Springtime in Amsterdam

If your visit to Amsterdam falls late March to mid-May, take a trip to Keukenhof near Lisse, where spring comes to the Netherlands with acres of beautiful, fragrant flowers. Take in the Tropenmuseum; their collection of world music and books in the gift shop alone is worth the trip.

Quick Tips:

In Amsterdam, take an umbrella with you....always! I'm not sure I've ever visited when it didn't rain at least a bit practically every day of my visit.

For a tasty budget snack, try patates frites (french fries) from any of the stalls in and around Amsterdam. These aren't like anything you've ever tasted before, I guarantee! Hot and crispy outside and moist inside, you can have your selection of sauces. My pick is the sate sauce, which is a peanut/curry sauce like that found in Thai cuisine. A small bag of frites plus sauce will set you back about .50.

Best Way To Get Around:

The trams are inexpensive and can get you to most places in the city center quickly and conveniently. You can pay your fare on the tram, or, better still, buy a strippenkaart. Strippenkaarts are sold wherever you see tobacco for sale (i.e., little convenience stores, grocery stores, and some postcard/souvenir shops). A strip costs about .00, and I find that for stays of a week, 2-3 will suffice for my transportation needs. If you're out late, make sure to check for information on the late buses operating near your destination, or else have money for a cab. Most of the tram lines have a last run about midnight or a little after.

The Eden Hotel is located near Rembrandt Square, and situated on the Amstel River. A member of the Best Western group, it is a popular hotel with business travelers and tourists alike. While to my thinking its price excludes it from the budget range, it’s never the less a good choice if you want a large, comfortable room with full bath in a central location. Several trams lines meet just steps from the hotel, and can take you quickly to Centraal Station, the Tropenmuseum, the Albert Cuypmarkt, and other popular destinations.

Rooms have a wardrobe, table, chairs, TV, hairdryer, and a bath amenities basket, which includes face cloths, shower cap, toothbrush, shampoo, etc. A complimentary daily hot and cold breakfast buffet is available each morning and features eggs, bacon, sausages, cold cereals, fruits, cheeses, breads, rolls, juice, etc. There is a small bar in the lobby for relaxing with your favorite beverage after a busy day working or sightseeing. A concierge/bellman is available to assist with finding taxis and recommending restaurants and other sights.

Light woods, yellow walls, and cheery plaid bed coverings in red, yellow and blue make the rooms bright. The double beds are comfortable, and even the smaller rooms are fairly spacious, as is the full bath. In summer, there can be a bit of noise from the bars and clubs in nearby Rembrandt Square. You may prefer a room on a higher floor and/or on the Amstel side.

If you didn’t know to look for this restaurant, reputed to be one of the oldest Thai restaurants in Amsterdam, you could easily miss it. Set in a quiet side street close to the Radisson, the small below-street-level space has about half a dozen tables, with additional seating at a long bar running the length of the room. The brick walls, dark woods, and soft lantern light make this a very cozy spot on a cold March evening. The menu is quite extensive, making choosing just one dish a dilemma. On the night we visited, my friend Jim had the Tom Yam Kai soup for a starter, which was a clear broth chock-full of large chunks of aromatic garlic and basil. I tried a bite, and it was fantastic! For an entree, Jim had Pad Sie Jew Senmie, which are rice noodles with broccoli, eggs, bean sprouts and sauce. It was interesting to note, unlike Pad Sie I’ve had most other places, this restaurant uses thin rice noodles for this dish rather than the large, wide flat noodles.

I chose Pohpia (Spring Rolls) for a starter; these were hot and crispy and served with the traditional sweet sauce for dipping. Koeng Pad Hed Sod, the entree I selected was a shrimp dish with plenty of tender shrimp, green pepper, mushrooms, and served with rice. It had a nice flavor, but I decided to turn up the heat by trying a bit of the hot pepper sauce on the table. I’ve never eaten anything so hot in my life...and I loved every bite! We each had a few beers to whet our thirst, and in my case, to quench the fire of the pepper sauce!

Klaas Compaen does not accept credit cards and is open only for dinner, starting at 5:00 PM; the kitchen closes at 9:45 PM.

