Holland 2018: It's Tulip Time Somewhere
Tired of the winter blues & looking to escape on a Spring getaway?? Do fields of colorful tulips by the thousands, boat rides on canals, spring festivals, quaint cafes w/outdoor seating, and windmills sound like a place you want to visit? If so grab your wooden clogs because The Netherlands is calling your name!
Living in NY the winters can be beautiful, but the cold dreary winter days have a tendency to drag on long past their welcome. Last year I decided the best cure for my winter blues was a spring get away. The Netherlands had been on our travel bucket list since 2017, when our AAA Home & Away Magazine arrived with a picture of a field full of beautiful tulips and a windmill on the cover! After reading about the famous Keukenhof Gardens in the magazine I knew I had to go to The Netherlands specifically to see the flowers in bloom. Yes you read that correctly, I literally planned an entire trip around the flowers, and let me tell you that was a little bit stressful because it was 100% out of my control. I had done a lot of research and found out that the tulips bloom between Mid April to early May, and of course it all depends on the weather and Mother Nature. Since we had no way of knowing what the weather was going to be and when the tulips would bloom we decided to play it safe and go right in the middle of the peak bloom time frame (3rd wk of April into early May). Although the tulip fields had not all been in full bloom we were not disappointed at all, as there were still thousands of tulips and flowers in bloom throughout the city and at the famous Keukenhof Garden!!
I will go into more detail about Keukenhof Gardens later in this post but one helpful tip I want to mention for anyone else who is crazy like me to plan an entire vacation around blooming flowers, sign up for the Tulips in Holland Newsletter before booking your trip. There is a link to sign up for the newsletter right on the main Keukenhof Gardens website. The newsletter sends weekly updates on the weather conditions, the tulip field conditions and bloom time predictions.
Where to Stay
Being that there are thousands of flower lovers like me out there, April-May is peak travel time in The Netherlands which means not only do the hotel & flight prices go up but, they also book up quickly! To save a little bit of money we decided to stay outside of Amsterdam in a small quiet city called Zaandam and it was the perfect location. To read more about where we stayed, click on the “Stay” section on the menu.
Where to Eat
One of our favorite places (where we ate breakfast frequently) was Sugar Stars, a cute European Cafe in downtown Zaandam. The cafe was a five minute walk from our hotel, which made it the perfect place to enjoy a nice breakfast and a cup of espresso before heading into Amsterdam. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, the price was great and the atmosphere was quaint, what more can you want?
Another cute cafe we ate breakfast at was De Koffiezaak which also offered a traditional dutch breakfast. It was also located on downtown Zaandam only a few minutes walking distance from our hotel.
The Mail Company in downtown Zaandam had nice indoor & outdoor seating and a large variety of food to choose from. The food was yummy and the staff was friendly.
Another good place to check out if you are staying in Zaandam is Manzo’s Bar-Bistro.
Heroes Music bar is a nice place to stop and have a drink in Zaandam. We stopped there a few times when we weren’t quite ready to head back to our hotel but wanted to enjoy a drink and relax after a day of exploring around Amsterdam. It was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.
While in Amsterdam be sure to check the cute & tasty little Italian restaurant called Frenzi. We enjoyed our lunch so much that we went back another day for dinner. We stumbled upon Frenzi as it was right off one of the Hop-on Hop-off canal boat stops. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating and we enjoyed sitting there relaxing watching the canal activity and all the bicyclists going by while enjoying a nice lunch and charging our phones!
And of course when in Amsterdam, don’t forget to check out at least one Coffee shop, even if you just go in to take a peek. I cannot remember the name of the coffee shop we stopped in but, it seems there is a coffee shop on every corner. All coffee shops sell coffee, food, beverages along with other stuff (pot) if that’s your sort of thing! ;) Yes Marijuana is tolerated in Amsterdam but remember to keep your pot smoking activities inside the coffee shops and only buy it from the coffee shop, or stores that specifically sell it and not from a stranger off the street!
Things to do in Amsterdam
Honestly, there is so much going on in Amsterdam with so many things to see and do that in an effort to keep this post somewhat short and not bore you all to death I won’t list everything but, here is a short list
#1 Explore the city of Amsterdam is a given when in The Netherlands! Considering the size of the city and what it’s known for, it was very clean, easy to navigate and friendly! Not at all what I was expecting, so you can say I was pleasantly surprised. Also there are a lot of transportation options such as bus, trams, ferry, walking, boat rides along the canals & bicycling. We did our normal routine and did the Hop-On Hop-Off Boat tour through the canals on our first day in Amsterdam. Our usual routine is to do a full loop of the tour to see the city and then use the Hop-On Hop-Off as our mode of transportation to all the things we want to see. One thing I wish we had done was take a canal tour at night.
