For inter-European, Ryan air and Easyjet are about the most competitive.

EasyJet are on www.easyjet.co.uk

In the UK I think somewhere like Santa Pod might be a good idea as we could have a little fun dB dragging and the usual kind too
But then again, whatever floats your boat...

on the 14/15/16th of June

Lucky me! That is the weekend of Le Mans, and I was going to try to go to that (first time), but I bet I could figure out how to do both if I play my cards right.

Thanks!

Rob, can you give me a good reason why the Netherlands would be a good vacation destination for me and my family this year? I'm thinking about how my vacation time is going to pan out this year, and I'm starting to consider it.

I've been to the Netherlands Tony. I had an awesome time. Most people spoke various languages and many on the street are more than helpful. I particularly liked taking trains to random locations and just seeing what was there. Many times I was not dissapointed. One time I got out and found a waterfall practically in the middle of nowhere, and horses even. I don't recall the food as being particularly standing out but I do recall eating a lot of sausages.

Calvin

Well, I can see horses right here in my home town...

Anything else?

Anything else?

I'm no expert, but to keep the thread alive while we await Rob, I can say that....

Tourists report many fewer problems with nosebleeds than in, say, Switzerland. Better gas mileage while driving, too, and easy for bicycling. I haven't been during the summer, but on my list of To-Dos are the many beaches (though I have heard that California has one or two of those...)

Not too many decades ago in a little village in the south some regular patrons in a pub were observed to buy a round of beers for some weary travelers just *because* they were Americans. Go figure. Not sure how often that happens anymore.

Amsterdam, some of the more sensational aspects (coffee houses and red light district) aside is a fascinating city. Quite unique, a great, easy tram system, and easy to walk about.

Oh, and stealing a phrase: "Schipol Airport! No big mountains on the approach!"

How long are you thinking about going for? Distances are small. Lots of things to see.

can you give me a good reason why the Netherlands would be a good vacation destination for me and my family this year?

I can think of several very good reasons, but maybe they're not quite what you need to convince your family.

Rob

I don't recall the food as being particularly standing out but I do recall eating a lot of sausages

The Dutch national dish is chips (fries) and mayonaise

There are some fantastic restaurants if you know where to look, though.

Rob

If you go to Holland you are within easy driving distance of France, Belgium, Germany and England. Don't let that put you off, though.

Rob

Mmm, I remember some very good Indonesian food in Amsterdam (I don't know where to look, I just struck lucky!).

If you go to Holland you are within easy driving distance of France, Belgium, Germany and England.

Oh, now that could be the clincher. Jenny is German and might be interested in viziting ze fazzerland...

Is it fairly hassle-free to drive between countries in Europe? Do you have to go through customs or anything, or is there just a checkpoint on the highway and you hand them your passport?

Is it fairly hassle-free to drive between countries in Europe? Do you have to go through customs or anything, or is there just a checkpoint on the highway and you hand them your passport?

Not even that .. and now you only need one currency too !

Is it fairly hassle-free to drive between countries in Europe? Do you have to go through customs or anything, or is there just a checkpoint on the highway and you hand them your passport?

No, since +/- 10 years all the borders were lifted. Bye-bye customs. (not a good evolution IMHO)
So as long as you stay in the western European countries (with exception of Switserland, a few scandinavian countries and England) you won't ever be stopped at the border.
In some countries (like France), you'll have to pay for driving on the highway. In most countries it's free though. Oh, and keep in mind that fuel is A LOT more expensive over here!

Also, LTJBukem is correct. Since jan 1st of this year (almost) all EC countries have the same currency. We're all still getting used to it.

Oh, and Rob, french fries are not the Dutch's national dish! Croquets are! French fries are a Belgian speciality dammit !

I wish I could be there at this meeting, but the middle may or june would be very bad for me as this is the middle of my final exams. I sure hope there will be a meeting in july or something in the future!

I do live in France, and yes it is a Scandal to have to pay to drive on Highways.

Th'at's why when we tlak about we dont use the Word FREEWAY because for us it is not free at ALL.

Some old highways are free but almost all highways are not free and price depends of the recentness of it.

For the French fries , you can find many Fries sellers along the road and on beaches in the North of France like Le TOUQUET ....

But yes it is a Belgian speciality, but Parmentier a French Explorer brought to Europe the Potatoe ....

Th'at's why when we tlak about we dont use the Word FREEWAY because for us it is not free at ALL.


ROFL! Good one! Maybe you should start calling tehm PAYways! (Mmmm...that has a nice ring to it!)

But yes it is a Belgian speciality, but Parmentier a French Explorer brought to Europe the Potatoe ....

Ah, so you guys supplied the raw materials and we perfected the process. Sounds....Japanese! Damn!
Oh well, we'll allways have our beers!

Oh, and Rob, french fries are not the Dutch's national dish! Croquets are

OK but you can't deny the mayonaise thing

Rob

True! But we use at least equal amounts on our fries!

Croquets are!

aha ... that explains the McCroquet at Mcdonalds a couple of years ago when I was working there.

I love Holland and would seriously consider going to live there .. if they would have me !

Another good thing is lots of people ride bikes there because its so flat, so all the women are fit !!

Oh, now that could be the clincher.

I knew it. This thread should be mirrored under the "Spousal Approval" thread!

Yes, driving is easy, albeit high gas prices, and driving makes it easier to explore small towns (which to me is more than half the fun). A lot of the rental cars are diesel/gazole, reducing the bite a bit. Depending on your inclination, you might think about some train travel, too. RailEurope offers some multi-day "select" passes that let you pick any group of three countries (under their scheme, BeNeLux counts as one country), so for example you could hit Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany on a single pass. That can also help if airfares are hugely cheaper into one city (say take the plane to Paris or Frankfurt, then take Thalys/TGV or ICE train to Netherlands) and you maybe don't want to drive such a long haul.

