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DUTCH MASTERPIECE

Day 1 - Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 - Arrival in Amsterdam, Holland. You have landed in a country unlike any other in the world! The tale which will unfold for you is of astonishing contrasts: Calvinist rigor cohabiting with great tolerance and even permissiveness; a kingdom with fiercely democratic traditions; great wealth modestly understated. It's also a tale of astonishing feats of an industrious, ingenious people. For centuries this tiny nation of seafaring traders played a leading role in world history. It wrested 40 percent of its territory from a hostile sea, and in Europe's most densely populated area it is capable of producing a healthy agricultural surplus. Holland is quaint and scenic, yet it is also worth visiting because it may have many of the answers an increasingly overcrowded world needs for survival. At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)

Day 3 - Amsterdam. Morning sightseeing of the capital with a Local Guide includes a CANAL CRUISE along gabled merchant houses and humpback drawbridges reminiscent of the Golden Age, and a visit to the fabulous RIJKSMUSEUM with its priceless paintings by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters. Also visit a major DIAMOND CENTER to appreciate how a rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel. In the late afternoon, why not join an optional excursion to the famous fishing village of Volendam" (B)

Day 4 - Amsterdam - Aalsmeer - Giethoorn - Frisian Lake District - Epe. Begin the day with a visit to the fascinating AALSMEER FLOWER AUCTION. Then start your exciting tour around famous IJsselmeer and stop in Hoorn, birthplace of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, considered to be founder of the Dutch commercial empire in the Dutch East Indies. In Hoorn the first large fishing net was made in 1416, marking the beginning of a flourishing industry. Drive through the fertile polders (reclaimed land) of North Holland to the 19-mile Barrier Dam, which since 1932 has shut out the North Sea and has transformed the saltwater Zuiderzee into the freshwater IJsselmeer. The dam over which you drive is part of an incredible system of 1,200 miles of dikes, dams, and dunes built over the last 900 years to protect the part of Holland that lies below sea level. Welcome to Friesland, home of Pieter Stuyvesant and Mata Hari! A scenic drive through the Frisian Lake District past Makkum, renowned for its luxury yacht building and pottery, and Workum brings you to Giethoorn, the real "Venice of the North." This rural paradise of traditional farmhouses can be explored by BOAT through the canals, which were dug in the past to transport peat. Detour through the rustic village of Staphorst, whose inhabitants still live according to strict Calvinist principles, before arriving at your hotel in the densely wooded, peaceful Veluwe area, where the Dutch like to spend their holidays. (B,D)

Day 5 - Arnhem Area. The highlight visit this morning is to the Royal Palace of HET LOO and its superb formal gardens. Hear about the history of the country's popular ruling family. In the Hoge Veluwe National Park visit the KRÖLLER MÜLLER MUSEUM, which houses an important collection of paintings, sculptures, and some of Van Gogh's masterpieces. In the late afternoon visit the AIRBORNE MUSEUM in Oosterbeek, where you relive the heroic and tragic events of World War II celebrated in A Bridge Too Far. (B,D)

Day 6 - Arnhem Area - Zeeland - Rotterdam. After a morning visit to the country's only surviving PEWTER FACTORY in Leerdam, journey westward through North Brabant to Kinderdijk, where you can admire a whole row of windmills together. Next, enter beautiful Zeeland, where geometric fields, tidy orchards, and neat rows of poplars stretch to the horizon. Take a pleasant walk in the picture-book port of Veere, once an important wool-trading center. Continue to the Storm Surge Barrier, where you hear about the world's greatest undertaking in hydraulic engineering. Begun in 1953, when a savage North Sea storm killed 1,800 people, and completed in 1986, the Delta Project is a stunning demonstration of what a nation can achieve if it focuses its energies on a vital task. From here you will enter Rotterdam. Your orientation shows that this city, which was leveled by German bombs during World War II, now has a modern, high-tech look and boasts the world's busiest port. (B,D)

Day 7 - Rotterdam - Amsterdam. After a visit to the historic center of Delft, call at the ROYAL DELFT POTTERY FACTORY with its magnificent collection of hand-painted earthenware pieces. You also see skilled craftsmen at work. Proceed to The Hague, seat of the Dutch government and the International Court of Justice, for an orientation drive. Next, continue to the famous bulbfields of South Holland. Listen to the incredible tale of 17th-century Tulipomania and visit the extraordinary flower park of KEUKENHOF (departures 0405-0506 only) before returning to Amsterdam. Departures 0510-0913, 1004 visit ANNE FRANK HOUSE instead. Tonight, you may wish to join an optional dinner excursion to celebrate the success of your Dutch vacation. (B)

Day 8 - Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)