THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507150035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Travel
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, TRAVEL EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 233 lines
IF I SAY HOLLAND - or more properly the Netherlands, for Holland is but a part of the country - you think of . . . what?
Tulips and cheese, of course, and windmills and dikes and maybe even Hans Brinker and his silver skates. Wooden shoes, naturally, and bicycles, probably. Certainly painters whose works hang in places of honor in the world's great art museums.
How about grand palaces of royal design and moated castles of the lesser nobility?
That's Holland, too. Somewhat to my surprise I found here in this compact north European country a vast number of monumental mansions and magnificent manors with elegant gardens as well as gracious country houses - I'm not talking about double-wide mobile homes - of ultra-rich international merchants.
There are, according to the Netherlands Board of Tourism, approximately 40,000 castles, country houses and other monumental buildings that are protected under the Monuments and Historic Buildings Act in Holland.
Some of them date from the Middle Ages, when most of our ancestors - let's be honest about this - were living in wattle and daub huts. Others are more recent structures from what has been called the Romantic Revival period, when people who had more money than they knew what to do with built castles and such as they thought castles really SHOULD have been if the old-timers had just had more imagination.
This Romantic Revival took place in the late 19th century, and produced enormous towers of brick and stone with pixie-hat roofs and geometrical formal gardens, complete with strutting peacocks.
In America, this period arrived somewhat later. It manifested itself in what we call Disneyland in California and Disney's Magic Kingdom in Florida.
It's interesting how castles evolved from their first appearance in Holland in the 11th and 12th centuries. Originally they were both the residence of the local strongman - a ``lord,'' and his extended family - and also his administrative seat . . . or military base.
The 13th and 14th centuries marked the peak of the traditional castles. Towns sprang up around them, and mercenary armies were hired to defend them and beat up anybody who tried to invade the lord's holdings.
By the late Middle Ages (15th and 16 centuries), the castle dwellers - the lords and particularly their ladies - began to think more about domestic tranquillity. ``Why do we have to sleep on straw spread over cold flagstones?'' was a question that was often asked around the breakfast table. Grim stone towers gave way to creature comforts.
The palaces were often radically redesigned to the point that by the 17th century what was once a traditional castle now looked like no more than a country house. Still a very large one, mind you.
Today many of these castles of Holland - including Paleis Het Loo, the summer residence of the royal family of the Netherlands from 1686 to 1975 - are open to visitors. They're really wonderful vehicles of escapism.
You wander through the vast expanses of these places, usually with a guide, often as part of a rather large group but not always, and you're likely to find yourself saying, ``Yes! I could live here'' or maybe, ``Well, this IS a bit overdone to my taste, but . . .''
Het Loo palace is one that was a bit much for my taste, I'm afraid. Inside, anyway. But that was the point of a royal residence, I suppose. The display of all their ``stuff'' as symbol of their status and that of their country.
From the outside, it's a magnificent, pink-beige brick structure with sprawling symmetrical wings and a Versailles-syle formal garden set in a wooded park near Apeldoorn, about an hour east of Amsterdam.
It was built for William, Prince of Orange, and his wife, Mary Stuart, in 1685.
If those names are slightly familiar, they are the pair the English hired to be king and queen of that country after the English had overthrown James II for being Catholic. Later, Virginia Colonists named a college after them in a town named after William.
Dutch royals spent much time at Het Loo until the recent reign of Queen Wilhelmina, who turned the estate over to the Dutch people as a state museum. Extensively renovated to its original 17th century state, the many rooms open for tour paint a picture of royal domestic life and taste over more than three centuries. There's an interesting collection of royal carriages, hunting coaches, sleighs and old automobiles on display in the vast stables area.
Castle Rosendael is one of those castle-in-name-only places where I could easily live - if the last owner, W.F.T. Baron van Pallandt, hadn't left the estate to the Gelderland Countryside Association at his death in 1977. They fixed it up marvelously and have had both castle and grounds open to the public since 1990.
