King's Day at Westerpark

King's Day

I was excited and at the same time anxious about celebrating King's Day in Amsterdam during our trip. Excited because I got to see how people celebrate one of the biggest holiday in their country! And the holiday wasn't X'mas or New Year which are celebrated across the whole world, I like to experience something different. Anxious, because celebration and party on the street sound like trouble in the making to me. I was worried if I am putting my baby in danger. I have my doubts, but we went on anyway.

Never try never know.

King's Day didn't go out as I planned. Most of the things don't when we're on the road, the beauty of free and easy travel. I planned to go Vondelpark, where it seems like one of the biggest celebration in the town. But we ended up too tired after almost a whole week, and not wanting to go too far from where we stayed. Besides, public transport service within the city was ceased during King's Day, to make way for street celebration. We really didn't want to walk.

I checked and got to know that Westerpark, where we stayed, have their celebration too. So we decided to stay put around our area. Besides, I've been wanting to go Westerpark for many days! It's 5 minutes away from where we stayed.

It's supposed to be a lazy day for us. We prepared ourselves, taking our own sweet time to get ready, and had simple breakfast at home before we headed out.

The moment we reached Westerpark, I fell in love with this place, immediately.

Westerpark

Westergasfabriek

And how could you not.

Westergasfabriek used to be gas factory until 1960's when natural gas was found in North Sea, and gas factory became obsolete. The gas factory was then converted into cultural park, with cinema, independent art shop and galleries, restaurants, cafes (Best latte), pubs etc. That's my kind of place.

Some restaurants in Westerpark

Peaceful

I wish I had all day

I wished we had come to Westerpark before King's Day when everything is open. I wish! It's such a lovely place, I could spend a whole day here.

On King's Day however, most shops are not open except for some cafes and restaurants. But fret not, there are stalls and food trucks at the park selling finger food, hotdogs, sandwiches, herrings, beers etc.

Besides, the highlights are for the kids. On King's Day, kids accompanied by their parents sell their second hand toys and books in the parks. It's really cute! We think it's really a good experience for the kids. The Man suggested we should come again when baby grows older.

Tiger and his toy cars

The supportive parents and their kids

In case you didn't notice, almost everybody wear orange on King's Day. It's the official colour. It's not like people will go after you to kill you if you're not in one, but it's just really nice to fit in to wear the festive colour.

We took a stroll in the park, and eventually walked out of the park to Harlemeerstraat. We walked pass Harlmeerstraat almost everyday during the trip. And on those days, it's quiet, peaceful. But on King's Day, it's totally different! It's crowded, everybody's dancing on the street, including us! Shops are not open, but temporary food stalls are everywhere! I have concerns that we may not have anything to eat on King's Day, you can't imagine how relieved I can be to see all these food stalls!

And the canals are full of parties! Boats after boats of overloading party people, exploding their not so nice party music, parading the cities. And of course, they're all holding the booze.

A boat full of party girls

It's really interesting to be in Amsterdam on King's Day. There's something for everybody.

If you're party kinda person, go to bars and pubs, or rent a boat like these people!

If you're family kinda person, with kids wanting to sell off their toys, go on and set up your stalls in the park.

If you just want to make some money, open a stall, sell some finger foods.

If you like concerts, there are plenty! Check them out and book your tickets early!

If you're like us, just want to soak up the mood, go on, walk the city!

Turns out, parties on the street doesn't mean chaos. It's fun, I didn't feel unsafe at all. Everything is in control. Besides, I saw something really interesting.

See the red stall in front of ABN-AMRO? It's a mobile toilet for the men! Sorry strangers, it's just really interesting I have to take a snap!

Will I really be back again like what The Man suggested? I don't know... After all, I may, because I really like Amsterdam.

