The Savage Traveler: Tulip Time River Cruise Day 7 & 8

Fri. Apr. 11: What can one say about the magnificent Keukenhof Gardens?!?! What began as a small "Kitchen Plot" to entertain a randy princess who had married 5 times before her brother told her to knock it off and find something else to do, is now an 80 acre area covered with hyacinths, daffodils, blooming trees, fritillaries and, mostly, tulips of every color and type. About 100 growers in the area donate over a million bulbs ever year to plant here. The garden is open for just 8 weeks every spring and then all the bulbs are torn up and destroyed. Even the grass is replanted every year. Our guide told us that last year by this week there were no flowers and the grass was brown because of their harsh late winter. Just last week she visited in rain and hail. But this day was absolutely magnificent. The clouds burned off to reveal a perfectly blue sky and temperatures in the low 60s. We had a short orientation tour and then we had the rest of our time to wander and enjoy the orchid pavilion, the windmill, other pavilions, a maze, and acres and acres of beds. Surrounding the whole area are fields of tulips and hyacinths so we got to see the brilliant stripes of color as we approached and again as we left. Our bus returned around noon but we had the option to stay until 2:15 and take the late bus back, which we did. All four of us had brought cheese rolls with sliced cheese and some fruit so we did fine with missing lunch. The way we have eaten all week we could probably stand to miss many meals! We walked our feet off and returned to the bus entrance in time to enjoy a cold beer before climbing back on the bus to return to the ship in Amsterdam. Then it was time to begin packing and preparing for disembarkation on Saturday.

All of the above are fields around the formal garden

Daffodils, frittilaries, and varieties of tulips along the stream

Peggy beside a vibrant tulip bed in the Garden

The beds within the Garden proper go on and on and on

This bed is supposed to be Canal houses beside the canal in Amsterdam

Sadly, this shows them mowing down the flowers so that the bulbs will receive all the solar energy

Sat. Apr. 12: We could afford to take our time in the morning because we didn't have to have our bags in the hallway until 9:00. Poor Kris and Heidi had to be up and off the ship by 7:30 so it was an early morning for them. We had said our good-byes the night before so, after closing the bags, we got down to have breakfast around 8:15 and then hung out in the lounge, saying good-bye to some of our new friends, until 10:00. It was a short walk to the Central station to catch the #9 Tram. Following Otto's directions it dropped us about a minute's walk from the B&B Bloom, which Kathy Bossen had recommended to us. Otto was there to greet us and, after dropping our bags in the converted garage-apartment, he gave us coffee and maps and an orientation of what we might want to do. The apartment has a small living space with a kitchen and seating area and bathroom with shower downstairs. We climb a ladder up to the loft bed with shelving and a TV. It will be a very comfortable place to stay and they furnished us with bread, cheese, fruit, wine, beer, sausage, cookies, and chocolates, along with coffee for the espresso machine. We have use of two bicycles and two Museum passes which helps considerably with the cost of our stay.

Peggy outside B&B Bloom

After freshening up we headed across town to the Museum District about 30 minutes ride away. On our way we stopped by a nearby park to enjoy our lunch of cheese rolls and apples from the boat. We decided to just visit the Rijks Museum and see nearly a thousand years of paintings, sculpture, and other art pieces. The museum has reopened recently after a ten year renovation so we were lucky to be able to visit it and enjoy some of Rembrandt’s, Vermeer’s, and Van Gogh's most famous works. At the end of the afternoon we wandered our way back to the B&B, at one point walking the bikes several blocks through a market area. It was a partly sunny day, breezy and somewhat cool, but we enjoyed it all immensely. After a beer at the B&B we wandered a few blocks around the area to get our bearings and see the shops. Then we walked back to the same nearby park to have dinner at the old manor house restaurant that is the last remaining Estate House in Amsterdam. Otto had said it wasn't too expensive but we spent 65 Euros on two entrees and one dessert with nothing but tap water to drink! Getting used to Amsterdam's idea of "reasonably priced" will be hard and I think we'll start enjoying our big meal at lunch and then snack on cheese, bread and sausage in our room for dinners. Tired from our long day of exercise we relaxed for the evening, reading and writing.