The fireplace looked natural, homey. There were only four of us - two Americans, two Dutch - on the guided tour that lasted an hour. The guide spoke in Dutch first, then gave us Americans the highlights in English. (In other castles, English-speaking visitors often have to make do with a printed handout explaining tour features.)
Rosendael had been occupied since 1314 by counts and dukes and barons, the oldest part of the present structure, practically surrounded by a moat, is the keep, or tower, rebuilt after a fire in 1412.
The extensive gardens, once in French formal style, were re-landscaped and modified to an English landscape syle in 1836, complete with ornamental, shell-encrusted fountains spaced throughout the park-like setting.
One of the fountains contains what the Dutch call ``Bedriegertjes'' which roughly translates to ``funny things.'' The funny thing is when the guide turns a handle and water squirts up and around unsuspecting visitors from dozens of little nozzles hidden in the pavement.
Castle De Haar, the largest castle in the Netherlands, is a whimsical monument to the Romantic Revival. It is a place that would do Disneyland proud. The site has been inhabited since about A.D. 1000 and has been in one family since the 14th century - the present owner is Thierry, Baron van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar - but the present structure is less than 100 years old.
The family employed the famous Dutch architect P.J.H. Cuypers, who designed Amsterdam's Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, to build the dream castle. It took 200 workmen and artisans from 1892 to 1912 to complete the job.
The original castle was built in the mid-13th century, then besieged, captured, destroyed and rebuilt several times. At the end of the 19th century, there was only big, romantic ruins left. In order to create sufficient room for the 250-acre park surrounding the castle, the entire village of Haarzuilens was relocated. Money was obviously no object. The builder baron was married to Helena de Rothchild, which in Europe means money.
So that the landscape would have a proper look from the start, 7,000 trees that were at least 30 years old were uprooted from woods east of Utrecht and replanted on the grounds.
While the castle complex, which includes a separate little church, was designed to resemble the strongly idealized appearance of a medieval residence of nobility, it is outfitted with all the modern conveniences of about 1900 - electricity, an elevator, hot and cold running water, 30 bathrooms and central heating.
The vast entrance hall - neo-Gothic or high ostentatious, depending on your point of view - is something to behold. And something else again to describe. It is at least four stories high with an arched roof. There is a lot of intricately carved limestone balconies and stained glass that in places looks as if it came from a medieval cathedral and in others as if it were the product of Tiffany's studio.
The ballroom, with a gallery carved out of limestone for musicians, is a showcase of opulence, a museum of valuable acquisitions, a barrage of dark colors that don't go well together and clashing patterns from ceiling to velvet wallcovering to carved wood wainscoting to parquet pattern floors.
The Knights' Hall, with enormous chandeliers of iron and brass, is the family's living room when they are in residence, and I suppose of all the rooms it seems the most livable - if you like uncomfortable furniture.
All in all, De Haar is the spectacle it was intended to be. The surrounding gardens, filled with roses of every hue, make the place particularly appealing.
At least three other Dutch castles that I visited would be worth a tour.
Castle Doornenburg is an imposing, moated medieval fortress with adjacent stables, cobbled courtyard and cafe, all walled-in. It's set in open pastureland between Arnhem and Nijmegan in the region of Gelderlands.
Castle Hoensbroek is a battle-ready fortification near Maastricht that is almost as large as De Haar but a bit more authentic-looking as a defense-minded moated castle. There's a nice restaurant on the grounds beside the moat.
Muiderslot is probably Holland's most famous castle if only because it is located on the Zuider Zee less than an hour from Amsterdam and the destination of many tour buses.
Located at the mouth of the Vecht river, the castle was built in 1280 by Count Floris V. It is almost square with round corner towers and surrounded by moat. It's a fully furnished museum, where there are frequent exhibitions of falconry.
In Holland it is also possible to dine and sleep in style in establishments fit for nobility - with an appropriate upscale pricetag. I sampled several.