Things to take note on King's Day:

• Most of the shops are not open. Even if they are, they may only be open for a few hours. Do check with the shops before King's Day.
• Most attractions are open on King's Day, i.e. Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House. But do expect CROWDS! But still, do check the attraction on their opening hours prior visiting to prevent disappointment. 
• Even supermarkets are not open all day on King's Day. If there's a need to stock up, do it one day earlier.
• Try not to buy your plane ticket to leave or to arrive Amsterdam on King's Day, because there will be no public transport or taxi available in the city. If you do, you have to walk to your hotel or lodging.
• Wear orange.
• Be happy and dance :)

Best Latte in Espressofabriek

Of the days I drink coffee in Amsterdam, the latte I had in Espressofabriek is truly the best I have had in the whole week. Maybe, best latte I've ever had! BEST!

Outside Espressofabriek on King's Day

Of the days we stayed in Westerpark, we've only managed to visit Westergasfabriek on King's Day, the second last day of our trip.

As usual, when the wind gets strong and the temperature drops, I always find some excuse to go into any cafe in sight to have a cup of coffee. And I glad I did, because Espressofabriek truly served the best latte. It's milky, but the coffee is still strong, and kicking! Unlike a lot of latte, sometimes the only thing you taste is milk.

The Man wanted a cup of hot chocolate, but that wasn't on the menu. I simply ordered latte for him too, forgotten the fact that he didn't really like latte, because it's too milky. He complained a bit, but later on, praising the quality of the latte. And supporting me to buy a bag of coffee beans from them :)

I still miss that cup of latte...

Best meal of the trip——Cafe in de Buurt

The last few days of our trip were mostly spent around Leidseplein and Museumplein of Amsterdam. The day before King's Day, we decided to visit Rijksmuseum. As it's supposed to be a relatively relaxing day for us, we decided to wait for baby to wake up before we make a move. Therefore, by the time we went out, it's already lunch hour.

Our plan was to have lunch in Castel, which was recommended by The Man's friend, for very good pork rib. But we only found out it was only open for dinner. It was cold and windy, we need a place as soon as possible, and we spotted this very cozy looking, comes with free WIFI, Cafe in de Buurt.

Cafe in de Buurt

Inside the cozy cafe

As it turned out, that was one of the best meal we had in Amsterdam for this trip.

The kitchen was run by two young men. And there's another guy at the bar to serve the customers. Everything is made from scratch, I especially like the fact that they made their fries from real potatoes! I love it.

The guy at the bar is really friendly. It's really too bad they weren't open on King's Day, else, who knows we might end up having our meal here on King's Day too! Hehe...

I ordered a Philly Steak Sandwich, while The Man ordered a Chicken Satay (As the dutch conquered Indonesia, Indonesian influenced food is everywhere, and satay being the most common ones)

Philly steak sandwich

Chicken Satay (such a huge satay, it looks more like a chicken chop!)

And, the food I love most was cheese sticks! I really really really love it! It's so good I actually didn't bother to take a proper photo of it, I just want to eat them before they all ended up in The Man's stomach! Hahaha!!!

Yummy!!!!

On top of all these, I ordered a cup of latte and The Man had a glass of beer. The lunch cost us Euro 34.60.

After visiting Rijksmuseum, we tried our luck at Castel. However, the restaurant looked more like a bar than a restaurant, it's really narrow and small and very very dark. It didn't feel very family friendly. Besides, the waiter didn't bother to entertain us at all!

And that's how we ended up in Cafe in de Buurt again!!! For dinner we ordered onion soup, risotto cheese balls, pork ribs, cheese sticks (because I love them too much!) and two beers. I didn't take photo because before we started the dinner, little baby decided to poo and both of us were too busy figuring out how to change him in the very small toilet. At the end we took a chair into the toilet and managed to change.

We were too tired to take pictures, we just stomach everything.

For the dinner, we paid Euro 43.

Recommended! Good food and friendly service :)

We were lucky to get table for both meals, they seem to be pretty crowded at times, especially as it gets later. So you can also consider to make reservation with them.

You Should Visit Amsterdam At Least Once in Your Life Time

Rijksmuseum 

These are the Whys you should do it!

1. Amsterdamers are friendly!
Amsterdamers are so friendly, I really love them! It's not easy to encounter such friendliness especially when you're Asians. Discriminations towards different skin colour is still a real thing whether or not you'd like to admit. But in Amsterdam, you hardly have this issue. People are friendly and willing to help.
I've encountered strangers talking to me on the bus and introducing and explaining the town to me. Not something you'll encounter when you go France for sure. (In France, you'll be delighted they ever answer your questions.)