#2 The Rijksmuseum is a national museum dedicated to history and art. It is located at the Museum square in Amsterdam close to the to the Van Gogh museum. You can save money and time by purchasing your tickets online.
#3 The Van Gogh Museum. *Tip* Buy your tickets in advance (like a couple days advanced). We did not know this and when we tried to go on our first day in Amsterdam we were told it was sold out for the entire week and that we should have bought tickets in advance!
#4 Anne Frank House- While we were there the house was being renovated so we could not take the tour and we decided not to go through the museum because the wait time was hours long. Again, it would be best to buy your tickets in advance to ensure it doesn’t sell out and you don’t have to wait for hours in line.
#5 Moco Museum- We were able to buy our tickets on site and did not have a long wait. The museum was well worth the $15 if you are a fan of Banksy’s work. There were 3 floors of paintings and art by several contemporary artists including 1 floor of Banksy.
#6 Be brave and daring and rent a bicycle! Bicycles are a major mode of transport in the Amsterdam. There are dedicated bike lanes, bike parking lots and even parking garages for bicycles. There are places where you can rent a bike for a few hours or for the entire day every where. We spent one afternoon riding our bikes exploring the areas around the city that were not as busy with pedestrian or bicycle traffic, since we wanted to take our time and not worry about being in the way or slowing other riders down. We also rode our bikes around the Het Scheepvaartmuseum (The National Maritime Museum)
#7 A’dam Lookout- The lookout gives you a 360 degrees bird’s-eye view of Amsterdam! You can go to the rooftop of this tall tower building and walk around, or enjoy a meal or coffee break in Madam Restaurant & Sky Bar. For those who like a little more adventure like myself, you can ride on Europe’s highest swing at the top of the tower. You swing over the edge of the tower at 100 meters (328 feet) above ground and the view does not disappoint!
#8 The Heineken Experience- Even if your not a big beer drinker, the brewery is still worth checking out! It is a self guided interactive tour through the world of Heineken. Throughout the tour you learn about the company’s history, the 4 natural ingredients used to make the beer, the brewing process, a tasting room and at the end of the tour you get to enjoy 2 Heinekens in their cool bar which offers fun interactive games such as draught the perfect Heineken competition! (Let me tell you I am not very good at it!) **Helpful Tip** While we were standing in line we used our phone to buy our tickets online and were able to book the very next tour so our wait time was only about 15 mins!
#9 Wander through Centraal Station (train station)- It is huge and has lots of different shops and cafes.
#10 Take a selfie in front of the famous “I Amsterdam” letters, the Royal Palace and Dam Square
#11 Walk through the Red Light District especially at night as there is a whole different atmosphere! **Helpful Tip** Do not attempt to take a selfie here or any pictures for that matter. It is best to leave your camera/phone in your pocket or purse. There are signs everywhere asking that you do not take pictures of the men/women in the windows and if caught your camera will be taken- and they actually enforce this as we saw many people lose their cameras/phones or were forced to delete the pictures. So bottom line walk around and look but be respectful and don’t take pictures!
Things to do Outside of Amsterdam
#1 If you are in The Netherlands between April-May the Keukenhof Garden is a MUST!! This is what I was most excited for and as I mentioned earlier I planned our whole trip around the gardens in bloom! I was a little worried Charlie would be bored as he was not nearly as enthusiastic about planning a trip around flowers as I was but, he really enjoyed walking around this amazing garden! Keukenhof also known as the Garden of Europe is one of the world’s largest flower gardens. The gardens are beautifully kept and the colors and patterns are different every year! To give you a better idea on how large this garden is and the amount of time, effort and pride that goes into maintaining it; 7 million flower bulbs are planted each year with 800 varieties of tulips (I didn’t even know there were that many types) and the flowers cover 79 acres!
It’s very easy to get to Keukenhof, you can drive if you rent a car or you can do what we did and book a tour which includes our entrance fee and a bus ride to/from the garden which you catch right outside the airport. The nice thing about the bus tour is you can stay as long as you want, as the buses leave every 30 minutes. With that being said there is no real time constraint and you can take your time exploring all the gardens have to offer.
**Tip** Don’t bother trying to buy tulip bulbs to take home on the airplane with you, chances are you will get stopped in customs and run the risk of having your flower bulbs taken away. DO order flower bulbs from Keukenhof or other flower markets that will ship the bulbs to your home. This will save you aggravation and hassle of going through customs, plus it’s one less souvenir to try to fit in your luggage.
