World War II & Holland

Day 1: Schiedam & Rotterdam
Day 2:  Schiedam – Delft – Leiden
Day 3:  Leiden – Haarlem
Day 4: Haarlem to Zaandam
Day 5:  Zaandam – Amsterdam – Alphen a/d Rijn
Day 6:  Alphen a/d Rijn – Gouda
Day 7:  Gouda – Schiedam

The activities and excursions within this itinerary can be tailored to your specific requests. Do you cycle? You can! Would you rather play golf on any given day? That is possible as well. Perhaps you want a day or two relaxing on board, soaking in the surroundings with a good book and a glass of great wine (yes, there is a jacuzzi on deck)! Each and everyone, regardless of your interests, will find that this is the trip of a lifetime.

Day 1: Schiedam & Rotterdam
Please arrive in the early afternoon as there is much to do and see! Schiedam, situated on the outskirts of Rotterdam, is quaint and fascinating in and of itself.

Upon arrival on board, you will be greeted by the crew and enjoy a champagne and canape welcome. Once settled in, an afternoon trip to nearby Rotterdam is on the agenda.  You tread a once war-torn city, whose medieval center was bombed by Germans on May 14, 1940, and almost completely destroyed. The strategy was to hastened the Dutch surrender. As the city burned and people fled,  Holland was forced to surrender the next day.

You will visit The Destroyed City - a war memorial dedicated to those horrific days sculpted in bronze by Ossip Zadkine. The anguish captured is reminiscent of Picasso's Guernica, a painting immortalizing another German bombing and senseless carnage in Spain.  Zadkine commented about his work that it was, "A cry of horror against the inhuman brutality of this act of tyranny." 

You will also visit Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk, Rotterdam’s only surviving late Gothic building. After the bombing of Rotterdam in the Second World War, the image of the heavily damaged church and the reconstruction work that followed became a symbol of all that the city and its people had endured. Here you will see before and after pictures of the bombing of the church and city.

You will also visit the palatial City Hall Rotterdam, an edifice that survived the bombing but whose scars, the bullet holes, are still evident. A stop at Museum Rotterdam ’40-’45 Now transports you back in time, to the Rotterdam of May 1940. Personal stories, intense images, and dramatic sound immerse you as if you too lived the moment when life turned upside down.

Day 2:  Schiedam – Delft – Leiden
The morning will find you navigating to Delft. Breakfast and lunch will be on board and then disembarkation in Leidschendam. You will then experience an excursion to the Atlantikwall along the coast starting from Hoek in Holland with its Atlantikwall Museum and fortress. You will learn in chronological order about the history of Atlantikwall, bunker construction, labor, communications, and effects on the local population. You will gain an understanding of the structure of this line of defense as it was implemented here, and along with other major parts of the European coast. The Germans considered the fortification in Hoek to be the most important position in all of the Netherlands as it denied invaders access to the Rotterdam port and the land behind it.

If you prefer, we can offer a walking route (wandelroute) along the Atlantikwall Noordwijk.

Day 3:  Leiden – Haarlem
Today features a cruise through the beautiful lake district of Kaag. In the spring, you will have extra color as you navigate the tulip fields. The final destination is the spectacular town of Haarlem. After lunch, there is a scheduled visit to the Corrie Ten Boom House. During the Second World War, the Ten Boom home became a refuge, a hiding place, for fugitives and those hunted by the Nazis (estimated 800 Jews and refugees were saved). By protecting these people, Casper and his daughters, Betsie and Corrie, risked their lives. This non-violent resistance against the Nazi-oppressors was the Ten Boom's way of living out their devoted testimony of Christian faith and active social work in Haarlem.

From here you can walk through the beautiful streets of the center until you get to Ripperda Barrack buildings and past the Former House of Hannie Schaft (who was very active in the resistance during World War II). Her story is a fascinating and inspiring read.

Day 4: Haarlem to Zaandam
You depart from Haarlem via a Spaarndam lock and onto the big North Sea Canal until Zaandam, the mooring place for the night. After lunch, there is an opportunity to visit IJmuiden – full of points of historical interest such as bunkers, museums, monuments, and cemeteries. Fort Island IJmuiden (Dutch: Forteiland IJmuiden) is situated at the estuary of the Noordzeekanaal and is part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam. This sea fort island was built in 1885 as the most important advanced defence post of the entrance to Amsterdam. The beautiful, half underground fort is the biggest of the Defence Line and a UNESCO-World Memorial. During the Second World War, the Fort island was part of the Atlantikwall ( fortifications along the coast of Europe)  which explains the presence of the later built bunkers.

