We were aware that it was tulip season, but had no specific arrangements made other than booking one night in Amsterdam so as not to be schlepped directly to the airport after disembarking from the cruise. We arrived at our hotel mid-morning, too early to check in to our rooms, but were able to have them store our luggage. So we headed off for a walk along a canal right in front of the hotel. A block or so down we checked out a tourist info booth where we discovered we could purchase combo tickets for round trip bus transportation and admission to Keukenhof. As the weather was pretty nice, we went for it. To get to the transportation hub for the bus, we had to try out some of the other public transit modes. We were given good directions, things were well marked, and it was quite a bit of fun. We first boarded a tram, one of those mini-trains like about four or five trolley cars coupled together via flexible accordian-like connections. That took us to the train station, which is also a substantial retail space. From there we walked to the nearby river bank and on to a free ferry which takes pedestrians and bicycles across the river. At the far side there is a sort of transportation hub and quite a bit of new building developing. There, extremely well organized folks got us queued up and onto modern double decker buses taking off with about 80 passengers every 15 minutes or so. This event is quite popular.

Keukenhof reminded Ye Olde Photographer of Longwood Gardens, near him in the Philadelphia suburbs. Longwood actually has more acreage, but Keukenhof was really dense with flowers. The website claims 32 hectares — that's a hair less than 80 acres — displaying upwards of seven million blooms! The species are largely tulips, but also daffodils, amaryllis, and other spring flowers including azalea. All are in a park-like setting with ponds and water features and all sorts of interesting paths and walkways. Ye Olde Photographer understood it is only open for about seven weeks in the April-May tulip season, but he has since heard some rumors that there are other times during the year it is open with different flowers. No doubt one should check for current info before flying to Amsterdam!

The bus trip was several kilometers outside central Amsterdam and gave us a chance to see some interesting scenery. There were lots of good looking roads and many bike paths. At the Keukenhof grounds we entered, picked up a map, and decided to scope out a restaurant for lunch. Quite a bit of fun, and the food was pretty tasty. We spent most of the afternoon wandering around staring in amazement, quite a remarkable experience.

Include in the cool stuff here is a band organ.