Le Monde - A Poetic Travail » Amsterdam

Thirsty Thursday – Keukenhof Garden

Cuckoo — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:20:35 +0000

I had lost my digicam and was visibly upset. Then to my dismay, one weekend we got a chance to visit Keukenhof garden. I was still upset and didn’t want to go and was literally pulled by my colleagues.

And this garden made my day. I was completely awestruck by its beauty. There was a riot of colors around me.. the flowers were vibrant, the trees had so many different colored leaves. I had never imagined it to be so spectacular. Also, there was a film shooting going on for some south Indian film which turned out to be a bonus for us.

The bad quality is due to scanning of the picture which is taken with analog camera. I have written a detailed post here. Check it.

Location:- Keukenhof garden, Amsterdam

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Amsterdam – Keukenhof Garden

Cuckoo — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:19:00 +0000

Note:- All the pictures displayed here are from analogue camera, so quality of photos has suffered a lot.

Had heard about it and had seen it on screen. Remember Silsila ? “Dekha Ek Khwab to Ye Silsile Hue”. Yes, this is THE place. I always wanted to live the ecstasy and when I felt I had a chance, converted it in reality.

Public can not enter these fields. There is a railing along the pathway.

Lisse. It is an hour’s drive from Amsterdam city in the Netherlands. When I entered the garden I couldn’t believe my eyes – such an abundant beauty in a small place in the country side !! Tulip bulbs were everywhere and such a stylistic work of vibrant colors – Red, yellow, violet, white, pink and just about any shade you can ever imagine.

I think I’ll speak very little this time, let the pictures speak. I have 200+ of them clicked with analogue camera & only a few with digicam. Time again to travel & I know once again my analogue camera will speak more than my digicam. They are my treasures which I show to others.

This garden is maintained by the major tulip exporters of Netherlands. There are many pavilions of these exporters to show off their other flowers as well. It is open only in April and May and gets nearly 2 million visitor in two months. Isn’t it amazing ??

Just take a look at the images. Such a breathtaking as well as refreshing garden.

Now the history. In 1949, a group of Dutch bulb growers planned to create an open-air flower exhibition. It was to remain as a permanent showcase for the bulb and flower industry in Netherlands. Now, after so many years, this flower show called Keukenhof, is spread over 80 acres and 90 bulb producers and 6 million tulips, narcissi, daffodils, and hyacinths as well as ancient trees, flowering shrubs, ponds and fountains are part of it.

The park is breathtaking ! Even the person who has little or no interest in flowers will be amazed at the range of colors, fragrances, sizes, and sheer beauty of the millions of flowers.

Netherlands exports more than two and a half billion tulip bulbs throughout the world annually.

Note:-All the pictures displayed here are from analogue camera.

Technorati Tags: Amsterdam Netherlands Keukenhof Garden Day Trip

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Cuckoo — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:51:00 +0000

As the title says, this post is about Amsterdam. Had been to Amsterdam twice. Both times it was a short trip, time stolen from my busy schedule. First time I went there from Brussels on my way back during gloomy winter days. It was a Sunday. Took an early train to Amsterdam from where I had to take my flight for Mumbai. It is just an hour’s train journey. Sometimes (well.. all the time) I feel it is easier to go from one country to another in Europe than to travel from one city to another back home.

First see below the two photos of the same place, Amsterdam Central Station, one during winter & the other one taken recently in summer. How gloomy it looks in winters.

Name:- The name Amsterdam literally means Amstel dam. The meaning of Amestelledamme is dam on the river Amstel, where Amstel can be further dissected into ‘ame’ meaning water and ‘stelle’ meaning dry ground. The damming of the river Amstel gave it its name. In Dutch, their native language, Amstelredam means “Dam in the Amstel” turned into Amsterdam in the course of time.

According to legend, Amsterdam was found by two fishermen, who landed on the shores of the Amstel in a small boat with their dog. So, Amsterdam began as a fishing village. And yes, like Venice it is a city of canals. And that was my foremost reason to visit this amazing city.

The life of Amsterdam has been its aquatic locale, close as it is to the North Sea and built on myriad canals, which neatly divide the city into easily navigable districts and imbue it with a small town ambiance. It looked like there was a canal around every corner in Amsterdam – not too surprising, considering that the city is home to more canals than Venice.
Almost half of Amsterdam is below sea level so the occasional Western storm brings a lot of water at once, and all of it has to be pumped out to higher ground and to the seas around the city. These bodies of water make winter days very cloudy and damp.

Public transport in Amsterdam mainly consists of bus, trams and ferries. The above picture is of an old tram. I heard that ferries operate free of charge for pedestrians and cyclists across the IJ lake just to encourage the environment friendly modes of transport. Most main streets have bike paths. In the city centre, driving a car is discouraged. Parking fees are steep and a great number of streets are closed to cars or are one-way.

Can you see the innumerable windmills ? They are typical of Netherlands. One more thing that amazed me was triangular shaped houses in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is also famous for its red-light area. Window prostitution is legal in the Netherlands at specific places. The red-light district is located in the centre of the city along with major canals and is clearly marked on maps.

I didn’t have time to explore much, just clicked some photos before heading to the airport. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Central Station. It is the biggest airport in the Netherlands, the fourth largest in Europe.

Note:- All pictures are taken from still camera. As always, for more pictures on Amsterdam visit here.

My next post is going to be on the famous garden of tulips.. Keukenhof Garden.

Technorati Tags:- Amsterdam Netherlands City Day Trip