Welcome Back to Miami, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines!

Because Miamians define wintery weather as any temperature below 70 degrees, it’s notoriously difficult to prod them to visit northern climes. The lone exceptions often being boozy weeks at a European ski resort.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has luckily provided Miamians with a strong incentive to “go north” and visit one of Europe’s most charming cities.

From left, Henne Schuwer, ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States (center) and Miami-Dade Aviation Department Chief of Staff Joseph Napoli to his left along with KLM and MIA representatives.

Starting this November, KLM will fly direct from Miami to Amsterdam. To celebrate this new travel route launch, KLM held a cocktail party at 1 Hotel South Beach on Miami Beach on November 02, 2016. In attendance were officials from Miami International Airport, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and the Dutch government.

The rumors are true: Dutch people tend to be tall. And blonde. And, well, beautiful. That unscientific conclusion is based only on our observations from the soirée, but if the shoe fits, stereotype it.

Amsterdam obviously offers far more than leggy blondes. Its appreciation for art only begins with Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Anne Frank’s home is there. It is one of the best places in the world to shop for a diamond. The Dutch are some of the friendliest and open-minded people in Europe. You can peer into South Florida’s possible future as the Dutch are considerably further ahead than we are in contingency planning for climate change.

We will leave it to you to research what else makes Amsterdam a tourist draw but suffice to say, a trip there will make you wonder why it took so long to get Amendment 2 on the 2016 ballot in Florida.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines receives water cannon salute at MIA.

A trip to Amsterdam typically involves a layover in a travel hub like London or Paris, but KLM’s new service allows a South Floridians access to truly a remarkable city. Incidentally, Miamians can thank an ingenious Twitter campaign started by Dutch DJ Sied van Riel for this new route.

While touring South America, Mr. van Riel discovered he had no direct route home once he entered the United States. An inquiry to KLM led the airline to offer van Riel passage on a passenger jet provided he could fill the jet to capacity within a matter of days. Voila: a twitter campaign was born. When KLM saw how high the demand for a Miami to Amsterdam route was, they decided to launch regular service. Supply and demand theory at its finest.

On a final note, if you want to really posh it up, you can fly a Dreamliner to Amsterdam out of New York City as well. However you decide to go, Amsterdam is a mere overnite trip now with minimal hassles.

Through June 4, 2017, KLM will operate three weekly flights from its Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam to Miami on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays on Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which feature 30 seats in World Business Class and 213 seats in Economy Class.

Did we mention the tulips in the spring?

_Daedrian McNaughton | Premier Guide Miami