Netherlands – Wayfaring: Still

Expectations were feverishly high because it was after all (pricey!) Europe and well… our honeymoon. The honeymoon. One may travel to many places in his entire lifetime and promptly forget about some of these places several moons later, but nobody forgets the honeymoon.

As luck would have it, our honeymoon turned out to be nothing short of perfect. The itinerary was unsurpassed, the tour leader unrivalled, and the company unparalleled. Our group was manageably small with only 19 adults including 3 other pairs of honeymoon-ers like us, and everyone was pleasant, jovial and considerate.

If anything, I only have two minor grouses – we didn’t get to see much of Rome and totally missed out on Vatican City because of late Pope John Paul II’s funeral. I also didn’t particularly enjoy the incessant rain, in which we were told was not in congruence with Europe’s usual climate in April. I didn’t remember this, but the mister recalled that the rain started shortly after we landed in Rome, and only stopped after our day trip to Volendam in The Netherlands. He knew it for a fact that it wasn’t raining prior to 8 Apr 2005 because of a colleague who left Rome the day we arrived – apparently it was the only day which rained in the week she was there.

We were in Volendam on 19 Apr 2005 having our dinner of fish & chips when our Italian coach driver (who is a Roman Catholic) announced that the new Pope had been elected. It was raining bucketfuls of cats and dogs prior to dinner, but reduced to a drizzle when we were done with our scrumptious dinner. By the time we arrived at our hotel, the rain had completely stopped.

Was it a coincidence, or was there divine ‘intervention’? The oddity of the rainy season occurring within the period of sede vacante (Latin for ‘the seat being vacant’) of the Holy See, which promptly ended with the cessation of sede vacante – seemed to suggest that it was more than mere coincidence. We are not deeply pious people, but… it was some food for thought.

Our honeymoon coincided with the funerals of late Pope John Paul II and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the wedding of Prince Charles & Camilla Bowles. As you could see, we visited Europe during a very, for lack of a better word, interesting time. The trip was quite the eye-opener – we learnt how and why a papal conclave is convened, the difference between white smoke versus black smoke, Grace Kelly (not the bag!) and the House of Grimaldi from the Principality of Monaco. Speculations on the identity of the next Pope and expostulations on the sovereignty of Monaco considering Prince Albert II’s lack of a lawful heir totally preponderated the European, if not the world’s, prime time news. The media were having a series of field days.

We thought that Jeffrey Hoh, our tour leader, is the very epitome of an exceptional tour leader. He totally blew our minds with his experience, general knowledge, even temper and high level of service orientation. Following Jeffrey’s tradition of bestowing every tour group with a specific name (to distinguish all the groups he’d ever led), our group was aptly titled ’2 Funerals & a Wedding’. He professed that it would be difficult to forget our group given the unusual events facing Europe during our travel. He held true to his words, because several years later, he found and added the both of us as his friends on Facebook.

Regrettably, we’d lost contact with almost everyone in the group, with the exception of Kenneth and Sharon. If you are, or know any of our group-mates from the picture above, please email us at tenodddays[at]gmail[dot]com. We’d love to re-connect!

‘Of all the countries you visited, which is your favourite?’

We got asked this question umpteen times, by friends and family alike, following our return to reality. Not trying to play favourites here… but we have to concede that we enjoyed Italy the most. Something about the Italians’ honest charm, warmth and gregariousness tugged at my heartstrings – possibly because being reticent and bashful by nature, I couldn’t be more different than they are. The mister readily agreed with me, for an entirely different reason, I suspect – he had been raving incessantly about the unlimited potently flavoursome shots of espresso he got to enjoy at breakfasts in Italy.

Check out CTC Travel if you would like to trace our footsteps. While we do not sanction a package tour for seasoned travellers, we highly recommend it for virgin travellers (to Europe) who have no inkling of their travel likes and peeves, as a starting point.

Contrary to popular belief, not all women are partial to flowers. I am one such exception. Apart from two white flowers – tiger lilies and white cymbidiums – no other flower, however resplendently packaged in a bouquet, catches my eyes. We were therefore expectedly not looking forward to visit The Keukenhof despite much hype amongst our group mates. Little did we expect ourselves to be in for a pleasant surprise.

The Keukenhof, the world’s largest flower garden located near Lisse in Netherlands, opens annually between the last week of March and mid-May. During its opening, stunning displays of blooming tulips and horticultural mastery greets hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. It is sometimes also aptly called the Garden of Europe.

We started the day insanely early – at least it was so for me – hoping to be one of the earliest groups to reach The Keukenhof. Granted, we were one of the earliest, but there were already another 10 or so tour groups ahead of us, judging from the number of coaches at the parking bays. I wondered how early they woke up and set off to reach this early? Encouraged instead of being disheartened, we joined the rather long queue with much gutso.

