Travel to Holland in the Springtime!

First let me say, The Netherlands is the friendliest place to visit. The people are so open and helpful. Most of them speak English too. They will be quick to correct you that speaking Dutch is not at all like speaking German. In fact, it's closer to English than German.

Amsterdam is a great city to visit. There are many things to see and do, Ann Franks house, the seven canals tour by boat, the red light district for those who want to venture out to see some interesting characters to say the least, Rembrandt House Museum, and a good place to take the day trip tours.

Now, I have visited Amsterdam and some of the outskirts of the city four times. But there is more to the Netherlands than Amsterdam and the timing of the year can be more fulfilling to see if you pick the right season. My favorite months of the year is late April or early May. Why? Because it is tip toe thru the tulip time! You will see rows and rows of breathtaking colors of flowers when driving through the countryside. Although, flowers are a product of nature and depending on the weather will be when the flower blooms. The most popular flower is the tulip. Typically the period of late April to beginning of May is a good time to catch it.

You would want to visit the Kuekenhof Gardens which is the most popular place you must see during the April-May period. Keukenhof Gardens is located in Lisse, Holland which is not far from Amsterdam. You can purchase a complete package which includes a train ride and an admission to the Keukenhof Gardens at the Amsterdam Centraal Station. Once you go through the tour of the Kuekenhof, you can visit the gift shop to purchase bulbs from Holland. One note that is very important that I had to learn the hard way, don't purchase any bulbs in any other places in Europe unless it has a stamp certified that it was packaged in Holland and approved by the US Department of Agriculture. Your item would not be accepted once you got to the US. And you could be considered bringing in illegal plants.

If you can't make the April-May period to see Keukenhof Gardens at its best then you should go to the Aalsmeer Flower Auction to see flowers year around. It's the largest international place for world wide fresh cut flowers. You can see how the Dutch auction works. It's not like our auctions where you hear loud and fast talking. It's very quiet and reserve.

Then go to the Delft factory which is well known for its blue and white fine porcelain. Delft also comes in other colors. You can observe how they make it which is all hand painted. Also, be careful when buying what you might think is Delft porcelain in other parts of Holland or Europe. It must say " Delft" on the bottom to be authentic. Cheaper versions are out there.

One more trip of interest among still a variety is the Alkmaar Cheese Market and Schermerhorn Windmills. People are dressed in their authentic costumes and you can sense you are back in time. You can learn about the old ways of the Dutch Market. After seeing the Alkmaar Cheese Market and how they use to bid on purchasing cheese, you can go to the village of Schermerhorn to see the famous old Windmills. Not far from there you must go to the Edam Cheese Factory for a history of their cheeses and to see how cheese is made. There you can take home to the US cheese and other souvenirs.

There is so much to see in this beautiful area. Make sure you do go to the Wooden Shoe Factory to see how their shoes are made and where you can buy some for souvenirs.

Oh, by the way, if you ever decide to travel to Amsterdam by car, well, don't. The city is surrounded by canals and one way streets that will make your driving miserable. The first and last time we did this, we arrived at our Pension and would park the car. Then we used the public transportation or walk.

One last tip, if you think drugs are legal in Amsterdam, you're wrong. They have what they call soft and hard drugs. They tolerate the drug usage unlike the United States. So think twice if you are a risk taker in drugs because it isn't legal and you could also be getting some bad stuff. I would just tip toe through the tulips at the Kuekenhof Gardens.

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