I visited the Van Gogh/Gauguin exhibit when it was here at the Art Institute of Chicago. When I discovered that it would be shown during the time I was visiting Amsterdam, I decided it would be interesting to compare the exhibits in the two venues.

The exhibit tells the story of these artists who, for a brief time, lived and worked together in the south of France. It opens with self-portraits by each artist, and then features some of their works while they were in Paris. Next the focus moves to the "Studio of the South", which was Van Gogh’s idea of founding an artists’ colony in southern France. In May, 1888, Van Gogh rented rooms in Arles in what is called the Yellow House, where he wanted to set up the studio. Both painters produced a variety of works using local people and places as their subjects.

The next section, called "Dream and Reality" deals with what appears to be the beginning of the end of this partnership. In November, with the cold weather upon them, the two were forced to work indoors. Tempers flared, arguments erupted, and Gauguin begins to talk about his wish to leave for more exotic locales. The following section, "Memory", shows Van Gogh’s attempts, at Gauguin’s urging, to paint more from imagination, rather than reality.

"Sunflowers" is the part of the exhibit that is a recurring theme in the relationship of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Van Gogh exchanged some of his works of sunflowers with Gauguin after their initial meeting in Paris. When tensions erupted in December, Van Gogh returned to this theme, perhaps hoping to please Gauguin by painting the subject he loved. To no avail, as on the December 23 a quarrel precipitated Van Gogh’s cutting off of his left ear. Two days later, Gauguin departed Arles.

"After the Drama" tells of Van Gogh’s return from the hospital and the works show the collaboration with Gauguin. Van Gogh voluntarily commits himself to a hospital in May. Contact is resumed between the two artists, and they exchanged letters just as they had prior to their brief partnership.

The final section of the exhibit, "Studio of the Tropics", showcases works of Gauguin’s in Tahiti, where he wanted to establish a "Studio of the Tropics".

The exhibit in Amsterdam, while comprised of essentially the same works as at the Chicago exhibit, was different in a number of respects. The exhibit in Chicago had sections headed by quotes from the artists, which were painted on the walls. Also, it gave equal time to Van Gogh and Gauguin, virtually a one-for-one. Not surprisingly, it seemed the emphasis here shifted a bit towards Van Gogh, and the division of the exhibit as described above, created a different atmosphere.

Tickets are sold in one-hour time blocks: you must enter the museum during that hour. Coat check is free, audio tours of the Van Gogh/Gauguin exhibit are free, as is a booklet on the exhibit (available in various languages). www.vangoghmuseum.nl

Called the "Spring Garden of Europe", the opening of Keukenhof Gardens in late March announces the advent of spring in the Netherlands in much the same way the arrival of the first robin lets Midwesterners in the United States know that warm days cannot be far behind. Keukenhof, once an estate belonging to the Countess of Holland, Jacoba van Beieren, is a flower park comprising more than 32 hectares of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and more. The name Keukenhof translates to "kitchen garden"; it was in this area of the estate that the Countess hunted and gathered herbs for the castle garden. The park upon which the present Keukenhof is based was designed by the same horticultural architects who designed the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. The Beukenlann, or Beech Lane, was from the same period in the mid-nineteenth century, making the beech trees the oldest at Keukenhof.

The flower gardens have grown dramatically since they were first started in 1949 with a dozen local flower growers and exporters. This spring, more than 40 growers are participating, with more than seven million bulbs expected to bloom. The first year, less than 250,000 people visited Keukenhof; in recent years nearly 1,000,000 visit annually.

Peaceful paths let visitors meander through the park and visit the various gardens within the park. The Historical Garden is a formal garden with bulbs that are from ancient times. The Nature Garden has bulbs, tuberous plants and flowering shrubs, all of which are allowed to run wild. This year, the royal flowerbed offers a mixture of both classical and modern blooms. There are several dozen species of birds at Keukenhof, as well as ducks and swans.

Throughout the short season, Keukenhof offers various Spring Flower Parades, where all the typical flowers of spring are showcased. For younger visitors, there is an animal pasture, play equipment, and special workshops. Four self-service restaurants offer snacks as well as more substantial fare; there are restroom facilities (cost $.25 Euro), souvenir shops, and automated teller machines. This season, Keukenhof is open from March 21, 2002 to May 20, 2002, from 8:00 AM until 7:30 PM (last ticket sales at 6:00 PM). Cost for adults is 11 Euros, less than $10 US. There is so much to see that I’d recommend taking a day to see Keukenhof, but definitely you should plan on at least three hours.