I wish you good luck in your mission! I've been there!

1) Great country

2) Great People

3) Great Beer

4) Lots of empeg owners coming to the meet, people you know only on this BBS

5) Great beer

6) Hot summer weather

7) Great beer

8) Beautiful friendly girls (Damn, no - you're married )

9) Great beer - did I mention that yet?

10) Short distances to Berlin, Copenhagen, Brussels, Paris (all just a couple of hours by car)

11) You could visit London and travel on the Eurotunnel trains under the English channel (techo-dweeb's delight, believe me)

12) I'll be here

13) Holland has hundreds of really well-organised family oriented attractions, such as really beautiful open air swimming lakes, pools, attraction parks (not like Disney) and some of the most amazing indoor and outdoor museums in Europe (there's one museum with nearly a thousand examples of ships-in-bottles, and they show you how to make them).

14) Fast, clean, well organised public transport that's not too expensive and has all sorts of excursions and special tickets to the above mentioned parks.

15) 330 kph trains to Paris, Brussels, Bonn, and Berlin, and a special one that runs to EuroDisney.

16) A culture that is long lived and stable, oriented around the family, with much history around the place to see.

17) Festivals (Jazz, food, beer) all summer long are on just about every weekend all over the country

18) No snowboarding due to lack of hills above 1m.

19) The longest sea wall in the world, enclosing the largest inland sea in Europe (the Ijsselmeer, formerly the Zuider Zee)

20) Lots of clogs, hand made for you as you wait

21) A minature city in Den Haag covering almost 1 square kilometer with all the most famous landmarks of the Netherlands on show, including working trains, helicopters, all sorts.....

22) Lots of really good beer.

23) Did I mention the beautiful girls?

24) Amazing night life that "never closes"

25) Pancakes! Like you've never seen before, and your kids will never forget...

26) Short travel distances everywhere

27) Lots of cows - you'll never want for yoghurt, for example....

28) Windmills! Real ones! That actually work! That you can go inside and watch! (seven of them in a row at Kinderdijk)

29) The birthplace of the Compact Disk (Eindhoven)

30) The birthplace of European Unity (Maastricht - wonderful old walled town)

31) One currency (at last)

32) A good exchange rate against the dollar

33) Amazingly cheap return flights from the US if you book now....

34) The best owner's meet yet, with a Jazz band, treasure hunt in cars, Master classes in all things empeg, an evening barbecue, special competitions, special prizes, special people!

You'll love it, Tony - and I am sure that if everyone here knew you were coming, you would get an especially warm welcome from your friends on this board.

Come on, break open that piggy bank!

> Rob, can you give me a good reason why the Netherlands would be a good vacation destination for me and my family this year?

Well, there are two excellent museums, including the Van Gogh museum, a pretty decent restaurant selection, a quaint countryside, nice canals with funny little slanted houses, and probably the biggest percentage of English speaking natives anywhere on the continenent.

I really did like Amsterdam, though not really for any of those reasons.

Th'at's why when we tlak about we dont use the Word FREEWAY because for us it is not free at ALL.

ROFL! Good one! Maybe you should start calling tehm PAYways! (Mmmm...that has a nice ring to it!)

in the states, we have the same situation. freeways are indeed free to use. if you must pay to use the road, we tend to call them tollways in the midwest (chicago), or turnpikes out east.

here in chicago, the tolls were established to pay off the construction bonds over a 30-year timeframe. funny, though, after the 30-year period expired, rather than remove the tolls, they changed the law which granted limited authority to collect tolls. the tolls are now much higher, and to be collected indefinitely.

our state toll road authority is one of the most corrupt, patronage-driven organizations in the state. and that's saying something.

--dan.

33) Amazingly cheap return flights from the US if you book now....

indeed. i just got an offer from KLM for a return flight from chicago to amsterdam for $200, on a space-available basis. i may have to reconsider my summer vacation plans now.

--dan.

Maybe you should start calling tehm PAYways!

"Péage" is pretty close!

At least they're pretty nice. It sounded like a bigger controvery lately is whether to institute a uniform speed limit on them, wasn't it?

Péage" is pretty close!

Actually I believe Péage is the name of the tollbooth at which you'll have to pay when you want to use the tollway.

Actually I believe Péage is the name of the tollbooth

You'd know better than me! I came to think (wrongly?) they were synonymous. The (blue) toll road signs sometimes said "Péage" in italics, I thought, even if you aren't by the entrance (or at a point where you commit to the tollroad), and I thought I remembered getting directions from folks where they referred to it like "par la Péage" -- maybe shorthand/slang? (for dumb foreigners!) French road signs don't otherwise seem like they're big on brevity! -- "Vous n'avez pas la priorité!" versus. "Yield!"

My favorite? "Pensez aux enfants!" -- "Think of the Children!" Quite touching.

I also recall purchasing cheese wheels. This was all back when I had no money whatsoever, wandered around without benefit of hotels, and ate mostly whatever I could afford from pocket change. Prior to arriving, I was in London, wandering around the streets and found a street cart of some kind, and ate the fish and chips and it was a major grease pit in a handbasket. I tried to make it a point to try different meals everywhere, without knowing what was considered to be the national food. :-D But next time I will look out for and eat the chips and mayo .

Calvin

Put it this way, I usually go over the France/Belgium border at about 100mph... there's just a sign saying "Welcome to France" on the side of the motorway. Very underwhelming.

Hugo

Suis je le seul Français sur ce BBS ?