The Netherlands Was Beautiful

I know this post is kind of late... but lots of things have kept me away from the blogging. I barely made it to my memes this week but I was able to post some. As they always say, better late than never. My two loves are now better, thank God! Thank you to all those sent well-wishes and gave their concern.

Hubby and Sam in our hotel room, all dressed up for an afternoon in Amsterdam.

As you may all know, we spent the Easter holidays in The Netherlands. It was a beautiful experience for the family, what with the old architecture, the windmills, the tulips, the fresh air and a whole new place to explore. Although the weather was not so good when we got there on a Saturday afternoon because it rained and it hailed, our accommodations made up for it. We chose to stay in Hotel Casino Sassenheim and the room was big, big enough to fit four people without cramming and there were two beds, one queen sized, the other single.

The family in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was an inspiring place...
everywhere you look is beautiful so that you'd want to capture it on canvas.
(That's the painter in me writing down her thoughts...)

Sunday morning, it rained too but weather forecasts promised better conditions so we opted to visit Amsterdam, which is about 30 minutes from our hotel. We didn't bring the car with us though because we were told firsthand that driving around Amsterdam is difficult and impractical. The tram, bicycles, cars and pedestrian all use the same street. The roads are narrow and the parking rates are way too expensive, at €5.00 (Php 300) per hour.

Monday, the weather was better and we visited the windmills in Zaanse Schans and the beautiful spring garden of Keukenhof. It was in Keukenhof where I was very much delighted, with all the tulips and other bulb flowers that I got to photograph. Sadly, I lost the SD card with all my flower photos. So much for all my effort. =( Oh well, we can always return. Will post photos later... Firefox is acting up again!

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Oh No, There's No Film!

I remember this television commercial of two girl friends who were having a grand time posing in front of the camera, their faces so genuinely happy, their poses so wacky, only to find out after the photo op that there was no film inside the camera.

Oh no, there's no film!

This is what came into my mind when I was searching for our photos of the beautiful blooms and majestic view of the Keukenhof garden in Holland. How I arrived at such a thought is quite a long story. Will try to make it short though so here it goes:

We have two SD cards. One 4Gb and the other one, a 2Gb. We arrived in The Netherlands on a Saturday afternoon. It was raining hard and so we immediately went to our hotel. Sunday was Easter and the weather was still no good. It was raining until 1:00PM and so we decided to visit Amsterdam. We heard that the city center is very easy to tour so that we could just walk around. We just commuted though because the roads are very narrow and the parking fees are way too high... We are not crazy enough (or rich at that) to pay a staggering €5,00 per hour parking rate! Of course, we took lots of photos during the tour. There were lots of very interesting sights in Amsterdam. It was like Venice but with very nice people. :D After an afternoon in Amsterdam, we headed back to our hotel.

Amsterdam's canals, boat houses, bicycles and beautifully lined houses.

Hubby told me to upload our photos in our laptop so that I can format the main SD card but I didn't because I brought the 2Gb SD card with me. He was okay with that though since there was an extra SD card should our 4Gb go full. Monday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to see the old wind mills in Zaanse Schans and took more photos. After an hour and a half of admiring the wind mills and enduring the chilly breeze, we drove again and headed for Keukenhof. This was supposed to be the highlight of our trip.

The windmills of Zaanse Schans

When we arrived, the temptation to take photos was very great that I just started shooting whatever it is my eyes behold. Keukenhof was a wonderful place, even with the tulips and other bulbs not yet in full bloom. It was at the early part of our sightseeing in Keukenhof when the 4Gb SD card went full and so we had to replace it with the other one. With another 2Gb card to fill, I had a blast taking photos. We had lots of beautiful photos.. with the flowers, with the different areas of Keukenhof, with the family.... And it was a relaxing afternoon. We were able to feast our eyes on thousands of tulips, crocuses, pollies, liliums. Every size and color of tulips that you never thought existed can be found exhibited in full bloom at the Willem Alexander. And this is where I devoted all my energy and photography "skills", if I ever had one... I even kneeled on the floor to get that perfect shot of the tulips. I was so wrapped up with taking photos that it went full again.

We then had to replace it with the 4Gb and hubby had browse through the photos contained in it to delete what he can delete. And I guess, I must have gotten excited and too busy in the process that I forgot to replace the 2Gb SD card in a secure place. I don't know how it happened but when I checked in my pockets and my wallet, it was nowhere to be found.

Oh no, there's no film!

No film indeed. No photos of the beautiful Keukenhof and of the tulips and the happy smiles and faces. Perhaps it was never meant to be. It was just sad to have no remembrance of the place except for the entrance tickets and the park brochure. But I guess the memories will forever be ingrained in our hearts and minds. So much for all our efforts, all gone with the wind. It was sad and disappointing.

Lesson learned: Follow what Hubby tells me. He is right, most of the time. Purchase a bigger capacity SD card. 16Gb perhaps? Buy a camera bag... like the Epiphanie? I wish!

Will post more photos of our trip in the days to come!

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Visiting the Land of Flowers

Photo source: Keukenhof website.

What better way to celebrate spring when in Europe? Visiting the Land of Flowers, of course! I am very excited for Easter to come because we will be visiting Holland... Keukenhof in particular. This is one of the most popular destinations in Europe at this time of the year. Here are some facts and figures about Keukenhof:

• Has won prizes as Europe’s most valued attraction
• Keukenhof is unique and famous throughout the world
• It is one of the most popular attractions in the Netherlands and has clocked up more than 44 million visitors in the last 60 years
• It is the largest bulb flower park in the world
• It covers an area of 32 hectares 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties
• It is the most photographed place in the world
• There are 15 kilometers of footpaths
• It is the largest sculpture park in the Netherlands
• The bulbs are supplied by 93 Royal Warrant Holders
• 7 million flower bulbs planted by hand
• More than 2,500 trees in 87 varieties
• Walk of Fame with tulips named after famous people

I just can't wait to get aim my camera at the thousands and thousands of tulips of different colors and sizes.

And because it is an out of town trip and will require about six hours of travel by car, we have decided to stay for one night. This trip will be special because we will be traveling with our friends. As usual, I am in charge of where we're going and where we're staying. Been searching the net for good hotel deals but I have to move fast because hotels are being booked at lightning speed. Promo rates in hotel rooms are the ones taken first. I guess I am not the only one who is looking to save money.

We will be traveling by car though so that we will be able to save on airfare. I know that airfares have also gone sky high, what with the holidays and the spring season coming in at the same time. I am just glad that Hubby availed of their company's auto loans a few months after we got here in Germany. It saves me the trouble of having to find cheap flights. Without our car, I wouldn't know how we could go around Germany and Europe that easily.
So wish me luck that I may be able to accomplish this task of ticket reservations and online bookings, and that in the process, I might find great deals and savings.

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