See the following entry, "Getting to Keukenhof" for tried-and-tested transportation tips and more pictures of the fabulous flowers at Keukenhof.

The Tropenmuseum illustrates how people in tropical and subtropical countries go about their daily lives, providing text, interactive exhibits and otherwise providing insight into other cultures.

The ground floor exhibit, People and Environments, talks about four different ecosystems and the inhabitants of each. These are: tropical rainforests, the savannah, the city, and the seashore. In each exhibit, visitors are shown how problems of erosion and of soil, traffic congestion and pollution, can negatively impact these environments and what can possibly be done to save these ecosystems.

The exhibits of the first floor feature Southern Asia, Oceania and Southeast Asia. I particularly enjoyed the Music, Dance, and Theatre exhibit that shows a variety of oriental musical instruments, set up as though a concert were about to start.

The second floor visits Western Asia, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Visit a model of the Arab city of Aleppo, or an exhibit called The Last Judgment, which talks about the afterlife, a central idea in the religion of Islam.

A special exhibit when I visited was a fantastic display called Kites of the World. Many of these brilliantly colored kites are owned by the museum, while private Dutch collectors own others. Ranging in size from perhaps a foot square to more than 5 or 6 feet high, these were displayed on the walls and hung from the ceiling of the 3-story central gallery. There were multi-dimension kites, as well as kites formed into the likeness of sailing ships, birds, snakes butterflies and other shapes.

The Tropenmuseum has a small gift shop with a fabulous selection of world music, travel books, language books, and books about all facets of the cultures the museum illustrates. It’s worthwhile visiting just to check out the wealth of books and music available. From Rembrandt Square, take either the 9 or 14 tram and get off at the Tropenmuseum stop (just a bit past the zoo).

Wynand Fockink has been an Amsterdam institution for more than three hundred years. Established by Mr. Fockink, this lunch cafe/bar is famous for its flavored liqueurs. You walk in and can smell the character, and can’t help wondering if the shelves sagging with bottles will last through the next hour.

As for the liqueurs, a plethora of taste temptations awaits. Perhaps a Aardbei (Strawberry) would be refreshing on a pleasant spring evening? This drink is made with strawberries that have been fermented and distilled twice, then mixed with the juice of fresh strawberries. Or perhaps you’d prefer Banaan (Banana); ripe bananas ground, then steeped in alcohol for two months or more. Na Achten (After eight) is cocoa and peppermint, just like the after dinner candies of the same name. A bit more adventurous perhaps is ‘T Hempje Licht Op’, or "the shirt lifts", which is believed to have purgative powers due to its medicinal qualities. This is made from orange, cocoa and vanilla with a bit of cascara. Whether you want to "lift your shirt" or just lift a stein of beer, Wynand Fockink is a place you’ll enjoy. It’s very easy to find, located on the small street on the south side of the Grand Krasnapolsky Hotel.

NOTE: Cash only, no credit cards.

Keukenhof Gardens are located near Lisse, Holland, not really far outside of Amsterdam or Haarlem. Getting there was a bit tricky, but only because I’d had some slightly erroneous information when I started the journey. I was told to take a train to Leiden, and then I could either catch a bus or transfer to another train that would go to Lisse. At Lisse, it would be about a 10-minute walk to Keukenhof. It was also indicated that I could buy a complete "package" ticket at Amsterdam Centraal Station, which would cover all transportation as well as the admission to Keukenhof.

At Centraal Station, I indicated that I was going to Keukenhof, and that I understood there was a special package I could purchase for the train fare and admission. The ticket seller indicated that while this used to exist; it was an old type of ticket and no longer offered. He said I needed to take the train to Leiden, and then transfer to a local bus. The round-trip (second class) fare from Amsterdam Centraal to Leiden is about $9. (At no point did I see or hear anything about being able to changes trains at Leiden for Lisse.)

