What is there to say about being in one of the most beautiful places in the world? Okay, there are many 'most beautiful' places and so much depends on what you love. Keukenhof gardens is one of those 'most beautiful' places for me. Of course it is rivaled, or joined, by the Swiss Alps, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada and Monet's Garden. And there is Mykonos, sunset in Cascais, Portugal and Antarctica...and more I'm sure I have forgotten right now.
Keukenhof is just outside of Amsterdam and is open a few weeks in the spring. Predicting the blooming time is hard, depends on mother nature. So when planning a trip there, it's important to take that into consideration. I went when I could get a ticket, hoping and praying that the tulips would wait for me...and boy did they! My day in the garden was spectacular as you can see from the photos!
I'd heard that the best times are early when they open before the throngs of crowds arrive, both from cruise ships and from buses people can get at the Amsterdam airport. And the other good time is in the late afternoon when most of the tourists are gone. So I planned an early breakfast and had a taxi scheduled so that I would be there before it opened. I was there alone with the cleaning crew for a bit and then a man came with a big backpack and informed me he was a professional who has a season pass and sells his photos for a lot of money...funny. I told him I sold my photos too, but only as greeting cards. He made some comments about my camera and when the gates opened they let him in furst because they knew him. I already had my ticket that I purchased online so I followed him in. I thought it was pretty cool to be the 2nd one in the gardens! What stunning beauty I saw as I passed by the fountains at the entrance! The morning had been foggy so I was worried about the day, but a man I met at breakfast explained why it would be a great day and that the fog would clear off and it did. The gardens are huge, I read that they are almost as large as Disneyland...but all flowers! I never knew how many kinds of tulips there were! Every color and shape!
I had been to the gardens before as a tour on a cruise ship and the traffic to get there had been so bad that we only had one hour to see the gardens. That is when I made up my mind that one day I would go back and spend as long as I wanted to! And I did! I'd wandered quite a ways before the gardens started to fill up. I passed the PROFESSIONAl photographer once and he waved and chatted like we were best friends, funny I thought. I didn't even ask his name though. It was nice that I'd gotten so many photos before there were people everywhere and in the way of so many photos. I had heard there was a windmilll there and missed it the first time so I was determined to find it, and it took me quite while but with persistence and a lot of inqiries, I did find it.
I'd read there was sometbing called a whisper boat that quietly went through the flower fields and was lucky when I got to the ticket counter. The first boats were sold out but when I told the lady I was alone she was able to get me on the next boat. I had 30 minutes to wait and bought a hot stoopwaffle and sat on a bench to enjoy it and rest to enjoy it. I was next to a young man who was eating his own lunch, putting peanut butter on bread. I commented that that was a great thing to travel with. I never leave home without it! I have the individual containers though. We started talking and he was such an interesting man. He was traveling around Europe before he starts an art history program in Rome! A young lady walked up who was with him for the day. They had met at a hostel and she was from Australia. She is taking 6 months to follow all the festivals of Europe! She'd just started and they had met and been togther for the big Queen's day celebration. Her next stop is Pamplona, Spain and yes, she told me she was going to participate in the running of the bulls! We had such a nice visit, the 3 of us. Isaiah said that we had so much in common. I said I wasn't nearly as brave as either of them and he said I was there alone, and we all were traveling alone and knew the advantages of it. We had such a nice time and it meant a lot when Amanda gave me a big hug and wished me a wonderful trip. We alll exchanged email addresses with the promise to share photos of our journeys...wherever they take us. I'll look forward to seeing her photos of Spain especially. That chance encounter was so special, and I felt a surge of gratitude for meeting such kind young people who shared my desire to see and do it all! Ahh if I were younger, what things I might do. But now...no running with the bulls! A gentle meandering in beautiful gardens is enough of a thrill for this 'senior citizen'! In most places here, 60 is that step into seniorhood.
Walking away to the whisper boat was a mix of feelings. I do like traveling alone and all the opportunities it opens, and the chance meeting of like minds, although such different ages and interests, travel was our common interest and it was like a validation of sorts. As Canadian Isiah pointed out, we did all choose to go alone and seek out adventures in the world. I liked that. So (safe) adventure seeking Mitzi walked away to expereince a whisper boat ride through the flower field canals. Most fields were gone, but there were enough to get a real feel for the beauty of Holland. There was an excellent audio tour and it was fascinating, but many times I realized I'd quit listening and was just staring at my surroundings...I was on a boat in The Netherlands, floating past tulip fields! You know, the Mitzi who was NEVER going to leave the United States. That Mitzi had faced the challenge of international travel once again to make another dream come true...both my dream and my mother's dream. Many times she said she would love to see the tulips in Holland so this trip is for her too.