2. They speak English!
Language is not a barrier in Amsterdam! If you're not a very brave traveller, always afraid of people not speaking the language you speak. Fret not, Amsterdamers speak very fluent English. No issues on signboards, no issues on asking for routes, no issues on ordering food...

3. It's baby friendly!
Yay! I have my concern before we flew to Amsterdam. Yes I've been there before, but without the baby and stroller. I've never took any notice on how easy was it to board a bus or a tram.
Well, now that we've traveled with a baby and a stroller. I can safely tell you, Amsterdam is not that hard to travel! Boarding trams and buses are not that hard because the stairs are relatively low, you can easily carry the stroller. And usually, other passengers would offer help too!
On diaper changing issue, well, you've got to be very creative. Washrooms are really small in most of the restaurants. Most of them have got no diaper changing station. We tried bringing chairs into the toilet to change the baby. If the weather is good, just change the baby outdoor on a bench or on stroller, it's much easier.

4. Museums museums museums~~~
There are plenty of museums, from important museums like Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. To smaller museums like handbags museum, cheese museum, tulips museum... You will never get bored!

5. Inspiration to decorate your house
Amsterdamers are creative, most of them. Decorations in houses and shops are really cute, loud, daring, cozy, unique... You fall in love most of the time, first sight. By paying more attention, you can also get more ideas on how to decorate your house too!

6. Trains are really convenient!
Trains are really convenient to travel from Amsterdam to other smaller towns nearby, i.e. Haarlem, Delft, Alkmaar, Leiden... Most of them within an hour of train ride! They're great because they're less crowded than Amsterdam and still plenty to do.

7. Tourism information and packages easily available
Preparation and homework before your trip to Amsterdam is rather easy, unlike travelling to France and Spain. Websites are in multiple languages. Trains information are clear. If you ever have any questions, email and ask, they always reply within a day!
Besides, there are plenty of cards provide discounts to tourists, for example I Amsterdam card. The only headache is, which card suits you the most!

8. Wifi~~
When we were in Spain and France years ago, Wifi is really hard to get. We always have to make sure we have all the information required before we go out from hotel.
In Amsterdam, we're not afraid, we can easily get connections from cafe and check the required information.

9. Pots are legal!
If you're party kinda person, Amsterdam is your place. They even sell cannabis seed, plant your own when you go home.

10. This place is simply beautiful~

Book your tickets and fly to Amsterdam~

荷兰真的没什么美食

这一次到荷兰，寻找美食的功课我做得比以前还要多。皆因我知道，真的不是随随便便走进一家都好吃。好吃的也不会随随便便有位子坐。

我们决定，一定要吃正所谓的荷兰美食。不过，荷兰人对食物还真是没什么创意。吃了一遍De Blauw Hollander，我们就决定，好吧，荷兰食物都吃了，够了。不是餐厅难吃，餐厅煮的还可以。问题是荷兰食物本身，就是平平无创意。

那，究竟所谓的荷兰美食有什么？

荷兰人爱吃的，不外是Pancakes，到处都是吃pancakes的餐厅。如果你对pancake情有独钟，你可是来对了地方。不过，套用梁文道说的，一百种香肠还是香肠。一百种pancake还是pancake。吃一遍就够了。

荷兰人也很爱吃apple tart （Appletaart）。我们吃了两家，确实，出名的那一家更好吃，不过，对我而言，也不过是如此。

还有一个小吃，叫herring。就是腌制过的鱼，配上面包，撒上洋葱。这个我喜欢。

De Blauw Hollander 有dinner set的优惠，一个前菜／汤，一个正餐，还有一杯饮料，但价钱忘了。我们要了一个set，再加一个正餐。其实后悔极了，应该两人吃一 set好了，真的太撑，后来都没吃完。

Pea Soup （不需要介绍吧，就是pea弄成汤咯！）

热腾腾的Pea Soup配一块Ham

HotchPotch，你要是不爱土豆，千万别点。这就是一大坨的土豆泥，配上香肠或者meatballs，再淋上酱汁。土豆泥依据不同的配法有不同的口味。配香肠的是酸菜口味，配肉圆的我忘了。太多太腻！吃不完！！！

