Bonaire

Bonaire, one of the so-called “ABC Islands” (along with Aruba and Curaçao), is located about 50 miles off the coast …

North Sea

The North Sea is a branch of the Atlantic Ocean, situated between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark,  Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France in northern Europe. As a so-called “shelf” sea, located …

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is an American-British cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation. It was founded in 1965, is incorporated in Bermuda, and is headquartered in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2018, …

Bonaire Flag

Adopted in December 1981, the flag of Bonaire features a large dark blue triangle in the lower right corner and …

Dutch Cuisine

Dutch cuisine is shaped by The Netherlands’ location within the fertile North Sea river delta of the  European Plain, giving rise to fishing, crop farming, …

120 Favorite UNESCO Sites, Part III (41-60) – In Danger

Armed conflict, war, natural disasters (such as earthquakes), pollution, poaching, uncontrolled urbanization, and unchecked tourist development all pose major problems …

120 Favorite UNESCO Sites, Part I (1-20) – Origin

UNESCO (or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of …

The Best of the WEST INDIES

Three major island “arcs” delineate the northern and eastern edges of the Caribbean Sea and make up what is known today as “The West …

The Rhine

The Rhine, one of the major rivers of Europe, begins in Switzerland and flows in a mostly northerly direction through Germany and the Netherlands, before finally …

Kura Hulanda Museum

Kurá Hulanda is an anthropological museum located in Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao, that focuses on the predominant cultures of …

The Best of the BENELUX UNION

The Benelux Union is an international politico-economic cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe, with the name being a portmanteau formed from joining …

Curaçaoan Flag

After Aruba adopted its own flag while still part of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao also received approval for its own flag in 1979. …

Aruban Flag

Adopted in 1976, and designed in part by vexillologist Whitney Smith (who originated the term in reference to “the study of …

Schiphol Airport (AMS)

Schiphol Airport, located 5.6 miles southwest of Amsterdam, is the main international airport of the Netherlands and is the hub …

Pullmantur Cruises

Begun in the 1990s and headquartered in Madrid, Pullmantur Cruises became the largest Spain-based cruise line, mainly marketing to Spanish …

Royal Caribbean International

Originally founded in Norway in 1968 as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, after merging with Celebrity Cruises in 1997, it has …

Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum (or Dutch “National Museum”), located in Amsterdam near the Van Gogh Museum, is dedicated to the arts and history …

The Dutch Flag

Although the original flag of the Netherlands was a horizontal triband of orange-white-blue (with the orange representative of William I, …

Canals of Amsterdam

The canals of Amsterdam are currently used as the main form of transportation around the city. The Dutch capital, also …

Historic Willemstad

Historic Willemstad is located in the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean. The island forms a …

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum, opened in Amsterdam in 1973, houses the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the …

Madurodam

Madurodam is a miniature park in The Hague, Netherlands and home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of …

Saint Martin/Sint Maarten

Saint Martin is a divided island in the Caribbean, divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Netherlands. It is the world’s smallest …

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House is a biographical museum, located on a canal in central Amsterdam in The Netherlands, dedicated to the Jewish …

Casibari Boulders

The Casibari rock formations in Aruba are clusters of huge tonalite rocks, located amongst cacti, which inexplicably rise up from …