The Off the Beaten Path

April 3 – 15, 2022 Hosted by Henk Aay and Robert Hoeksema There is an old Dutch saying, “God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.” Come see how, over time, the Dutch transformed their country. Today nearly 17% of the country is reclaimed land. Your hosts Henk and Bob will intertwine the rich history of water management as it connects with popular landmarks, sightseeing, and culture. The windmill is a prime example of this. Compare the UNESCO Heritage windmills of with the modern Deltaworks. In Amsterdam cruise the Canal Ring and some lesser known, but fascinating sites such as Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (a hidden Roman Catholic house church). Elsewhere, visit Castle Amerongen, explore the Hoge Veluwe National Park along with its famous Kröller-Müller art museum, and explore the quaint city of Delft, where you will be given time to shop at the open-air markets. Most excursions will include opportunities to sample diverse Dutch cuisines. The evenings and free day can be spent shopping, visiting museums, and relaxing in the wonderful restaurants and pubs of Leiden and Zwolle, your two “home-bases.” This unique blend of history, culture, and charm is one tour you won’t want to miss. Space is limited, so register today!

Led by APRIL 2022 Highlights: Henk Aay and Robert (Bob) Hoeksema 03 SUNday Together, they have led Calvin student groups to the Netherlands • Roundtrip air Depart for more than 20 years. • Hotel accommodations Check in at Gerald R. Ford Henk is Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, • Breakfast daily, six lunches International Airport for the Emeritus at Calvin. Since retiring from Calvin in 2012, he was and three dinners overnight transatlantic flights appointed Senior Research Fellow at the Van Raalte Institute to Europe. You’re on your way! • Amsterdam Canal Cruise at Hope College, where he focuses on Dutch American history (D-in flight) and culture. He grew up in the Netherlands, is fluent in Dutch • Zaanse Schans 04 MONday and has spent a number of semesters on research and teaching • Delft leaves in the country. He is currently working on an Atlas of Dutch Arrive, Amsterdam, American History and Culture. • Kinderdijk Leiden Henk Aay | [email protected] • Tours of: Good morning! We have ŠŠThe Delta Works just arrived in Amsterdam. Bob is a civil engineer and Professor of Engineering Emeritus at ŠŠRegion of Rivers Following customs formalities, Calvin. He recently worked for one of the Dutch regional water ŠŠ Reclamation we’ll meet our driver/ management authorities. He also wrote Designed for Dry Feet: ŠŠHoge Veluwe National Park guide and transfer to the Flood Protection and Land Reclamation in the Netherlands (ASCE waiting motorcoach. After Press, 2006). • Kröller-Müller Museum an independent lunch we Robert Hoeksema | [email protected] • And more! visit Keukenhof Gardens. The national flower exhibition displays the many varieties of tulips and other flowers. Then head to our first hotel in Leiden. There will be time Tour Cost to rest and freshen up before $4,895 per person from Grand Rapids, dinner. (B-in flight, D) based on double occupancy Tour Pace Register online at Moderate – Activity levels vary bookings.wittetravel.com from day to day. Excursions will include some walking (up use booking code 040322AAY to several miles at a time), or complete and return the printed registration form. especially on those excursions using public transportation (see Amsterdam in itinerary). *See Terms and Conditions for more details.   Amsterdam Canal Cover: View of “old” and “new” land along the former Lake Schermer. ©Edward Burtynski Courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto

this land dry because water from its drainage canals could not empty into the rivers when they were high. Then, around 1740, reservoirs were constructed to store excess water along with windmills to pump water from the drainage canals into these reservoirs; they would drain into the rivers when their levels were low. Today, 19 of these windmills 05 TUESDAY 06 WEDnesday 07 THUrsday Dewatering Peat: Dikes, The Region of the Zaan Delft and Kinderdijk still exist. (B) Ditches, , and and the Zaanse Schans This morning we visit Delft. 08 FRIday Drained Lakes The First Industrial A city known for its art, The Delta Works Up until the early Medieval Revolution: Wooden pottery, science, history, and Our day takes us to the period, the Western Machines Powered by wonderful open-air markets. Its Delta Works. In 1953, the Netherlands was largely Wind long list of famous residents southwest delta experienced covered by thick blankets From 1600, a revolution took includes the painter Vermeer, the worst flood in centuries. of peat and fen bogs. Over place in the Netherlands. the microbiologist Anton Van This extensive flood destroyed the next 500 years people Windmill-driven machines Leeuwenhoek, and William many miles of dikes and killed used simple drainage ditches transformed key industries of of Orange, leader of the 1,835 people. To ensure that and dikes to dewater these the time: lumber, ship building, Dutch Revolt. We will visit the such flooding would never bogs and convert them into textiles, papermaking, paint, open-air market in the city occur again, the government farmland. Drainage, however, and oil manufacturing. Of the square. The square is framed initiated the construction of brought settling land and the more than 2,000 industrial at one end by the 14th-century at least a dozen dams and formation of lakes that, later, windmills in the country, half Nieuwe Kerk and, at the barriers, many of a scale were pumped and kept dry were found in the Zaan. We will other, by the City Hall with never seen before. Our first with windmills. Today, we will drive through the historic Zaan its 13th-century prison tower. stop is the Maeslantkering explore these polders, dikes, industrial area and then head to The market is a great place to along the New Waterway (the windmills, and drained lakes the Zaanse Schans, the open buy “Delft” blue porcelain, still canal connecting Rotterdam in an area north of Amsterdam air museum for the region. made in this city. In addition to to the North Sea). This storm between the Ijssel Lake and Here we will visit several the main market, there is also surge barrier consists of two the North Sea. The excursion working windmills, as well as a flower market, as well as an 700-foot-long floating dams, will end at the Hondsbossche its other museums. (B, L) art and antiques market a short which close when a storm Zeewering, a state-of-the-art walk from the city square. After threatens. We’ll stop to tour sea dike, which has recently enjoying an independent lunch the visitors’ center. After lunch been further reinforced with in Delft, we travel to Kinderdijk. nearby, we continue south massive sand suppletion. (B, L) This is not only a famous to the Oosterscheldekering. landmark but also represents This is the largest Delta barrier a significant development and is designed to protect in water management. This the Eastern Scheldt estuary UNESCO World Heritage without damaging its fragile Site sits in a low-lying area, environment. Our visit includes protected by dikes between the Delta Expo museum and a two major rivers. Early on, guided tour of the barrier itself. it was not possible to keep (B, L) 