Hotchpotch with sausage

Hotchpotch with meatball

Bitterballen。这是我们最爱的荷兰美食，几乎天天吃。其实就是牛肉碎，加面粉和各种香料弄成的牛肉圆，好好吃。很好的下酒菜。

Bitterballen

看完了这个list，是不是觉得这些美食，真的没啥创意？尤其是土豆泥配香肠，我的妈呀，这种我也做得出来。难怪功课那么难做，难怪蔡澜也不介绍，难怪……

我们这一餐花了37.75欧元。如果真想吃一次荷兰美食，可以试试。不然，去吃点别的吧～意大利餐、法国餐……国际化的城市，什么美食都有。

Appletaart in Winkel 43

This is one of the cafe I've researched in year 2013 and didn't get to go.

The travellers seem to rave about the appletaart. One even mentioned that he went to Amsterdam for many times, and he visited Winkel 43 for appletaart every single trip. Hm... Sounds like a must try to me.

We went there in the morning before we made our way to Keukenhof. It was super cloudy and cold. And the cafe was already full, with only one small little table out there.

Winkel 43

The Man initially wanted to sit there, but I was really concern if my baby could stand the chilly wind. So as I saw some diners left the cafe, I quickly went in and got ourselves a table in the cafe.

We got ourselves a table just in front of the counter

The Man did a little search the night before. And diners are recommending the omelette beside the appletaart. So that's what we ordered

Appletaart with whipped cream

Omelette with tomato and cheese, alongside with toast and salad

Well, the appletaart is surely better than the ones we have had in La Place and De Raedt. It's not as sweet, not as hard and definitely smell better. But did I fly to the moon, sadly, no.

The omelette, well, it's just an omelette, what's the rave about it? No idea... And the salad that served alongside, was the weirdest salad I've ever tasted, it has lettuce, carrots and bean sprouts. Seriously, bean sprouts? Just weird.

If you're in the neighbourhood and want something light to go with coffee or tea, Winkel 43 appletaart is a good choice. But should you travel all the way for it, probably no such need.

Delicious (and a little chaotic) Lunch at Stempels Brasserie

On our second day, we went to a town nearby called Haarlem. Haarlem is a lovely town closed to Amsterdam, and it's easily accessible by train and bus. It's very much like Amsterdam, but smaller and lesser crowds.

In my plan, we were supposed to take a train from Amsterdam Centraal. It only takes 15 minutes to arrive in Haarlem. However, The Man decided to trust the lady in train station and we boarded a bus (next time trust your wife cause she did homework!).

"She said it's only half an hour." he said, and here we go. After 45 minutes on the bus, we passed by Haarlem College but the bus seems to drive further away from city centre of Haarlem. (Hail the modern offline map!)

I approached a young lady, possibly a student as she boarded the bus at Haarlem College to ask her if the bus goes to city centre. She told us to get off the stop and took another bus. So we did, and we finally made it to Haarlem city centre.

It was really cold and windy. It's gloomy and cloudy on that day. Baby started to cry when we're walking towards Grote Kerk (Great church). We thought he must be cold so we started to take turns to carry him. And frantically looking for a warm place to sit down.

As time passed, the cry got louder and louder. It's getting unusual, because my baby seldom cries. He's one of those angel baby. Then, we got into Stempels, situated just next to Grote Kerk.

It's warm and cozy inside. It seems like a really nice place for a nice lunch. It's packed with diners, mostly senior citizens, I think it's because it's weekdays, younger people are at work. Baby was quiet for a while when we entered Stempels. The waiter got us a seat and we started to order.

Inside Stempels

Then, baby shouted again. We felt so bad because the nice ambience of the restaurant was totally ruined. He kept crying so loud so while I was ordering and settling down our stuffs, The Man carried him to somewhere else to soothe him.

That was when he realized baby poo-ed!! He went to the man's toilet and couldn't find any nappy changing station. (It's a discrimination, why can't man change the baby's diapers?)

