March 29 Amsterdam Keukenhof Gardens

Four hours of fabulous floral overload as our tour guide Ben hurried us through the first pavilions to the farthest (Beatrice Pavilion I think it was called) to start the tour surrounded with orchids and other exotic species. Once orientated we were left on our own to meander and enjoy on our way back to the entrance.
The garden just opened the previous weekend and is only open for 8-10 weeks each year...crocus-daffodils were blooming in the fields and throughout the gardens, but it was too early for the tulips other than in the pavilions. The pavilions are a showcase of the various growers' varieties and are a riot of color and creativity.  All kinds of tulips, crocus, lilies, daffodils, etc. along with creative ways to grow and display the flowers.
Dotted throughout the gardens are the bulb sellers kiosks...in October I will expect to receive about 175-200 bulbs in nine plus varieties to dress up my yard for next spring.

The park has beautiful formal gardens, tree and floral lined walkways, sculptures, fountains, waterways, bridges, birds/ducks, lovely niches of nature...all in a a beautiful and relaxing experience.  Though the fields were not seas of color it was a great time to enjoy the spring sunshine, natural beauty of the gardens and without the crush of crowds that will soon be swarming the area.

Photos: Top - bed of beautiful crocus flowers; right - tulips the size of dinner plates, a show of new floral developments by the growers that may be a few years before commercially available; below the Kuekenhof Gardens windmill and the Tree Hugger sculpture that bring a chuckle to all who see him.

In the late afternoon we headed via the freeway and along picturesque rural roads out to Volendam on what used to be the Zuider Zeas, and inlet ot the North Sea, but with land reclamation along a 19 mile dam/causewaz it is now a freshwater lake called IJselmeer. Volendam went from a quaint fishing village and favorite of many landscape artists to the country's second largest tourist destination.  It is very quaint and picturesque but after the long hours wandering the gardens I only had enought energy and time for a quick stroll around the harbour area.

Seems the old men gather at the ice cream stand, rather than the coffee shop, in Volendam to check all is well in the world...scolding children, catching up on the days news as workers return home and discussing who knows what as they chain smoke.  Thankfully the ship is smoke free other than a few restricted areas topside.  We've become spoiled by our relatively smoke free environments in Canada and that is definitely not the case in Europe cafes and public places.

Photo: Full size bronze figure of a woman in traditional costume looking out to sea, waiting for the fishing boats to return to Volendam; below the bird mimics the statues waiting, looking out to sea stance.