09 SATurday Region of Rivers: Dikes, Canals, Floods, Settlement, Towns and Castles Our route today brings us to the heart of the Netherlands to the delta of the rivers. This is a distinctive region in which multiple channels of the Rhine and Maas rivers flow in 10 SUNday 11 MONday  a westerly direction. Human Amsterdam, Zwolle Free modifications of these river After breakfast, we head to Today is independent. Feel systems have been ongoing church in the Begijnhof in free to have a leisurely since the early Middle Ages. As Amsterdam. Hidden from the breakfast and spend part of we follow parts of the river, we street, The English Reformed the day exploring Zwolle. Take note settlements, land use, and Church was originally the a walk along the star-shaped abandoned meanders. After chapel for the Beguines (a defensive moat, check out touring the dikes of the Lek Christian lay religious order the Sassenpoort (one of the River (the principal northern for women) who lived in this old city gates) or visit the branch of the Rhine River), enclosed courtyard (Dutch: Museum de Fundatie (the fine we visit Kasteel Amerongen. Hofje) before the Reformation. art museum of the province After lunch, we will cross to Following the Palm Sunday of Overijssel). Or, our hotel is the other side of the Lek and service and an independent very close to the Zwolle train/ proceed to and cross the Waal, lunch, we will focus on some bus station, allowing you to the other main channel of the lesser known but fascinating further explore places that we Rhine. Pay special attention sites such as Ons’ Lieve Heer have only visited in passing; when we come to the section op Solder (a hidden Roman visit places that are part of where the Maas, the other Catholic house church). Then your ancestry; head back into principal Dutch River, and the we transfer to a new hotel in Amsterdam for museums and Waal come within a kilometer Zwolle, our home for the next 5 interesting neighborhoods. of each other. This is an area nights. (B) With your public transit card, with a long history of flooding the Netherlands is your oyster. and flood-control measures. At (B) the end of this excursion we head to our second hotel near the heart of the city of Zwolle. After check-in we enjoy a group dinner. (B, L, D)    Aerial view of the Zaanse Schans, courtesy Ryan R Zhao, Creative Commons  Village of Ezinge  Wijk-bij-Duurstede windmill, courtesy Robert Hoeksema  Maeslant flood barrier on the New Waterway, courtesy Het Keringhuis

12 TUEsday 13 WEDnesday 14 THUrsday The Zuiderzee Terps The Veluwe: Hoge Veluwe Reclamation By 500 BC people began to National Park & Kröller- Over many centuries, the settle the tidal marshes of Müller Museum Zuiderzee grew from a the zone of the The Veluwe is a forest-rich Roman-era lake to a large Northern Netherlands. For ridge of hills in the province sea arm threatening Dutch their permanent settlements, of Gelderland. It is the largest cities, including Amsterdam. they chose the higher levees lateral moraine (land pushed to By the early 20th century, the of the tidal channels. With the side into hills by glaciers) Dutch government realized sods and other materials, they in the Netherlands, stretching that something had to be created mounds to protect 60 km. from north to south, done. Over a 50-year period, their farmsteads from flooding. and reaching heights of over the Zuiderzee was cut off In Friesland these are called 100 m. In the center lies the from the North Sea and 640 terpen and in Groningen, Netherlands’ biggest national square miles of sea bottom wierden. Until the 13th century park, De Hoge (High) Veluwe, was reclaimed for new cities, when dikes became more so named because of its farms and recreation areas. common, they were the only elevation. The Veluwe features This reclamation incorporated settlement form; there are many different landscapes several islands into the many hundreds of them, many including woodland, heath, mainland. In today’s excursion, in relict form. Today we drive lakes, and sand dunes, as well we explore various parts of to Museum Wierdenland in as many kinds of animals and the Zuiderzee reclamation Ezinge, Groningen. Here we plants. We will drive through project. We start in the city of take a guided walk through representative sections of the Almere – the best example of the museum and through the Veluwe and end at the National a fully planned city anywhere. terp village itself. Then we will Park where we will have an We then travel to the proceed to ten Boer, Groningen opportunity to bike and visit Oostvaardersplassen, a nature/ and visit several wierden along the Kröller-Müller Museum, wildlife reserve sandwiched the former Fivel River. (B, L) which, among other works between two cities. After that, of art, exhibits the second we visit the former islands of largest collection of van Gogh Schokland and . Along the paintings in the world. Tonight, way, we will drive on minor we enjoy our farewell dinner. roads to see the villages and (B, D) farmland created from the sea bottom. (B, L) 15 FRIday Return Today we’ll transfer to the airport for the flight back to the U.S. (B, L-in flight) Hotels Terps City Excursions Excursion Routes

Drained Lakes Zwolle Zaanse Schans Zuiderzee Amsterdam

Leiden Veluwe

Delft Rivers Kinderdijk

Deltaworks

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