I got ready with his diaper bag, and went down to the ladies and found a nice nappy changing station in there! I was almost on tears to find such a station. Nappy changing station are hard to come by during our trip, to find one is great; To get a nice one, it's PERFECT!

As he finally calmed down, the waitress reheat the tomato soup for us. And we could finally have our simple lunch. We weren't hungry because we had late breakfast, so we only ordered tomato soup with meatballs, and Platter Stempels. And a local beer, Jopen, and a cup of hot chocolate.

Jopen, local beer

Hot chocolate, with a piece of dark chocolate

Tomato soup with meatballs

Platter Stempels (Salmon, salami, cheese, salads, olive, cheese sticks, bitter ballen and bread)

The food was really good, I love cheese sticks and bitte ballen especially. And it costs us Euro28.80 for two. Besides, the waiters and waitresses were really nice and friendly. They're really kind to baby too.

And the best of all, it's the nice nappy changing station!

Definitely recommended if you ever visit Haarlem :)

Pancakes! Amsterdam

Unlike our first visit to Amsterdam, this time we spent one whole week staying in Amsterdam. And, we swear we will find good food to eat, unlike the first time.

The first visit to Amsterdam, we didn't get to eat anything that is worth mentioning, seriously! Well, except for De Laaisie Kruimel. It's not that I didn't do homework on the food, I did, but at the end due to time constraint and route diversion, we didn't really go to any. And some very popular restaurants can only take you in with reservations! I didn't expect that!!!

So, I did recycle my list of food to try. Perks of revisiting.

One of the thing that we didn't really try the last trip was pancakes. On the first day of arrival, we went to Pancakes! Amsterdam.

Pancakes! Amsterdam

Like most of the shops in Amsterdam, it's small and narrow little place. It's too small to house all the tourists that come for its fame, so we queued for quite a while before we got a seat. Baby stroller has no place in the restaurant, so we have to leave it out. Perks of using an old and non-branded stroller, we left it out without any concern.

Before we started our journey to Amsterdam, I made promise to myself I'll be drinking coffee and beer everyday! (not a difficult promise to keep!) I've finally wean off from breastfeeding, food limits are finally lifted! Hooray!!

Stroopwafel, served with coffee

For the first meal in Amsterdam, I ordered coffee. And stroopwafel was served along side. After a week of coffee, I have had countless of stroopwafels, almost all the cafes and restaurants serve this alongside with coffee. It's pretty good but just a little too sweet for me.

We ordered a dutch deluxe pancake (with paprika, mushroom, bacon and cheese) and a poffertjes (with powdered sugar and butter) to share. Poffertjes are just mini pancakes, more like dessert pancakes that are usually served with sweet stuffs like apples, ice cream, chocolates etc.

Dutch Deluxe Pancake

Poffertjes

The meal cost us Euro19.70 for two drinks, a pancake and a poffertjes. Not too bad.

Verdict, well it's nice, but won't send me up to the sky. Pancakes are just pancakes. Been there, done that.

One Bedroom Apartment in Westerpark

Finding an accommodation didn't seem so difficult before baby came along, as long as they're reasonably convenient, reasonably hygiene and reasonably priced, I'm up for that. And I usually move from a place to another, never have I stayed put in one apartment for entire week.

But baby changes everything. (*music* *point at the baby and blame him*) :P

We were in Amsterdam from 21st April to 28th April. King's Day falls on 27th April, and it's a public holiday in Netherlands. Accommodation was a little bit tight for the weekend, which made finding a perfect accommodation a little bit more harder.

After searching high and low in Airbnb and also amsterdamapartments.com, I shortlisted a few and start contacting them. After a quite a fair bit of communication, we ended up in this lovely apartment in Westerpark, own by a nice lady named Steff.