A bit of tulip info I did get from the boat ride..tulips originally came from Mongolia and then were in Turkey before making it to Holland. At one time there was something called tulipmania and tulip bulbs were sold for over 2000 euros EACH! The gardens started with 15 groups doing the planting and now there are 91 and they still have a waiting list for people who want to participate. Each year about 5 million bulbs are planted! The grass is redone each year also,for gardens that will open for about 6 weeks.
After the boat ride I wandered a bit more before returning to the hotel. I was exhausted and decided to take a nap and then head back. After 5 hours at the gardens I could barely stand, but after a nap for a couple of hours, I was great again and ready to go back. But there was a problem, there were no taxis available, it was a busy time. The young man at the reception desk didn't know anyone who could help so I went around the corner and asked the bartender if he knew anyone who could give me a ride there It was only about a ten minute trip. He started talking to the two people at the bar and they were speaking in Dutch and then told me that the man sitting at the bar was the manager and he had told the kid at the front desk to take me and he would cover for him. How nice was that!! We went out and the car was blocked in so he went inside and came out with a big smile on his face, the manager had given him the keys to HIS own car and the boy was delighted and joked that he could take me anywhere I wanted to go now! What an amazinng experience to have all of those people help me get back for a couple of hours before they closed. I made the time well worth it, more great photos and since I'd taken over 1200 photos I was offering to take people's photos for them. When you travel alone, there is no one to take your photo so you/I have to rely on the kindness of stranger to take a photo here and there of you. I realized it is the same for couples, families and groups, one is always out of the photo taking it.. So I offered to everyone who was taking a photo and there were a lot of appreciative people that day, having photos together that they wouldn't have had otherwise. It felt so good to be able to do that. The gardens close at 7:30 and about 6:30 it started thundering so by 7:15 I decided I'd pushed my luck as far as I should and it was time to call it a day,but what a day it was! I got a taxi back to the hotel and as I walked in the door of the hotel it started pouring! Yes my luck wiith weather had held out one more time!
d takled
I just couldn't resist the lure of the Dutch pancakes so off I went in the rain to try one for dinner. I had one that was bacon, which is more like our ham or canadian bacon, onions, mushrooms and cheese. Delicious! A lady wtih a family at the next table came over with a coupon like thing in her hand and talked to the server and then she told me the lady was buying me a beer. How kind! How could I turn down thaat offer? So I had a glass of Holland beer to go with my dinner pancake. The perfect end to the perfect day!
Keukenhof is just outside of Amsterdam and is open a few weeks in the spring. Predicting the blooming time is hard, depends on mother nature. So when planning a trip there, it's important to take that into consideration. I went when I could get a ticket, hoping and praying that the tulips would wait for me...and boy did they! My day in the garden was spectacular as you can see from the photos!
I'd heard that the best times are early when they open before the throngs of crowds arrive, both from cruise ships and from buses people can get at the Amsterdam airport. And the other good time is in the late afternoon when most of the tourists are gone. So I planned an early breakfast and had a taxi scheduled so that I would be there before it opened. I was there alone with the cleaning crew for a bit and then a man came with a big backpack and informed me he was a professional who has a season pass and sells his photos for a lot of money...funny. I told him I sold my photos too, but only as greeting cards. He made some comments about my camera and when the gates opened they let him in furst because they knew him. I already had my ticket that I purchased online so I followed him in. I thought it was pretty cool to be the 2nd one in the gardens! What stunning beauty I saw as I passed by the fountains at the entrance! The morning had been foggy so I was worried about the day, but a man I met at breakfast explained why it would be a great day and that the fog would clear off and it did. The gardens are huge, I read that they are almost as large as Disneyland...but all flowers! I never knew how many kinds of tulips there were! Every color and shape!
I had been to the gardens before as a tour on a cruise ship and the traffic to get there had been so bad that we only had one hour to see the gardens. That is when I made up my mind that one day I would go back and spend as long as I wanted to! And I did! I'd wandered quite a ways before the gardens started to fill up. I passed the PROFESSIONAl photographer once and he waved and chatted like we were best friends, funny I thought. I didn't even ask his name though. It was nice that I'd gotten so many photos before there were people everywhere and in the way of so many photos. I had heard there was a windmilll there and missed it the first time so I was determined to find it, and it took me quite while but with persistence and a lot of inqiries, I did find it.
