Eden

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Geo: 52.3738, 4.89095

It was a bit sad leaving Delft this morning because it would be our last day on the coach. The coach does actually become like a second home in a way, and you feel secure on it. And no one ever wants to see the driver go either.

This tour is supposed to leave Delft and go to an open-air museum and the Aalsmeer Flower Auction before arriving in Amsterdam. However, the first three or four tour groups of the year go to Keukenhof instead of the auction and the museum. And since we are the second group this year, we went to the garden instead.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll remember that the tour I took in 2010 went to Keukenhof. It's someplace I never thought I'd see again, so even though I was looking forward to the auction, I was thoroughly content to be returning to Keukenhof. It's only open eight weeks of the year, and it really is spectacular. People come from all over the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe to see the gorgeous flower displays and the row upon row of tulips. It's 80 acres, and we had four hours there. It's amazing how quickly four hours can fly! It was mostly very familiar to me, but it was certainly different enough that I didn't feel like, "Oh, this again."

Parts of the garden can only be described as lush. There's a winding path of grape hyacinths, which I remember from last time, that makes you want to wade through them or lie down in them just to see what it would feel like. And there's every color on display, from pure white to deep, dark red. In one of the hothouses, there are dozens of orchid varieties, and in another they were setting up for a special UK-themed exhibit. In fact, Keukenhof's theme this year is the UK, so there was a floral picture of Big Ben and Tower Bridge.

When we first arrived, I walked with Dawn and Jeff, and Dawn and I went into the little petting zoo. We were greeted by a friendly goat, and I petted a calf (turns out, they're really soft). The potbellied pigs were funny, snuffling around in the mown grass; if the peacock has decided to hang out with the bunnies, you can't go in the bunny pen. Boo.

Dawn and Jeff decided to take a boat ride, and since I will avoid boats when given the opportunity, I wandered off on my own. I decided to get an early lunch since I didn't have much of a breakfast, so I bought a "warm ham sandwich." This turned out to be a bun spread with curry mustard and then piled high with thinly sliced fried ham. It was so yummy, tasting like a cross between bacon and prosciutto. Later in the day I finally got a waffle, which was just okay.

We lucked out with the weather because it was sunny nearly the entire time we were there, and warm too. However, the forecast had predicted rain, so we knew we'd be in for it eventually.

We arrived in Amsterdam just before 3:00 but didn't get to our hotel till about ten past 4:00 because of traffic jams and road works. At one point, Paul even executed a U-turn, which impressed us all very much. He finally was able to drop us off a block from the Hotel Alexander, and we all waved while he drove away.

My room is a more-or-less typical single: very narrow but with a really high ceiling. There's actually a shower curtain in the bathroom! I have a view of the courtyard, so I'm hoping this'll be the quietest room I've had yet.

We quickly settled in and then set out to learn the tram system, have dinner, and take a walk. We took a tram to Dam Square, the main square of Amsterdam, and then took another tram toward the flower market. Our restaurant was in the flower market, and they were nice enough to seat us even though were a half hour early. We ate Indonesian rijsttafel; everything was tasty, particularly the water with orange slices in it!

After dinner is when it really started to rain, but we took our walking tour of the red light district anyway. We stopped in front of the Condomerie with its window display of … unusual condoms. There's a shop called "Rood" (red) where all the goods are red in honor of the red light district. It's owned by a former prostitute who was in the business for 15 years and then had earned enough money to get out of it and start a business. She also runs the Prostitution Information Center and helps other girls get out of the trade. Rolinka gave a little talk about the sex trade and then we walked down a few of the alleys. It's not as seedy as you think it will be, and the girls are well protected.

The girls are unofficially segregated, such that the Dutch girls tend to be down this street and the Surinamese girls tend to be down that street, etc. Ivery knocked on the door of one of the Surinamese girls: prices start at €30.

We also walked by the Amstelkring Museum (the Catholic church hidden behind an ordinary facade), and a heron standing on a boat giving us the eye. We eventually wound up at Central Station and then took a tram back to the hotel.

I've got a deep, raspy voice today, and now my nose has entered the non-stop drip stage. Hope I'm not up all night. Sigh ...

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Comments

[Mary]

I have friends in Amsterdam! Someday I would really like to visit them. The flowers are all gorgeous.

[Kate]

Gorgeous! I'm always astounded at the colors of flowers, and so much fun to see so many of them. Loved the British themed displays! Interesting to hear about the sex trade. Legal or not, still don't think I'd want to sign on for that pr
ofession! Hope you get some good sleep and the stuffy nose is just allergies from all those lovely flowers...

[Mary]

So beautiful!!

[Aunt Marianne]

Beautiful flowers. Enjoy everything you write.

[Sandy]

Those tulip fields are breathtaking!