Visiting Amsterdam

Amsterdam has something that will appeal to every visitor. With Europe’s largest historical inner city Amsterdam is easy and comfortable to explore without becoming overwhelming.  

1. First stop: Stop by the Amsterdam Tourist office to purchase your I-Amsterdam City Card. Included is a Smart Card for free public transportation, free admission to some of the most popular attractions, discounted offers on other attractions and restaurants. It is available for one, two or three days. 

2. Second Stop: Near the tourist office is the Holland International

Canal Cruise dock. The one hour boat tour of the canals offers an excellent overview passing by mansions, churches and warehouses from Holland’s Golden Era. 

3. Old Church: The city’s oldest monument and first parish

church is Oude Kerk. Admire the beautiful stained glass windows in the Lady Chapel, the 1724 organ, and look for the grave of Saskia, Rembrandt’s wife, who is just one of the many people buried in the church floor.

4. Church in the Attic: The chapel is located on the top floor of what was once a private home of a wealthy Catholic merchant named Jan Hartman. Catholic Mass was outlawed in Amsterdam in 1578 when the city became Protestant. However, Protestant authorities tended to be tolerant of private Catholic worship as long as it was kept hidden.

5. Anne Frank: Deeply moving is the story of Anne Frank who

with her family and the Van Pels Family remained hidden from the Germans for 25 months during World War II. Only her father survived the war. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp at the age of 15 just weeks before the camp was liberated.

6. Van Gogh: The Dutch have more than their fair share of famous artists including Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Vincent Van Gogh.  The Van Gogh Museum has the most comprehensive collection of his work.  Works of other artists are also on display. 

7. Family: From a zoo to adventure lands to boat rides to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum there is plenty to keep families occupied for days.  However, not to miss is NEMO, the science and technology center.  Besides the hands-on activities there are great views from the deck of the ship-like structure. 

8. Bols: Discover the world behind genever and liqueurs at the House of Bols, one of the world’s oldest distilleries. Experience the unique taste experiment in The Hall of Taste and visit the Flair Booth to practice your bartending skills. At the end of the short tour enjoy a cocktail of your choice.

9. Take a break: Consider combining location and history with a stop at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. Their lounge is perfect for afternoon tea or luscious hot chocolate on a cool or rainy day. Located in a building which dates to 1865 the Lounge offers a fantastic view of bustling Dam square.

10. Dining out: From Dutch pancake houses to the Hard Rock Café the dining options are numerous. For that special night out head to the Café In de Waag in Nieuwmarkt. Originally built in 1488 as the Weigh House the restaurant is aglow with 300 candles creating a unique atmosphere.

In keeping with Amsterdam’s long tradition of tolerance there is a Red Light District and marijuana use is overlooked but street prostitution and hard drugs are illegal.  However, they are just small facets of a city filled with great art, beautiful houses, 47 miles of canals, and friendly people. 

Spring Time in Keukenhof

Spring means crocuses, daffodils and then tulips. The Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse south of Amsterdam is noted for its tulips as well as other flowers. Tulips have long been associated with Holland. Tulips were introduced in the 1500s from the Ottoman Empire. They became wildly popular and prices rose creating what is called “Tulip Mania.” It seems that the desire for the recently introduced tulips reached such a frenzy that bulbs were sold for more than ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It has been reported that one bulb sold for "as much as a house on Amsterdam's smartest canal, including coach and garden." The higher the price the more they were coveted becoming a status symbol. Special tulip vases were designed to display them. As the price rose people began investing in tulips. During the winter buyers bid on the bulbs that would be delivered in the spring with people borrowing money to invest. The market for tulips collapsed in 1637 when the government put an end to Tulip Mania by fixing the price. It was the first recorded speculative “economic bubble.” Today tulips are still very popular and everyone can afford them however the term “Tulip Mania” is still used to refer to an economic bubble when prices of an item exceeds its real value.

One of the most famous tulip places is Keukenhof, which was once the 15th century hunting area on the estate of Jacoba van Beieren. Herbs for the castle kitchen were also collect from the area. After the death of van Beieren the estate fell into the hands of Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt who invited landscape architects to design English landscape type gardens around their castle. It became the basis of Keukenhof.

Today Keukenhof is home to the largest bulb flower park in the world. It covers 79 acres with 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties and nearly 10 miles of pathways. It has 2,500 trees, the largest sculpture park in the Netherlands, a plethora of other flowers and claims to be most photographed place in the world.

Keukenhof is open from late March to late May. We were there in early April 2010 and as luck would have it we were told, “Everything is late this year” so while all the tulips should have been in full bloom they were not but there were some tulips and plenty of other flowers. Each year they have an international theme. In 2010 it was “From Russia with Love.” This year it is “Germany: Land of Poets and Philosophers.”

Keukenhof has a variety of programs so there is always something to see and do. Especially popular is the indoor flower show with permanent as well as changing exhibits. The park has several inspirational gardens designed to inspire visitors to go home and create their own wonderful garden. On-site merchants sell bulbs, which are mailed to the buyer in the fall. Each year one of the highlights is the Flower Parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem that passes Keukenhof in the afternoon with 20 flower-covered floats.

John and I visited from our rented houseboat, which we tied up free at the town’s mooring site but there are many tour buses from Amsterdam and other cities. Frequent public transit buses from Schiphol Airport and other locations connect to Keukenhof. Check their web site, www.keukenhof.nl/en, for directions and more information.