Secretly kissing and sticking chewing gum in the ginkies, climbing the highest mountain in Flevoland, and eating a Dikkertje. Only on Urk! The former island is ideal for a day out in the Netherlands. Naturally, I must eat some fish and stroll along the harbor, as any tourist should. But Urk has more to offer. Let’s go! Let’s go!
Urk: where the men row to Ommelebommelestién and wear gold earrings. It is the most pastoral community in the Netherlands, and even though Urk was already connected to the mainland in 1939, the people remain islanders.
Soaking up Dutch nature is already possible in just a stone’s throw from Amsterdam’s busy center. The Stelling van Amsterdam (the Amsterdam defense line) is a 135-kilometer long defense line full of fortresses, nature, walking routes, and hikes.
How many faces can a city have? Nantes moves through the centuries from dukes to slavers and from shipbuilders to students and artists. Every corner of this city reveals a different piece of history. Will you join me for some sightseeing in the center of Nantes?
The Loire River flows through the French city of Nantes. The river splits in two, and the small piece of land in between is Île de Nantes, the island of Nantes. It is the epitome of successful urban development. A place where the past and the present embrace and complement each other.
Nantes is the sixth largest city in France. But, frankly, it hardly feels like that. It’s so quiet on the street. So although I don’t have to escape the crowds, I look for two ‘city escapes’ during my stay: Trentemoult and Estuaire.
If you live in Nantes, you are never more than 300 meters from a green space. The French city is fully committed to nature and sustainability. As a tourist, you’ll have a very responsible holiday!
In the French city of Nantes, I dive to the depths of the sea and get on an elephant with the same ease. I enter the fantasy world of Les Machines de l’Île.
