Day 5 Keukenhof Garden and Drive to Bacharach, Germany
Today was another early morning, starting at 6:30. Breakfast was at 7:00. I ate pretty much the same food as yesterday, the croissant with hazelnut dip, eggs, bacon, milk, etc. At 8:00 we were on the bus, bags packed in below us, and on our way to Keukenhof. Keukenhof is a wonderful example of springtime in the Netherlands and their pride of their tulips. Only the first few Rick Steves tours of the season offer a trip to Keukenhof. The flowers are short lived before the heads are cut off and the bulbs are harvested to be sold. When we visited Keukenhof we were seeing the second wave of flowers. The other option is an Arnhem's open-air museum, which is seen by the other tours not going to Keukenhof. When we arrived we stepped off the bus into the sunshine. The gates of Keukenhof were just up ahead. The anticipation was great. Our guide went to get our tickets and came back with our tickets in hand as well as a map of the grounds, and meal vouchers since we would be there through lunch. He passed these out to all of us and set us loose to explore the gardens from 9:00 till 13:00.
Entering the garden was like entering another world. There was a calliope across from the entrance playing a cheerful carnival song. We discussed a plan, however soon enough we were out in the garden, plan nearly forgotten. We reached the first pond and saw several different flower beds around the edges of this pond. Pinks, yellows, whites, purples. The colors kept coming. Oranges, blues, and green, so much green! From that first view I looked around at mom to see that she had tears in her eyes. She has been following blogs of Keukenhof for weeks and was so sure it would be completely burnt out before she could arrive, however here it was. This was the place that she had dreamed of seeing for so long! Finally here it was, here she was!
Entering the garden was like entering another world. There was a calliope across from the entrance playing a cheerful carnival song. We discussed a plan, however soon enough we were out in the garden, plan nearly forgotten. We reached the first pond and saw several different flower beds around the edges of this pond. Pinks, yellows, whites, purples. The colors kept coming. Oranges, blues, and green, so much green! From that first view I looked around at mom to see that she had tears in her eyes. She has been following blogs of Keukenhof for weeks and was so sure it would be completely burnt out before she could arrive, however here it was. This was the place that she had dreamed of seeing for so long! Finally here it was, here she was!
Every direction you walked there were fields and rows of assorted flowers and colors. There were combinations of colors I had never even thought of before and there were flowers like I have never seen. A photo cannot do it all justice. It was magical. I have never seen, or even dreamed, that there are so many types and colors of tulips. Keukenhof has all kinds of different flowers, not just tulips, however Holland is world famous for their beautiful tulips, and they deserve it! Their gardens are truly and undeniably art (Please click on photos below to enlarge them if you desire).
We found the food vouchers were only good at the cafeteria style building and not at the stands. With the voucher I got a muffin, a smoothie and a bottled soda. It was simple but yummy. Once we were done with our food we decided, reluctantly, that we should begin to head back to the entrance. We had loved walking through the gardens, admiring thousands of flowers. We visited the on site windmill and soaked in the pure love of spring. It only sprinkled for a little while before stopping. However, clouds in the distance threatened rain so now was probably as good a time as any to make our way toward the exit.
Emily rushed on ahead, hoping to find the perfect wooden tulip to add to her souvenir collection as mom and I, more or less, casually made our way back toward the entrance. It was almost painful to leave as we passed through slow moving ponds with breathtaking reflections, or row after row with lovely flowers in a variety of colors.
The group was slowly starting to meet up toward the entrance. We joined them. Just before leaving I purchased a souvenir coin of Keukenhof. It is a lovely little thing. Back on the bus we prepared for a long drive, buckled into our seats, got situated, and began talking about what we had seen. As the bus started to move my attention was drawn, once again, to some rather dark clouds circling the area. It was not even half an hour later that the storm hit, dousing us in heavy rainfall and slamming the bus with ridiculous winds. The voice of our tour guide over the speaker system said many times, “Wow, this is not good.” However our professional and wonderful driver Richard drove, well, like a pro and delivered us safely to our next stop, a gas station in Germany.
Once we entered into Germany we had an opportunity to stop and use the restroom (which cost $0.50 euros, but you could take your restroom ticket and use it toward a purchase upstairs). Dimitri had warned us to pay attention to the toilets here, stating that Germany has some interesting toilets. I did not quite know what to expect until I saw it for myself .
Emily rushed on ahead, hoping to find the perfect wooden tulip to add to her souvenir collection as mom and I, more or less, casually made our way back toward the entrance. It was almost painful to leave as we passed through slow moving ponds with breathtaking reflections, or row after row with lovely flowers in a variety of colors.
