with canals, lovely building, pretty churches and an amazing windmill.
I love how the main railway line through Delft was buried underground to improve the look of the city. There are numerous cycle paths, as well as trams and buses, making it easy to get around the place.
I visited the Netherlands a few times in the early 1980s. I don’t recall the exact date of my first visit to the Netherlands, it may have been in the late 1970s. We went a few times, sailing from Aldeburgh down to Ramsgate, heading across the channel to Calais. The sailing up to Ostend and then up into the Netherlands. We would then sail back to Aldeburgh crossing the North Sea.
In the 1990s, I was on two college trips to Amsterdam, one was a bit of a nightmare, but the other one was better.
The next time I was in the Netherlands was in 2006, but only as I was changing planes at Schiphol Airport on my way to Helsinki.