#2 Zaanse Schans- Is a picturesque village filled with historic windmills and traditional green wooden houses, located in Zaandam (a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam, even quicker for us since we stayed in Zaandam) that smells like chocolate! That’s right, the entire town smells like chocolate, what could be better!? As soon as you step off the train you are greeted with the distinct smell of chocolate thanks to the nearby chocolate factory, trust me no one was complaining, if anything it made everyone want a piece of chocolate! Zaanse Schans is a self guided outdoor museum which is free! You can expect to see people walking around in regional costumes, model windmills, a cheese factory and interactive exhibits on chocolate making, wooden clog carving and pewter casting. It is pretty touristy and attracts thousands of visitors but well worth a visit. We got there pretty early in the morning so we were able to take a lot of pictures before the crowds showed up.
#3 Take a day trip to Rotterdam! We took the train into Rotterdam and spent the entire day exploring the city, which has a more industrial feel! Rotterdam is a major port city, so of course you’ll want to take the Harbour tour. It was a warm sunny day which made the Harbour tour all that more relaxing and enjoyable. There are a bunch of museums you can walk around, including the famous Cube house & museum. Market Hall is worth taking a walk through, we actually ended up enjoying delicious pizza for dinner and a waffle that tasted as good as it smelled for dessert.
#4 Take advantage of the trains which are very clean and timely and explore other cities. We did a little research and picked a few different cities that were close enough to be a day trip. The rail system was very easy to navigate.
The first city we went to was Haarlem which is a 15 min train ride from Amsterdam Central Station. Haarlem is a very pretty medieval city with cobblestone streets and winding canals. There is plenty of shopping, restaurants, bars and cafes. We made our way to the heart of the city, Grote Markt which just so happens to be one of the prettiest city squares in the country. Grote Markt regularly hosts festivals, markets and concerts. The day we went there was a carnival going on with all kinds of rides and food vendors which just added to the already fun atmosphere! You can’t miss Grote Kerk, a beautiful medieval cathedral dating back to the 14th century right in the city square. There is plenty to do in this city. Haarlem is known as one of the best shopping destinations in The Netherlands and it’s not hard to see why. The streets are lined with all kinds of boutiques, concept stores, restaurants, bars and cafes. We did a little shopping for souvenirs while we were here. We took a break and enjoyed a drink at a bar with outdoor seating right in the city square. It was so relaxing sitting in the sun under an umbrella and watching the city in motion. We actually made friends with 2 couples sitting at the table next to us who were on a Holiday from France. The best part is they did not speak English and we did not speak any French but, thanks to Google Translate we were able to have a conversation back and forth and a ton of laughs!
The second city we took a day trip to was Delft, home of the famous blue and white hand painted pottery (Delftware). Another beautiful medieval city with markets, shopping and of course winding canals. The train ride from Amsterdam Central to Delft was about 1 hr. When you get off in the train station in Delft make sure you look up at the ceiling as it is painted like the famous blue and white pottery, which i thought was pretty neat. There is also a large painted teacup in a field full of tulips when you walk outside the train station. Thursdays in Delft are better known as Market day. The city centre, known as ‘de Markt’ hosts a large market where you can buy fresh fish, bread, cheese, fresh flowers, all kinds of food, clothing, accessories, bicycles and more. The city square is lined with cafes, pubs and open-air terraces where you can sit and enjoy a lunch while still being in the heart of the activities. We found Delft to be less touristy, not nearly as busy and more relaxed. I don’t know if it was the time of day/year or if it’s always like that; either way it was a nice break from the fast paced city of Amsterdam, and has a more casual relaxed feel.
Take the train to the Beach! That’s right, we spent the day at Zandvoort beach which was only a 55 min train ride from Zaandam train station or 45 mins from Amsterdam Central station. We were very lucky and had nice weather with one day being in the high 70s so we took full advantage of this warm sunny spring day and spent it relaxing at the beach, along with the rest of The Netherlands. Seems like everyone took the day off from work to spend time at the beach as the trains were jam packed! To me a vacation is not a vacation unless I get to spend time relaxing on a beach with my toes on the sand and that’s exactly what we did. We walked the beach a bit, went in the ocean (only up to our knees because the water was COLD!) and we sat in the sand soaking up the warm sun while listening to the seagulls and waves crashing...it was a perfect day! We enjoyed a nice late lunch/early dinner at Thalassa, a restaurant right on the beach.
This was just a short list of things to do and cities to see. Amsterdam and the surrounding cities seem to always have something going on, so you will never be bored. There are also plenty of large tulip gardens to see besides Keukenhoff. You can even take a train in to Belgium if you want to explore another country. So what are you waiting for? Grab your passport and head to the Netherlands!
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