I have to admit that about all I recall from my school days of learning about Holland and the Netherlands, is there were tulips, wooden shoes and windmills there, but who really cared? That part of the world seemed SO far away from my neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey and surely I would never get there. Or would I?
Not only have we been there and done that, but even caught the tulips, and other flowers in bloom at the precise time of year. Our house sit in Belgium ended a week ago and since we had some free time on our hands, we had to explore the Netherlands.
Holland OR the Netherlands.....that is the question? Clyde and I both admit that we always used the terms Holland and the Netherlands simultaneously, thinking there was NO difference. But I recently did some research and here's what I discovered.
Fields Of Flowers As Far As Our Eyes Could See
While the whole country is officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Holland is the name given to two of the provinces, North and South Holland. Since the most commonly visited cities like Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam are in those provinces, the name Holland tends to be used instead of the Netherlands.
With the time we had left we opted to spend a day in the Hague, and two days in Amsterdam. While Rotterdam was on our list we later found out that the original city was leveled in 1940 after WWII, so Rotterdam today is a new, modern city, not something we wanted to see since we like the old, historical parts of a city.
The Hague is a lively, lived in city full of shopping, historical buildings and boasts about being the Diamond Capital of Europe. The city is known for having the U.N's International Court of Justice located in the Peace Palace along with the International Criminal Court. Finding a place to park near the Peace Palace was difficult since it is surrounded by embassies and consulates from just about every country, with parking only allowed for ambassadors and other important people. And since the Peace Palace is a working palace there are no tours offered during the work week, so we were only permitted to snap a photo from the outside.
The Hague
On route to Amsterdam the following day I was in search of tulip fields since I knew this was the time of year they were in bloom. The perfect spot to view acres and acres of flowers is the famous Keukenhof Gardens. With 32 acres and over 800 varieties of flowers, this place is ONLY open 6 weeks every year when the flowers are in bloom. Needless to say, they pack in hoards of tourists in that short period of time, nearly one million visitors from all over the world. The price for admission is around $22 (18 euros) EACH and with limited time we decided to pass on this place.
However, being the cheapo that I am, I did some online research to discover where to view flower fields for FREE. On the way out to Keukenhof is something called, "the Flower Route," where the largest concentration of flowers grow in the Netherlands. There we merely had to stop along the roadside to take photos for free of the lovely flower fields. What we found were breathtaking, colorful fields with ribbons of color as far as our eyes could see, of pure gorgeous flowers in their natural state. Wow!
From there we headed into the popular city of Amsterdam to find our overpriced apartment and spend a few days fighting the crowds of people. Last week when we finally got around to looking for hotel rooms in Amsterdam we were shocked at the prices. $250 per night, $500 per night and up, and even the hostels with shared dorms and shared bathrooms went for around $200 a night. Then we turned to apartments outside of the city center where we might find parking? Even those went for $200 per night with additional charges to park our rental car, and most that seemed to be available on the websites, were NOT. Eventually, after some headaches we did manage to find a small apartment for the low price of $153 per night, with easy access to the trains into the city center.
What we found when we got here was a tiny, run-down apartment located near the University of Amsterdam Science Park. In other words, we are staying in student housing for kids going to college nearby. While the apartment is nothing special, the location is within a few minute walk to the trains into the city, a quick 10 minute ride with just two stops. The trains are SO close that we can see a maze of train tracks from our balcony and even hear them running all night long. Actually the noise is not that bad. Another perk is there is a small grocery store directly underneath the apartment complex, so picking up something to eat for dinners is a breeze, and cheaper than eating out.
View From Our Apartment
There is plenty of public parking at the nearby university at the cost of 24 euros per day (about $30 per day), too costly but the only option. The cost of a train ticket from here into the city center is 11 euros each (about $13.50 round trip per person).
The city of Amsterdam is known for it's elaborate canal system, millions of people all riding bicycles, along with trams, buses, cars and tourists. Some 2500 house boats line the canals, while tall, thin homes stand tall against the skyline. Tourist buses and boats are numerous, with plenty of others like ourselves walking to see the sights, trying hard not to get run over by cyclists whizzing by, since they DO have the right of way. It's a chaotic mess of people, many walking around high since recreational drugs are commonly sold here and even put into a variety of food products. Prostitution is legal here and the well known Red Light District features women posing in windows and flirting with passers by, even in the daytime.
Our first day we spent the afternoon walking around the city, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. We stumbled upon the Museum of Sex and Clyde, being the pervert that he is insisted we go inside and take a peek.
Not Sure What This Was
Inside The Museum Of Sex
The next day we hopped on the Hop On, Hop Off Boat first and took to the canals. After lunch we hopped on the Hop On Bus for an afternoon of touring the city the easy way. And when in Amsterdam trying some chocolate chip cookies laced with cannabis was a must, which made our afternoon a bit more mellow.
