GOING DUTCH

The sea, together with lakes and swamps, once covered two-thirds of the country. With the help of windmills the Dutch "created" this land by pumping out the water. The Dutch justly take enormous pride in this accomplishment.

The Dutch face their continuous battle against the sea - to "create" land and protect it from flooding - with great courage and pride. A famous story tells of a little Dutch boy who noticed water trickling through a dike one evening. There was no one nearby to tell so the boy plugged the hold with his finger and held back the water until

The Dutch are famous for raising tulips and they hold many spectacular flower festivals each spring. Long parades of floats covered with beautiful, colorful blossoms wind through the towns and the bulb fields. Since I visited Holland in the winter I got to see the fields at rest.

My trip to Holland was too early for the tulip festivities, but was timed perfectly for the rare privilege of watching the Dutch skate on their canals. These canals that carry water from the land are also used for the extremely popular sport of skating.

We must remember that the Netherlands has mild winters because it's on the sea and the people do not have thick ice for skating as often as they would like. When the ice on the canals is hard enough, schools sometimes close to let the children skate. Even the businessmen stop working and take "ice vacations."

I had the pleasure of witnessing locals taking pictures of each other skating on the canals. Parents put starter skates on their small children and pushed them around on the ice in a small chair for the thrill. I discovered clogs are the perfect shoes to wear when you plan to go skating as they are easy to slip on and off. The canals were lined with clogs where the locals put on their skates.

Amsterdam is a city on the water and Amsterdam and water share an unbreakable bond. For centuries the city's unique canals with graceful bridges and elegant canal houses attract visitors. A casual stroll through the town's narrow streets rewarded me with views of bridges spanning canals that have inspired generations of painters.

Amsterdam's attractions

The Dutch stage their legendary Elfstendetocht (Eleven Cities Tour) ice skating race if there are enough days of subzero temperatures, but I missed this race as too many melted spots along the canal route made it too dangerous. I met many locals who were training for the race and on special diets similar to those used by marathon runners to prepare for the challenge.

If the elements deter you from enjoying the outdoors, public transportation stops at most of the attractions, museums and art galleries.

Amsterdam has made it easy for the tourist to enjoy its offerings with the Amsterdam Culture & Leisure Pass, which is full of free admissions and discounts, including an easy to read map. The Public Transport voucher for a two-day ticket for the price of a public transport one-day ticket is a good place to start using the pass booklet.

Rijksmuseum impresses

The most outstanding museum experience was exploring Rijksmuseum, which is housed in a spectacular place of art. It is home to Rembrandt's magnificent "Night Watch" and his other masterpieces. Rijksmuseum also contains the world's leading collection of other Dutch masters. You can easily spend an entire day here, especially because they have a CD-ROM with up to nine hours of information on the paintings viewed for rent.

For those with less time there is a booklet with a quick tour. The museum restaurant kept my energy level high with lovely Danish treats of open-face sandwiches, hot tea and pastries. The location, around Museumplein, the "big-three cluster" is convenient to two other gems - the Stedelijk and the Van Gogh museums.

The Netherlands has produced some of the world's greatest painters. During the 1600s, the country's Golden Age, masterpieces were painted by Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer.

At that time most European artists painted only for churches, nobles or royalty, but Dutch artists painted ordinary subjects (people and things), and many Dutch businessmen bought their work to beautify their homes.

More museums

The Van Gogh Museum with its 200 paintings and 500 sketches and drawings contains the largest and most varied collection of the artist's work in the world. The pieces are from the painter's legacy and were kept together by his family.

The Stedelijk Museum is one of the world's major museums of modern art. It is famous for its visionary exhibitions, presenting ideas and work of contemporary artists and designers (the collections are often of a controversial nature).

Amsterdam Historical Museum is the place to make your own voyage of discovery through Amsterdam's history.

Museum Willet-Holthuysen is one of the canalside houses showing how wealthy Amsterdam natives lived in days gone by.

Maritime Museum has one of the world's most extensive maritime collections, including marvelous ship models and numerous charts, weapons and flags. You can also visit the replica of the 18th Century East Indiaman, the Amsterdam, and see the way they lived on board ships at the time.

Meet the famous in wax

Madame Tussaud Scenerama is where you will see yesterday and today come alive in waxworks. Wander through 17th Century Amsterdam and meet Rembrandt himself.

One floor up and you can return to the 20th Century and take part in the first moon landing. Back on earth you will meet politicians, crowned heads and famous artists.

The Rembrandt House Museum was once a merchant's dwelling where the painter lived and worked for nearly 20 years in the 17th Century.

Located in the heart of old Amsterdam, it's a small house with an oak door and red shutters. Now it's home to almost all the master's etchings and some of his copper etching plates.

Memorable Amsterdam

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, located near Central Station, which was well within walking distance of the Anne Frank House Museum.

"If you climb the stairs and open the door at the top, you'll be amazed that such a large light space could be found in such an old canal house." That is how Anne Frank described the house where she, together with her family and four others, hid. This is where the young Jewish girl wrote her diary. The house remained empty until 1960 when it was opened for visitors as a museum.

The museum hosts changing exhibitions on Nazism, anti-Semitism and racism. Visitors touring the museum can feel the respect for this little girl's courage through the silence. A small, discreet statue of Anne Frank was erected within a few blocks of the house on the Prinsegracht.

Anne Frank is perhaps the city's most famous daughter. Her diary has been translated into 56 languages and sold more than 15 million copies. She was one of 76,000 Jews from Amsterdam to perish in the Holocaust.