Giethoorn - Venice of Holland
Giethoorn
9 April 2016
Giethoorn is one of our bucket list since we arrived
in Netherlands. And yes, when spring finally come, we’re so excited to go
there. We looked at weather prediction and lucky us, this Saturday was a sunny
day. Giethoorn is a small village in Netherlands. What make Giethoorn unique is
in Giethoorn, houses are separated from each other by canals. That’s why it is
known as Venice of Holland. They use canals for their
transportation. There are no roads, only small path for walking or cycling.
From Den Haag to Giethoorn, we took train from Den
Haag train station to Steenwijk Station. Our train departed at 9.33 am and we
must change our train in Zwole. We arrived at Steenwijk Station at 11.47. In
Steenwijk train station, there was an officer who inform us to buy ticket for
bus to Giethoorn in the ticket office (if we don’t have OV Chipkaart)-so we
will reduce wasting the bus driver time(and also our time) later. From the
station, we just turned left and will see the bus stop. We waited for bus no
70. To reach Giethoorn, we stopped at Dominee Hylkemaweg bus stop. It took
around 15 minutes. From there, we just crossed the street, and voila… we were
in Giethoorn.
We went to Spar Supermarket first to buy some snacks
and drinks. Next to the supermarket, there was tourist information, we can get
some information here, but for a map, we must buy it. Not far from here, we
spotted bike rental and boat rental (Zwaantje Boat Rental). We asked for 4
persons capacity boat, but at that time they all fully booked, and they told us
to come back in 2 hours. The price was EUR 22/hour. Lucky for us, there were
couple who told us to just keep walking and there would be other renting boat
places. So, we kept walking along the canals. As we arrived at lunch time, we
decided to had lunch first.
Along the canals, there was a walking/cycling path.
We just followed the path, and soon we found ‘t Olde Maat Uus, a museum farm.
Inside the museum, we can see displays things from the past. Outside the
museum, we can see how windmill works, how to make boat. From the museum, the
path split to two different direction. And from this point, now we can see Giethoorn
that looks like in postcard, with bridges over the canals, old houses by the
canal. We took the right path first, there were restos and cafes along the
canals. Most of the resto were renting boat, with a cheaper price compare to ‘t
Zwaantje. We rented our boat from one of the resto with the price EUR 15. They
gave us map with clear route.
The best way to explore Giethoorn (and also to
taking picture) is by boat. To operate the boat was easy, and the route was
also easy to follow. It were an one way direction canals and clearly marked
whether we can enter the canals or not. We enjoyed cruising the canals, and at
some point we reached the lake area. It was quite cold and windy at the lake. There
were some places that we can visit in the lake, such as resturants. Then from
the lake, we backed again to canals. Since, we still had some times, we even
made a stop and climbed a bridge to take pictures. Then we returned our boat.
After that, we continued walking in the path.
Enjoying all those beautiful scenery… made a stop to had a snack time in one of
the café… taking lots of pictures… feeding the friendly ducks. Then it was time
for us to catch our bus. We didn’t want to miss our bus, since the last bus to
Steenwijk Station at around 6 pm.
Giethoorn
From Den Haag to Giethoorn, we took train from Den
Haag train station to Steenwijk Station. Our train departed at 9.33 am and we
must change our train in Zwole. We arrived at Steenwijk Station at 11.47. In
Steenwijk train station, there was an officer who inform us to buy ticket for
bus to Giethoorn in the ticket office (if we don’t have OV Chipkaart)-so we
will reduce wasting the bus driver time(and also our time) later. From the
station, we just turned left and will see the bus stop. We waited for bus no
70. To reach Giethoorn, we stopped at Dominee Hylkemaweg bus stop. It took
around 15 minutes. From there, we just crossed the street, and voila… we were
in Giethoorn.
We went to Spar Supermarket first to buy some snacks
and drinks. Next to the supermarket, there was tourist information, we can get
some information here, but for a map, we must buy it. Not far from here, we
spotted bike rental and boat rental (Zwaantje Boat Rental). We asked for 4
persons capacity boat, but at that time they all fully booked, and they told us
to come back in 2 hours. The price was EUR 22/hour. Lucky for us, there were
couple who told us to just keep walking and there would be other renting boat
places. So, we kept walking along the canals. As we arrived at lunch time, we
decided to had lunch first.
Along the canals, there was a walking/cycling path.
We just followed the path, and soon we found ‘t Olde Maat Uus, a museum farm.
Inside the museum, we can see displays things from the past. Outside the
museum, we can see how windmill works, how to make boat. From the museum, the
path split to two different direction. And from this point, now we can see Giethoorn
that looks like in postcard, with bridges over the canals, old houses by the
canal. We took the right path first, there were restos and cafes along the
canals. Most of the resto were renting boat, with a cheaper price compare to ‘t
Zwaantje. We rented our boat from one of the resto with the price EUR 15. They
gave us map with clear route.
The best way to explore Giethoorn (and also to
taking picture) is by boat. To operate the boat was easy, and the route was
also easy to follow. It were an one way direction canals and clearly marked
whether we can enter the canals or not. We enjoyed cruising the canals, and at
some point we reached the lake area. It was quite cold and windy at the lake. There
were some places that we can visit in the lake, such as resturants. Then from
the lake, we backed again to canals. Since, we still had some times, we even
made a stop and climbed a bridge to take pictures. Then we returned our boat.
After that, we continued walking in the path.
Enjoying all those beautiful scenery… made a stop to had a snack time in one of
the café… taking lots of pictures… feeding the friendly ducks. Then it was time
for us to catch our bus. We didn’t want to miss our bus, since the last bus to
Steenwijk Station at around 6 pm.
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