Giethoorn – The Venice of Holland!

Dear Steemit friends,

In my first article (not considering my introductory article here), I would like to share my experience of being in a fairyland! That is Giethoorn.

When I first saw images of Giethoorn, I almost immediately fell in love with the place. Undoubtedly, I wanted to go to this car-free village of Holland. Yes! It is a car- free village and its waterways make it easier to sightsee the village by boat.

Due to our long journey the previous day and the not-so-ideal weather, we almost thought of delaying our plan of visiting Giethoorn, but the beauty of village and excitement of seeing such an incredible landscape took over our thoughts.

After having breakfast, we took our roadmap and started our day trip to Giethoorn from its neighbor village - Nejeeven. As soon as I entered the village, I was startled by its jaw-dropping beauty!

Giethoorn is a small village in the province of Overijssel, the eastern part of Netherland that has about 3000 inhabitants. After the flood that occurred during the 10th century, hundreds of goat horns were discovered here. Hence the village was once called Geytenhorn originates from the word gietehorens (goat horns) that later became Giethoorn.

The village has waterways wherein you can sail by boat while exploring the place. Footpaths beside waterways are for those who like to tour the village by foot or bicycle.

The village also has beautiful gardens in front of thatched roof houses some dating back to 18th century, many restaurants that offer delicious food and few museums.

There are three museums (Museum De Oude Aarde, Museum Gloria Maris and Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus). We had managed to visit two of them (Museum Gloria Maris and Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus).

Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus has an authentic Dutch farm with fisherman’s cottage and some boathouses.
Museum Gloria Maris has some brilliant collections of sea world. It also has beautiful ornaments made of pearl, coral, shell some home decors which are also for sale!

Have you noticed cute little wooden bridges right in front of houses? The houses are connected to the mainland by these wooden bridges and there are about 170 of them. They add on to the beauty of Giethoorn I feel!

We visited Giethoorn during early spring when flowers just started blooming. Nevertheless, you can visit this place throughout the year, because each season is beautiful in its own way. As the summer falls, the village turns vibrant with colorful flowers and during winter, canals are frozen. You could even enjoy ice skating.

View from one of the wooden bridges.

If you are in Amsterdam and want to be away from hustle and bustle of the city to experience some calm, peaceful and relaxed outing, Giethoorn is a perfect place for you!
When I visited Giethoorn last spring, there were very few tourists who were sightseeing around the village and as the day passed, we were walking around all by ourselves except for quacking ducks and chirping birds beside our footpaths!

How to get there:

The Village is not too far from Amsterdam. It takes just about 2 hours to reach this picturesque Giethoorn from Central Amsterdam.

We had hired a car from Amsterdam and drove there the previous evening. It roughly took about 1 hour 45 minutes.
There are also few tour agencies that conduct one day trip to Giethoorn along with few other tourist attractions

If you are traveling by public transport, there are few trains from Amsterdam Central to Mappel. After Mappel you should take an intercity train and then bus to reach Giethoorn. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you have planned a long Netherland trip and would want to enjoy a long countryside view from the window pane, as it may take 5-6 hours of journey to reach Giethoorn.

Where to stay:

We started our drive late evening and stayed in an Airbnb room that is in the neighborhood of Giethoorn called “Nejeeven”.
There are few B&B rooms, Airbnb, resorts available in Giethoorn to stay overnight.

Visiting Giethoorn was one of the best parts of my Netherland trip. After living few years in a metropolitan city like Bangalore, it meant a lot to me. I never thought a place like this would exist. Calm, close to nature, great countryside view altogether I am so happy I got to see such an incredible village. If you are traveling Netherland, I highly recommend you to visit Giethoorn.

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