The group was slowly starting to meet up toward the entrance. We joined them. Just before leaving I purchased a souvenir coin of Keukenhof. It is a lovely little thing. Back on the bus we prepared for a long drive, buckled into our seats, got situated, and began talking about what we had seen. As the bus started to move my attention was drawn, once again, to some rather dark clouds circling the area. It was not even half an hour later that the storm hit, dousing us in heavy rainfall and slamming the bus with ridiculous winds. The voice of our tour guide over the speaker system said many times, “Wow, this is not good.” However our professional and wonderful driver Richard drove, well, like a pro and delivered us safely to our next stop, a gas station in Germany.
Once we entered into Germany we had an opportunity to stop and use the restroom (which cost $0.50 euros, but you could take your restroom ticket and use it toward a purchase upstairs). Dimitri had warned us to pay attention to the toilets here, stating that Germany has some interesting toilets. I did not quite know what to expect until I saw it for myself .
A field next to the rest stop
After a trip to the restroom I came upstairs to the store and began searching for a place where I could spend my $0.50 euro ticket. I started looking at some scarves they had there that were lovely. All of the sudden Richard, our bus driver, walked by. He had his sunglasses on as he breezed on by. As he passed he said, "No, you don't buy your scarves here. You buy them in Florence." I watched as he walked on out the door and back toward the bus. One of our group mates approached and said softly to me, "Wow, is it me, or did it just get hot in here?" Her husband was just a few steps behind her and said a little more loudly, "Well, it looks like it just got hot outside too!" Richard does have a certain appeal to him that is quite attractive. He is a very stylish man. I have not seen many bus drivers in the states wearing a suit for one. This should be a very interesting trip!
Our next destination is Bacharach, a town on the Rhine river. Bacharach is one of several towns along the Rhine. Similar to the other towns it also has its own castle up on the hill overlooking the large river. Bacharach is a charming town. We clambered off the bus across the street from the brick wall surrounding this town. Bags in hand we rolled across, down a street and to one of the towers along the wall with the sound of thunder beneath our luggage wheels. This tower is the grand Kranenturm, our hotel. This building is 700 years old. It was simply charming. There was no elevator, and so we had to carry our heavy luggage up the spiral staircase to the third floor (first floor of the rooms). Upon entering this room I immediately felt like royalty. There were two windows. One looked out to the railroad tracks (where some 200 trains go by DAILY, thank goodness they are fairly quiet unlike our trains at home!) and to the river. The other window looked over the town of Bacharach. From this window, consisting of four windows that can be swung open, we also had a lovely view of the castle on the hill, which is now a youth hostel. I claimed the bed closest to the window looking out on to the town and the castle.
In the picture below you see of our hotel our room is located where the four windows are just above the red "box" or the red part of the building.
Our next destination is Bacharach, a town on the Rhine river. Bacharach is one of several towns along the Rhine. Similar to the other towns it also has its own castle up on the hill overlooking the large river. Bacharach is a charming town. We clambered off the bus across the street from the brick wall surrounding this town. Bags in hand we rolled across, down a street and to one of the towers along the wall with the sound of thunder beneath our luggage wheels. This tower is the grand Kranenturm, our hotel. This building is 700 years old. It was simply charming. There was no elevator, and so we had to carry our heavy luggage up the spiral staircase to the third floor (first floor of the rooms). Upon entering this room I immediately felt like royalty. There were two windows. One looked out to the railroad tracks (where some 200 trains go by DAILY, thank goodness they are fairly quiet unlike our trains at home!) and to the river. The other window looked over the town of Bacharach. From this window, consisting of four windows that can be swung open, we also had a lovely view of the castle on the hill, which is now a youth hostel. I claimed the bed closest to the window looking out on to the town and the castle.
In the picture below you see of our hotel our room is located where the four windows are just above the red "box" or the red part of the building.
Hotel Kranenturm
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View from our room window looking up to Stahleck Castle.
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We had a few minutes of break before dinner, so I grabbed my camera and walked a small length of the bricked wall surrounding the town. I did not go far before turning around and returning to the hotel restaurant. For dinner we had potato soup to start. It was delicious! Emily especially enjoyed it. This was followed by a generous salad with a special (yummy) sauce. The main course was Fried chicken breast with mushroom gravy with German potato noodles. Wunderbar (wonderful)! Dessert was ice cream with chocolate syrup and a waffle cookie inside. Our group talked for a bit, making it a rather long dinner. Finally we dispersed to prepare for bed. Some went out to have a drink and mom and I decided to go out after dark to take photos of the town. There was a surprising number of cars in the streets as well! It was beautiful, of course, and also our first experience of the town outside of reaching the hotel. Being a smaller town we were not really worried about getting lost. We saw some fancy buildings, a church, and an old church that had been bombed during WW II. The ruins sit atop one of the hills and are all lit up at night. I think I got some nice night shots! The day ended on a late, but very peaceful note. Mom and Emily are resting and falling asleep nearby. The last thing I see tonight before I close my eyes and drift off to sleep is the breathtaking vision of a castle, lit up against the night sky. What a dream! How can this be real? Well, for now, auf wiedersehen and gute nacht! |
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