I'd read there was sometbing called a whisper boat that quietly went through the flower fields and was lucky when I got to the ticket counter. The first boats were sold out but when I told the lady I was alone she was able to get me on the next boat. I had 30 minutes to wait and bought a hot stoopwaffle and sat on a bench to enjoy it and rest to enjoy it. I was next to a young man who was eating his own lunch, putting peanut butter on bread. I commented that that was a great thing to travel with. I never leave home without it! I have the individual containers though. We started talking and he was such an interesting man. He was traveling around Europe before he starts an art history program in Rome! A young lady walked up who was with him for the day. They had met at a hostel and she was from Australia. She is taking 6 months to follow all the festivals of Europe! She'd just started and they had met and been togther for the big Queen's day celebration. Her next stop is Pamplona, Spain and yes, she told me she was going to participate in the running of the bulls! We had such a nice visit, the 3 of us. Isaiah said that we had so much in common. I said I wasn't nearly as brave as either of them and he said I was there alone, and we all were traveling alone and knew the advantages of it. We had such a nice time and it meant a lot when Amanda gave me a big hug and wished me a wonderful trip. We alll exchanged email addresses with the promise to share photos of our journeys...wherever they take us. I'll look forward to seeing her photos of Spain especially. That chance encounter was so special, and I felt a surge of gratitude for meeting such kind young people who shared my desire to see and do it all! Ahh if I were younger, what things I might do. But now...no running with the bulls! A gentle meandering in beautiful gardens is enough of a thrill for this 'senior citizen'! In most places here, 60 is that step into seniorhood.
Walking away to the whisper boat was a mix of feelings. I do like traveling alone and all the opportunities it opens, and the chance meeting of like minds, although such different ages and interests, travel was our common interest and it was like a validation of sorts. As Canadian Isiah pointed out, we did all choose to go alone and seek out adventures in the world. I liked that. So (safe) adventure seeking Mitzi walked away to expereince a whisper boat ride through the flower field canals. Most fields were gone, but there were enough to get a real feel for the beauty of Holland. There was an excellent audio tour and it was fascinating, but many times I realized I'd quit listening and was just staring at my surroundings...I was on a boat in The Netherlands, floating past tulip fields! You know, the Mitzi who was NEVER going to leave the United States. That Mitzi had faced the challenge of international travel once again to make another dream come true...both my dream and my mother's dream. Many times she said she would love to see the tulips in Holland so this trip is for her too.
A bit of tulip info I did get from the boat ride..tulips originally came from Mongolia and then were in Turkey before making it to Holland. At one time there was something called tulipmania and tulip bulbs were sold for over 2000 euros EACH! The gardens started with 15 groups doing the planting and now there are 91 and they still have a waiting list for people who want to participate. Each year about 5 million bulbs are planted! The grass is redone each year also,for gardens that will open for about 6 weeks.
After the boat ride I wandered a bit more before returning to the hotel. I was exhausted and decided to take a nap and then head back. After 5 hours at the gardens I could barely stand, but after a nap for a couple of hours, I was great again and ready to go back. But there was a problem, there were no taxis available, it was a busy time. The young man at the reception desk didn't know anyone who could help so I went around the corner and asked the bartender if he knew anyone who could give me a ride there It was only about a ten minute trip. He started talking to the two people at the bar and they were speaking in Dutch and then told me that the man sitting at the bar was the manager and he had told the kid at the front desk to take me and he would cover for him. How nice was that!! We went out and the car was blocked in so he went inside and came out with a big smile on his face, the manager had given him the keys to HIS own car and the boy was delighted and joked that he could take me anywhere I wanted to go now! What an amazinng experience to have all of those people help me get back for a couple of hours before they closed. I made the time well worth it, more great photos and since I'd taken over 1200 photos I was offering to take people's photos for them. When you travel alone, there is no one to take your photo so you/I have to rely on the kindness of stranger to take a photo here and there of you. I realized it is the same for couples, families and groups, one is always out of the photo taking it.. So I offered to everyone who was taking a photo and there were a lot of appreciative people that day, having photos together that they wouldn't have had otherwise. It felt so good to be able to do that. The gardens close at 7:30 and about 6:30 it started thundering so by 7:15 I decided I'd pushed my luck as far as I should and it was time to call it a day,but what a day it was! I got a taxi back to the hotel and as I walked in the door of the hotel it started pouring! Yes my luck wiith weather had held out one more time!
d takled
I just couldn't resist the lure of the Dutch pancakes so off I went in the rain to try one for dinner. I had one that was bacon, which is more like our ham or canadian bacon, onions, mushrooms and cheese. Delicious! A lady wtih a family at the next table came over with a coupon like thing in her hand and talked to the server and then she told me the lady was buying me a beer. How kind! How could I turn down thaat offer? So I had a glass of Holland beer to go with my dinner pancake. The perfect end to the perfect day!
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