There were a few firsts for me,

• First trip with baby
• First reservation on Airbnb
• First visit to Westerpark area which is not a well known attractions but I've really learned to love it. (Will cover that in another post)

I've set a lot of criteria in my search, 

1. Washing machine: Simply because travelling with baby means occasional dirty laundry is unavoidable. Besides, having a washing machine means we can pack lesser clothes.
2. Kitchen: Simply because I need to boil water and foresee we will make simple meals a day or two when baby needs to sleep and rest
3. Heater: Weather can be pretty unpredictable, the last thing you want is to fall sick during the trip. It's important to keep baby warm at night
4. Ground floor: Amsterdam buildings were mostly old buildings with very steep and narrow staircase. I wouldn't want to haul the heavy luggages, stroller and the baby up and down everyday.
5. Dryer (optional): Not the most important item but it'll really help me to reduce my luggage weight even more :)
6. Bath tub (optional): It's just easier for me to bathe baby

Unfortunately, I didn't get item 4 and 5 fulfilled, but I'm satisfied still.

Living room

Living and dining area (I have no place to hide the stroller)

The Kitchen

Bathroom with the washing machine inside

The bedroom (No safe place to put my baby except the bed while we're busy taking pictures)

This was a 40m2 apartment, pretty small but it's more than enough for a holiday trip. The bedroom was really small so we have our luggages lying in the living room. There's no TV in the apartment but it's not important to us at all, we didn't spend much time at home.

I almost ended up in another apartment which was situated at a more convenient neighbourhood, but it didn't have Wifi access. But according to The Man, Wifi is the most important thing and asked if I could find another one. Hmph! Found one I have, but a lot more work was done.

We were really satisfied with this apartment. Before I went I thought it's not very convenient. But turned up, bus 21 travels frequently between Amsterdam Centraal to Westerpark. Besides, tram 10 travels between east and west of Amsterdam which brought us to Museumplein and Leidensplein almost everyday during our stay.

The neighbourhood was quiet and peaceful. It's walking distance to the beautiful Westerpark, and great food and bakery and groceries stores are nearby too! I have nothing to complain about, really.

If you're interested, this is the link on Airbnb.

From Farm to Plate at De Kas

During the one week trip, we decided to splurge in one meal. I was deciding between Jamie Oliver and De Kas, and I chose De Kas. Simply because we have Jamie's Italian in Singapore and we've been there a few times. Sorry Jamie, maybe next time.

I like the idea of Restaurant De Kas. They have their own garden and farm, they grow their own herbs and vegetables. And like many Michelin starred restaurants, they do not have a fixed menu. They cook based on what they harvest. Interesting.

De Kas is a beautiful glass house, the restaurant itself is picture worthy.

Beautiful glass house

From another view

Inside the glass house where we dined

The restaurant is really pretty. But as it's a huge glass house, it's really warm to dine in there. The moment we stepped into the restaurant, the server did offer to help us with the coat. Initially, I thought it's just a gesture of a higher end restaurant. But when we were inside, I understood it's actually necessary.

As I mentioned, there's no fixed menu. You'll just have to chose whether you want a 2-course lunch, a three little dish or a main course. As we wanna try more variety, we ordered a 2-course lunch and a three little dish to share. And each of us have a glass of white wine.

White wines and the complimentary appetiser to start (sourdough bread, mushrooms and olives)

The white wine was great, but I have totally no recollection of what wine was that, sorry.

Fennel soup with goat cheese

Each of us have a bowl of soup as appetizer. The soup of the day was fennel soup topped with goat cheese. Bad news for the man but I really love it :)

Lamb with white asparagus

Beetroot and radishes

My other 2 little dish were served first. As a natural carnivore, I dived into the lamb almost immediately. It was just okay, nothing fantastic. Then, I tried the beetroot. I'm never a fan of beetroot, in fact I was very skeptical with this dish. However, it turned out GREAT. In fact it's my favourite dish of the lunch. And then, the magical thing happened. After I ate the beetroot, the lamb tasted delicious! Whoa, how can that be? I don't understand, but it's true, The Man felt the same too!

Cod fish with grilled cauliflower

As The Man ordered 2-course meal, his main course was served last. It smelled really good! Yes, when the anosmic me can smell it, it's really good. There were small shrimp and barley underneath the fish. Great dish.

Just one little complain, the dishes are way too small, I wished they're served in bigger portion :)

After the meal, we visited the garden just beside the dining room.

The small garden

For certain season, you could actually sign up for workshop to visit the farm. We're not in the season, and we're not having enough time too, so forget it.