Pink Tulips — *Some lovely tulips in hues of bright pink.*

I was barely awake when we finally got through the barricades and stepped foot onto the legendary garden park. Borrowing lyrics from one of Bryan Adam’s songs – I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven, for Keukenhof is what I would envisage Heaven to be, blasphemous as it may sound. We were blessed in many ways: the weather was rather good, with only slight manageable drizzles, if anything; the park was still not overwhelmed with crowds early in the morning; we were enchanted by the carefully preened florae; and oh, how could I forget the captivating tulip bulbs in every imaginable hue in the vast fields adjacent to the park.

Tulip Fields — *Such a beautiful sight to behold!*

I’m a convert, but only for tulip bulb fields.

The park is huge by any standard, and as we were slowly making our way back to the entrance cum exit of the park, our attention was captured by an enthralling act of a peacock courting a peahen. And a rather rare species of a white peacock, to boot!

The White Peacock — *Peacock snubbed by peahen.*

Alas, the peacock’s advances was snubbed by the arrogant peahen, which chose to ignore him throughout the courtship ritual that dated back to ancient times. Alright, I have to admit we don’t know much about peacocks and the likes. Perhaps the pair adjourned somewhere else to continue their rendezvous, away from prying eyes. We left not knowing what happened next.

If you intend to make a trip to The Keukenhof, time it earlier rather than later during the season. We were there in mid-April and it was perfetto: the flowers, while not in their full glory, were showing the first signs of blooming. Do take into account the general climate in Europe when deciding. For example, if it was a warm winter, then spring would likely be warmer too, resulting in the blooming occurring earlier than usual.

Following lunch in Amsterdam, we proceeded for our canal cruise. Barring my need to visit the restroom (but refusing to use the one on the boat!) and feeling rather motion-sick after a full lunch, it was an enjoyable and leisurely tour of Amsterdam. We sighted some really delightful self-contained houseboats along the way, and wondered what it would be like to live in one.

Amsterdam Drawbridge — *A typical drawbridge found in Amsterdam*.

Several drawbridges were also sighted during our canal tour. A pity there weren’t many tall vessels requiring the bridges to be drawn, for designing bridges was decidedly one of my favourite modules in college.

The Netherlands, also mistakenly referred to but widely accepted as Holland, is the world’s first producer and exporter of tulips although they were first imported from the Ottoman Empire (now known as Republic of Turkey). Amsterdam is the capital of the country, and the large number of canals found in the capital has led it to be called ‘Venice of the North’. With almost 25% of their land lying below sea level, it’s little wonder that the Dutch are famous for their bridge-building and technical know-how in water management. They have honed these skills to perfection for survival, more than anything else.

Soft drugs like cannabis are legal in The Netherlands, and only licensed “coffee shops” are allowed to sell these drugs. If you are a Singaporean and is thinking of trying out these drugs while visiting The Netherlands (or anywhere in the world, for that matter), I beg you to think twice. Singapore takes an unwavering firm stance where drugs are concerned – be it for trafficking or for personal consumption. But of course, the penalty for the former is much more severe than the latter. Even cannabis tested in a random urine test could get you imprisoned, and it is common knowledge that it takes a while for drugs to be totally cleared from your system.

The infamous Amsterdam Red Light District has also somewhat become a major tourist attraction. One contributing factor, I conclude, is its close proximity to Amsterdam’s Centraal Station (10 minutes walk, and no spelling error there). The later it is, the busier the area gets. If you so wish to see the prostitutes plying their trade in the famous little windows, otherwise known as ‘window-shopping’, you know to be later rather than earlier. However, we were warned that we should not attempt to reach for our cameras for it is forbidden to take photos in the district. Apparently anyone spotted to be doing so by any of the girls’ bouncers would be escorted out of the area, with the expensive toy thrown into the canal. Ouch!

After a unanimous vote of confidence from the whole group, we proceeded to Volendam for our dinner of Fish & Chips. I have little recollection of the quaint little town as it was raining so heavily we thought a flood was impending. I was also nursing an extremely bad cold. Bad weather with a cold combined: a sure-proof formula to bring on my surliness. I was the most disagreeable person to walk the surface of earth, if you had asked the mister that evening.

Needless to say, I was dreadfully grateful to have finally reached our hotel for the night. We were flying off to London the next day, but I left all the outstanding packing in the trusty hands of the mister since I was in no state to be of any help.

Tag: Netherlands

Epilogue – Europe Honeymoon

Of The Keukenhof & Canals