Day 5:  Zaandam – Amsterdam – Alphen a/d Rijn
You cruise through the heart of Amsterdam early in the morning to disembark and spend most of the day learning about Amsterdam and how it was impacted by the Second World War. There are a couple of options:

A)
Now converted into a museum, this is where Anne Frank lived in hiding with her family for two years. You will learn about the horrors of war and Jewish persecution as portrayed in this young girl’s diary. Through Anne’s eyes, one learns the history of the eight people in hiding and those who helped them. Also, on the agenda is a visit to the Verzetsmuseum or Dutch Resistance Museum, chosen as the best historical museum of the Netherlands. This tells the story of the Dutch people in the Second World War. From the 14th of May, 1940 to the 5th of May 1945 the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany. The choices and dilemmas facing the population became more and more far-reaching. How did Dutch people respond? Who resisted? Why and how? You’ll see, hear, and read fascinating stories about the exceptional, as well as about everyday life.

OR

B) Jewish Culture Quarter
The Jewish Culture Quarter is located in Old Amsterdam and was the Jewish neighborhood (Jodenbuurt) at the time of WWII. Several institutions are located here,  preserving the memory of past Jewish life and culture of the area. All these institutions are located in the vicinity of the Waterlooplein and the Plantage Middenlaan area. You can visit the Jewish Historical Museum, Portuguese Synagogue (one of the most beautiful synagogues in the world), Ets Haim Jewish Library, Ets Haim Livraria Montezinos, the world’s oldest functional Jewish library,  and the Hollandse Schouwburg, a theater which during the German occupation served as the concentration place for Jews before their deportation to the Nazi concentration camps. Today, it is the main Holocaust monument in the city along with Anne Frank’s House.

Also located here is the National Holocaust Museum but this is currently closed due to renovations.

Day 6:  Alphen a/d Rijn – Gouda
Gouda is your destination today.  Apart from being a mecca for cheese lovers, possible options here would include a visit to a Nazi concentration camp, Kamp Vught near ‘s Hertogenbosch. The camp was opened in 1943 and held 31,000 prisoners. 749 prisoners died in the camp, and the others were transferred to other camps shortly before the camp was liberated by the Allied Forces in 1944. After the war, the camp was used as a prison for Germans and Dutch collaborators. Today there is a visitors' center with exhibitions and the memorial Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught remembering the camp and its victims.

From Kamp Vught, there are three options.

A) Uden Cemetary (with 703 fallen allied soldiers from British Commonwealth) 

OR

B) Bevrijdende Vleugels/ Wings of Liberation Museum 
A museum with an impressive story about the period 1930-1945. Completely renovated and in a central location between Best and Son. The museum is located near a former landing-zone used on the 17th of September, 1944 during Operation Market Garden. In several halls, the occupation, the German repression, and the liberation of the Netherlands are told. Shown are vehicles, weapons, photographs, and 3D-movies.

OR

C) General Maczek Museum + Memorial on Polish War Cemetery in Breda
This museum is dedicated to the brave men and women of the 1st Polish Armoured Division who, under command of General Stanislaw Maczek, liberated parts of Dutch land from German occupation and oppression during 1944 and 1945. The Polish soldiers brought freedom and nourishment and gave the Netherlands the possibility to start the reconstruction of the country. As you return to Gouda, you will pass by the beautiful and very informative Biesbosch Museum with its freely accessible outdoor museum De Pannekoek.

Day 7:  Gouda – Schiedam
A very early morning cruise through Dutch countryside down the winding IJjsel through the port of Rotterdam and to the final stop in Schiedam. Guests have final breakfast aboard the Aurora during the cruise and in the late morning hours, you will disembark and be taken back to the airport/hotels of your choice.

• Aurora

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  Deluxe Class Motor Yacht

  Onboard the Aurora, an ultra-deluxe vessel, you can enjoy a unique bike and boat or luxury river cruise in style. Peppered with various activities, you will enjoy professionally prepared quality food, personalized service, and itineraries as unique as you are. Read More