All of these cost us Euro66 for two. Not cheap.

I've seen some reviews on the net complaining the food was a bit bland. I think it was more bland than most food I had in Amsterdam. However, as the ingredients were pretty fresh, I actually thought it's perfectly fine.

Information:
Transport: Tram 9 to Hogeweg (De Kas is located in Frankendael Park, as you alight from the tram, you can see De Kas just right at the edge of the park
Tips: Make reservation online, it's packed with diners even on a weekday lunch
Dress code: Casual. Some diners were wearing dresses and coats. But mostly were in jeans, so no worries

Tulips at Keukenhof

Pretty red tulips in wonderful weather

I went to Netherlands twice, and both times, all I have in mind is the beautiful endless tulips in Keukenhof. Unfortunately, 2013 was a bad year for the tulips. The spring came late because winter decided it wanted to stay longer than usual. During our visit, the supposedly spring was snowing. I cursed the weather everyday then.

This year, we bought the tickets for end of April. And I also signed up for newsletter from Tulips in Holland to receive weekly news on the blooming status. On the last week before we flew, I saw lights at the end of the tunnel. I knew this time, we're going to make it.

Keukenhof is located in Lisse, Netherlands. Lisse is situated southwest of Amsterdam. It's easily accessible by bus from Schiphol and Leiden.

Kenkenhof means "kitchen" (keuken) "court" (hof). The garden is located on a herb garden of the castle of 15th century, which used to provide herbs for the castle kitchen. So I guessed that's how the name came from.

Darker red tulips

Orange tulips

Inside the pink tulip

The entrance ticket for the garden cost Euro23.50. We bought the combi ticket that include the bus from Amsterdam at Euro28.50. It's definitely cheaper to get a combi ticket. The bus takes us from Amsterdam to Schiphol with bus 197, and then transfer to bus 858 at Schiphol. The train ticket itself to Schiphol from Amsterdam is Euro5.10 per trip per person.

Endless of tulips everywhere you go

Keukenhof is lovely! The minute we stepped into the garden, I can barely stop clicking on my camera and my phone. It took me so so long, probably 20 minutes or even longer to walk away from the entrance. And then be awed by even more beautiful scenery.

The Man told me the garden smelled really nice. That's my problem, I'm anosmic. I can't smell much if the scent wasn't strong enough. Therefore, for a normal human being, visitng Keukenhof is a visual and smell sensation, for me, it's plainly visual. For the pollen allergic, please stay away from Keukenhof.

Keukenhof is really really big! We spent five hours in the garden and yet failed to complete the garden. That huge! So if you're considering to sign up for tours, please don't. I saw tours that limit visiting at three hours in the garden. Don't do that. You'll definitely regret. Transport from Amsterdam to Keukenhof is pretty easy, you do not need the tour bus.

Sakura by the canal

So pretty

More!!!

There are a lot more types of flowers in the garden other than tulips, pick your favourite

Initially I was concerned that food in Keukenhof must be much more expensive than the city. After all, it's full of tourists, it's a great opportunity to suck money from the tourists. At least that's how tourist attractions work in most part of the world. But Keukenhof was fine, it is slightly expensive but not VERY expensive. We had a hot chocolate and a carrot cake at Euro6.60 in a small glass cafe. Then we bought a herring and a small beer at Euro7, a ham sandwich at Euro5. And we enjoyed the simple lunch sitting on the grass, enjoyed the scenery.

Having our lunch on the grass

The windmill near where we rested

All in all, I'll just say, Keukenhof is GREAT!!! If you happen to visit Amsterdam in spring, and tulips are blooming, this is a MUST go place.

Before we left the garden, the swans formed a love shape for us

Information:
Combi tickets (bus+entrance): Euro28.50 per pax
Transport: Take bus 197 from Leidensplein to Schiphol airport, transit to bus 858 from there, it takes you right in front of the garden (This is included in combi ticket)
Tips: Always buy your ticket online before you go to avoid queueing
Additional information: There are lots of tulips farm before you reach Keukenhof, if you cycle, you'll get to stop as much as you want to take pictures of endless tulips farm.