I dined at the Amstel Hotel's Michelin one-star restaurant La Rive. Marvelous, of course. Michelin is very particular about its stars. The hotel, operated by the Inter-Continental chain, was originally built as a nobleman's Amsterdam residence, but quickly became a hotel in 1867. It was closed from 1990-92 for extensive renovation and has reopened to accommodate such royalty as the Rolling Stones.
At the edge of Nijmegan I stayed at the five-star Hotel Kings Residence. It's a small place, fit for a king's hunting lodge perhaps, but built at the turn of the century by Baron Eugene van Rijckevorsel van Kessel to accommodate his guests.
In the south Netherlands town of Kerkrade, near Maastricht and the ancient German city of Aacen, is the Restaurant Hotel Chateau Erenstein, which is a restaurant and a hotel in two different buildings.
The restaurant is housed in a magnificent 13th century moated chateau in a parklike setting. Across the road is the hotel, formerly called De Brughof. It is a sprawling Limburg farmhouse dating from 1713 that has been radically refurbished into a quality hotel.
At the Hague, the Netherlands' administrative center (Amsterdam is considered the capital), I stayed at the renowned Hotel Des Indes. This remarkable place in the heart of the city, which has hosted the likes of Mata Hari, Cecil Rhodes, Czar Nicholas II, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, Dwight Eisenhower and Haile Selassie.
Another Inter-Continental where the service is impeccable, this place was built in 1856 by Baron van Brienen van de Groote-Lindt en Dortsmunde, personal advisor to King William III. The baron lived only five minutes away, but wanted a larger place, closer to the action, to hold his numerous parties.
After the baron died, the structure became a hotel in 1881 with 120 rooms and the incredible luxury of a bathroom on each floor. Of course there have been changes since then. There are now but 76 rooms, and some of the bathrooms are larger than the rooms themselves. And no two are alike. ILLUSTRATION: STEPHEN HARRIMAN PHOTOS
INSET: A lion decorates Parleis Het Loo, a royal residence until
1975.
BELOW: Castle Rosendael, which dates to 1314, has extensive
gardens.
Castle De Haar, built in the Romantic Revival style, is the largest
castle in the Netherlands. The site has been inhabited since A.D.
1000.
TRAVELER'S ADVISORY
Getting there: Martinair Holland, which bills itself as ``The
other Dutch airline'' (and is partially owned by KLM), offers
no-frills, non-stop service between Newark and Amsterdam on Tuesdays
and Saturdays for as low as $498. That may be the best
trans-Atlantic bargain around. Originally a charter service,
Martinair operates regularly scheduled flights from eight other U.S.
gateways (including Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando) with
a modern fleet of 747s and 767s. Info: (800) 627-8462.
Getting in: U.S. citizens need only a passport. Arriving in (and
departing from) Amsterdam is particular pleasure. And International
Air Transport Association survey rated Amsterdam Schiphol
(pronounced SKIP-OL) highest among 31 gateway airports in Europe and
North America in ``overall passenger convenience.''
Getting along: Nobody speaks Dutch expect the Dutch, so they have
long been a multi-lingual people. A global survey featured in
Newsweek magazine found that Dutch teenagers' vocabulary, fluency
and confidence in using English exceeded that of many of their
American counterparts. English is widely spoken.
Getting around: In a country about half the size of Maine,
nothing is very far away. Trains and buses seem to go almost
everywhere, every few minutes. I used a rental car for the second
time in Holland and found it the best way for leisure,
off-the-beaten-path touring; Dutch roads are particularly well
signposted. Car rental rates begin at about $140 per week, unlimited
mileage. In Holland, cycling is a way of life, with more than 14
million bicycles on Dutch roads (including 9,000 miles of safe cycle
paths). Bikes may be rented at reasonable rates in practically every
town and village.
Getting info: Try a local travel agent first. The Netherland
Tourist Board in New York has information on transportation, dining,
lodging (from castles to B&Bs), touring and events as well as
special-interest and regional brochures; call (212) 370-7360.
by CNB