Upon arriving at Leiden, I walked to the front of the train station and found a GWK office where I purchased an admission ticket to Keukenhof. When I inquired about the bus service, I was told they didn’t sell those tickets, but that the buses were directly outside and I could use a strippenkaart. Having very few strips left, I retraced my steps back into the station and found a place where I could purchase a strippenkaart. Then back out to the front of the station. (I did also see a Connexxion office at the front of the station; it may be possible to purchase both the bus fare and Keukenhof admission there, but I can’t say for sure.)

I easily found the buses, but the schedule was misleading. At least for the Keukenhof bus, it seems that the schedule might not be up to date. Your best bet is to just look at the boards above the buses until you see one marked "Keukenhof". (On my trip it was the farthest bus to the right side of the front of the train station.) Once you board the bus, it’s about another 15 minutes or so to Keukenhof. NOTE: When you get off the bus, be very sure to note what gate you enter: this is where you need to come to catch the bus for the return trip. Each gate has a flower name; Hyacinth, Tulip, etc., so remember that name, as they tend to look fairly similar. Buses arrive and leave from the Tulp (Tulip) Gate for the Leiden train station. The service to and from Keukenhof seems to be fairly frequent; I’d say at least four times an hour, and there are frequent trains between Amsterdam and Leiden. The trip between Amsterdam and Leiden takes about 40 minutes, and as you can see from the pictures below, the journey is well worth it.

I asked at my hotel how I could best go about getting a ticket for the Van Gogh/Gauguin exhibit. I was told that I should be able to get a ticket at either the UIT Bureau or the VVV (tourist information office) near the Leidseplein. It was highly recommended that I not try to get a ticket at the museum itself, as this could be very time-consuming navigating the long lines.

I walked to the Leidseplein and looked for the VVV office. Upon inquiring there for a ticket, they said their machine was not working, but that I should go to the UIT Bureau just down the street and I could get a ticket. The UIT Bureau is on the south side of the Stadsschouwburg Theatre, and has all sorts of booklets, programs, flyers and tickets for all sorts of Amsterdam events. There were only two people ahead of me in the line, so in no time I was giving my request to the ticket seller. They asked when I wanted to go to the exhibit, and I said I’d like to go that same day. They said fine, what time would I want to go. I asked if it would be possible to go right away, and they said yes, no problem. I got a ticket for the 1:00 PM-2::00 PM time block: I could enter any time during that time period but could only enter then. So, I ended up having enough time to walk leisurely to the Van Gogh Museum and enter shortly after 1:00 PM. Once you already have a ticket, upon getting to the museum, there is a special entrance where you can go right in and not wait in line.

Tickets purchased at UIT Bureau incur an extra 2 Euro service charge (around $1.50 or so), but if you’re on a tight schedule, it’s worth it to spend the money rather than spend the time waiting in a long line at the museum.

I’d previously written about these EasyEverything Internet shops and recommended them. After my recent experiences of last week, I’m changing my vote to NOT RECOMMENDED. These establishments have changed the way the do things, and, in my opinion, not for the better. Before, you’d walk in, go to a person at the front counter who would give you a login slip and take your money. You could also purchase snacks and beverages. Now, there is no one available at the front to assist you in obtaining a login card. You are faced with three machines where you put in money to “top up” (add value to) your existing card, or buy a new one. I didn’t find these to be user-friendly in the slightest. First, it wasn’t readily apparent how to view the instructions in English. I finally did find the English flag symbol and was able to get instructions in English...sort of. Next, although the machines indicate that notes are accepted, neither I nor my friend now living in Amsterdam can figure out how this works. You can use coins...but no change is given, and there are no changes machines on the premises. After finally getting a login card, I thought my troubles were over...but then I had to try to find a PC that actually worked. I managed this on the fourth try. Some machines that are out of order have signs on them; the vast majority, however, don’t, so it’s a trial and error proposition. I used this place a couple of times and at no point did I see anyone available to keep an eye on things or help customers. Food is no longer served, and supposedly, outside food and beverages are not permitted. The price is still quite cheap: 1 Euro (less than $1) got me about 45 minutes. Still, I’d rather pay a bit more for better quality. These places have seriously gone downhill; makes me wonder if they’ll even be around next time I’m in Amsterdam. One branch is at Reguliersbrestraat 22, near Rembrandtplein (and this seems to be the worse of the two locations); the other is at Damrak 33, just down from Centraal Station.