Chocolate Chip Cookies With Cannabis
Beautiful Amsterdam
The Netherlands is a lovely country, full of flowers, sweet people, wooden shoes, lovely sights and more. Amsterdam is one of those places that we just had to see while here and while we are glad we had the experience, there are places out there that we enjoyed more. Tomorrow we are back to Brussels, Belgium for one last look before heading on to our next adventures.....along the gringo trail.
Not only have we been there and done that, but even caught the tulips, and other flowers in bloom at the precise time of year. Our house sit in Belgium ended a week ago and since we had some free time on our hands, we had to explore the Netherlands.
Holland OR the Netherlands.....that is the question? Clyde and I both admit that we always used the terms Holland and the Netherlands simultaneously, thinking there was NO difference. But I recently did some research and here's what I discovered.
With the time we had left we opted to spend a day in the Hague, and two days in Amsterdam. While Rotterdam was on our list we later found out that the original city was leveled in 1940 after WWII, so Rotterdam today is a new, modern city, not something we wanted to see since we like the old, historical parts of a city.
The Hague is a lively, lived in city full of shopping, historical buildings and boasts about being the Diamond Capital of Europe. The city is known for having the U.N's International Court of Justice located in the Peace Palace along with the International Criminal Court. Finding a place to park near the Peace Palace was difficult since it is surrounded by embassies and consulates from just about every country, with parking only allowed for ambassadors and other important people. And since the Peace Palace is a working palace there are no tours offered during the work week, so we were only permitted to snap a photo from the outside.
However, being the cheapo that I am, I did some online research to discover where to view flower fields for FREE. On the way out to Keukenhof is something called, "the Flower Route," where the largest concentration of flowers grow in the Netherlands. There we merely had to stop along the roadside to take photos for free of the lovely flower fields. What we found were breathtaking, colorful fields with ribbons of color as far as our eyes could see, of pure gorgeous flowers in their natural state. Wow!
From there we headed into the popular city of Amsterdam to find our overpriced apartment and spend a few days fighting the crowds of people. Last week when we finally got around to looking for hotel rooms in Amsterdam we were shocked at the prices. $250 per night, $500 per night and up, and even the hostels with shared dorms and shared bathrooms went for around $200 a night. Then we turned to apartments outside of the city center where we might find parking? Even those went for $200 per night with additional charges to park our rental car, and most that seemed to be available on the websites, were NOT. Eventually, after some headaches we did manage to find a small apartment for the low price of $153 per night, with easy access to the trains into the city center.
What we found when we got here was a tiny, run-down apartment located near the University of Amsterdam Science Park. In other words, we are staying in student housing for kids going to college nearby. While the apartment is nothing special, the location is within a few minute walk to the trains into the city, a quick 10 minute ride with just two stops. The trains are SO close that we can see a maze of train tracks from our balcony and even hear them running all night long. Actually the noise is not that bad. Another perk is there is a small grocery store directly underneath the apartment complex, so picking up something to eat for dinners is a breeze, and cheaper than eating out.
There is plenty of public parking at the nearby university at the cost of 24 euros per day (about $30 per day), too costly but the only option. The cost of a train ticket from here into the city center is 11 euros each (about $13.50 round trip per person).
The city of Amsterdam is known for it's elaborate canal system, millions of people all riding bicycles, along with trams, buses, cars and tourists. Some 2500 house boats line the canals, while tall, thin homes stand tall against the skyline. Tourist buses and boats are numerous, with plenty of others like ourselves walking to see the sights, trying hard not to get run over by cyclists whizzing by, since they DO have the right of way. It's a chaotic mess of people, many walking around high since recreational drugs are commonly sold here and even put into a variety of food products. Prostitution is legal here and the well known Red Light District features women posing in windows and flirting with passers by, even in the daytime.
Our first day we spent the afternoon walking around the city, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. We stumbled upon the Museum of Sex and Clyde, being the pervert that he is insisted we go inside and take a peek.
The next day we hopped on the Hop On, Hop Off Boat first and took to the canals. After lunch we hopped on the Hop On Bus for an afternoon of touring the city the easy way. And when in Amsterdam trying some chocolate chip cookies laced with cannabis was a must, which made our afternoon a bit more mellow.
The Netherlands is a lovely country, full of flowers, sweet people, wooden shoes, lovely sights and more. Amsterdam is one of those places that we just had to see while here and while we are glad we had the experience, there are places out there that we enjoyed more. Tomorrow we are back to Brussels, Belgium for one last look before heading on to our next adventures.....along the gringo trail.
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