Just got home from a 19 day trip to Amsterdam, Brugge, Bastogne, Luxembourg and Brussels. A great trip and met many highlights we were trying to get covered in these countries over these 19 days. Our initial plan was Keukenhof and planning around its opening. It was fantastic….hard to believe the beauty and the care given this place. It was crowded but was not a problem. Weather was perfect. If you love flowers you need to go. We were blessed with the views as we were bussed there to seeing the farm fields FULL of tulips ready to be harvested for sale. We felt our timing was perfect. This forum was so helpful as Pat from San Diego had made this trip before and her suggestions worked out so well for us. We made Amsterdam our first stop but stayed at Steenhof Suites in Leiden. We trained everyday into Amsterdam-about a 15 minute walk to the Leiden train station-and we loved having a quaint, charming quiet room on the canal to come home to each day. Amsterdam was CRAZY….we were there the Saturday of KING’S DAY and people were everywhere. We saw Corrie Ten Boom’s house in Haarlem-get your tickets asap-and Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. Anne Frank’s house is going through repairs on the outside and I was disappointed that it was completely covered by the white repair screen. The tour has tiny stairs and very small rooms so consider that if that would bother you. I woke up 9 weeks ago in Nashville at 4am to get our tickets and the website crashed so get ready for a tough time finding a time slot. Glad I stuck with it and that we got in. The Rijksmuseum was UNREAL…..we do love and appreciate museums but would say we are not devoted to them….so the fact that we were so impressed with this one says a lot. We also visited the Dutch Resistance Museum…..so well done. We walked to these various places and the canals were filling up with visitors ready for KING’S DAY….but I was glad we saw so much on foot-Kramer Antiques, Van Stapele cookies (well worth the 10 minute line wait). Wish we had taken a canal ride in Amsterdam but ran out of time. Cannot say enough for Leiden and its charm. It was wonderful and the canal ride there was delightful. The windmill and museum in Leiden was great…easy and so close by. We took a side trip to Delft the last day in Leiden and had tea at The Royal Delft factory restaurant. It was very quiet in Delft that day and only a few painters present in the factory to watch but everyone else was out celebrating KING’S DAY- I would suggest the tea if you go-a great value for your money and fun. I have always loved Delft pottery so this was a highlight. They shipped home our purchases and they beat us home! Training on to Brugge the next day.
Posted by
Palm Springs area, CA. USA 🌴☀️
3737 posts
Thanks for your report, we loved Amsterdam and would like to see more of the country. Can I ask how you got out to the Keukenhof gardens? Did you go directly from the airport upon landing? TIA!
Posted by
64 posts
Hi Jane!
My husband and I are doing our very first traditional RS tour in April (Belgium, Holland) as we've only done the RS Alps My Way. Your report is wonderful! Thank you so very much! I had no idea I would need to get tickets so far in advance for the AF house! You referred to a forum post from Pat San Diego wrote. How would I be able to find that, please ?
I'm following your reports! I feel overwhelmed with the planning of Belgium and Holland tour! But excited at the same time :)
~Mitzi
Posted by
The Netherlands
1810 posts
Thanks for your report, it seems you had a great time.
A couple of remarks, so that others that may read this don’t get confused. The actual hiding place of the Frank family can’t be seen from the street. So what you saw covered in a repair screen is not the Secret Annex. In Dutch the hiding place is called Het Achterhuis, which literally translates as the Back House. The Secret Annex is located behind the house on Prinsengracht 263. To accommodate the growing number of visitors, the Anne Frank house bought the neighboring properties on numbers 265 and 267. Number 267 is the building on the corner which now houses the entry, shop, cafe etc. and this is the building currently in repairs. Some time ago they moved the door around the corner, so the official address of the museum is now Westermarkt 20. So the actual Anne Frank house is a couple of doors down from where most people think it is. This map hopefully makes things more clear https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/secret-annex/
A very important note is that tickets to the Anne Frank house go on sale 6 weeks in advance, not 9. See the website for all details; https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/
With regards to the tulips. You were indeed lucky to see them before the flowers were cut off, but this is not done to sell the flowers. The tulips in these famous flower fields are not grown for their flowers, but for their bulbs. Some time during the first days of May, the flowers of the tulips are cut off or headed. Just the colorful top of the tulip is cut off, not the rest of the plant. This is done so that the tulip plant doesn’t waste any energy in maintaining the flower, but instead uses its energy to produce bulbs. In July, the bulbs are then dug up, cleaned, packaged and shipped all across the world.
Posted by
SF Bay Area
1029 posts
Thank you, Jane. I have two questions: 1) how long did you spend at Royal Delft (not counting the tea), and 2)was the tea good at their restaurant?
Oh sorry, I just saw that the tea was worth it and fun! So only Question 1 is relevant.
Posted by
San Diego, California
6317 posts
Tripletblessings, attached is my 2024 Trip Report. Hope it can be helpful.
Jane, I'm so happy everything went so well, and that you share my love for these countries. You are very efficient completing your Trip Report so quickly!
Posted by
OP
Franklin, TN, USA
946 posts
Thanks so much Dutch Traveler for clearing things up……it is amazing how they have made the museum at AFrank’s house around the house….I walked in and was expecting a house-lie atmosphere and it was a museum lobby……and it was an incredible experience……so different from Corrie Ten Boom’s house in Haarlem……good to see both. The reason I said 9 weeks is because I meant 9 weeks ago from today…it was exactly 6 weeks before our travel there that I went online for tickets and you are right. We loved meeting Dutch people and they were so gracious and kind. It seems so many spoke English and that helped. Iof we ever bumped into anyone by accident they were quick to apologize and say “I am sorry! Excuse me” and not get huffy……so nice!
Posted by
OP
Franklin, TN, USA
946 posts
Barbara N- we spent about an hour in the factory before our 12:30 tea and then stayed to shop a bit after our tea.
Posted by
64 posts
Thank you for the link, Pat! I'm learning all I can about what I'll need to do!
Were you on a RS tour ?
Posted by
SF Bay Area
1029 posts
Jane, one more question: How far ahead did you book your reservation for the tea at Royal Delft?
Posted by
OP
Franklin, TN, USA
946 posts
We left Leiden and trained to Brugge….4 train changes but the Leiden train info desk put it all on paper and made the changes easy. We made this decision for the future on days traveling with our luggage…if we are on any train over 20 minutes we will go first class. We finally got smart and followed the cyclists into their train cars where there was more room for us and our luggage…that was a problem. We had heard so much about Brugge and its charm and had Pat’s rec to stay at Canal Deluxe B&B….and once again her advice was perfect. It was on a cobblestone street and our apartment was in the back after you walked through a lovely courtyard and garden. Our first floor was our den-fireplace, small frig, 2 comfy chairs and windows to look out over the courtyard and canal and gardens at our back. Our king bed was on floor 2…..and the climb up was a steep spiral staircase….never took our luggage up there! Our bath was on floor 1 after you climbed down another spiral staircase…..the shower was in the tub and you stood in the tub as you showered. To make a bathroom call in the night was iffy….we survived. The owner toured us through another beautiful room the next day that was all on one floor…..next time I would request that. I would highly recommend Canals Deluxe…..just make certain you can physically climb or go down their stairs as you will need to. Our breakfast each morning was served in a cozy room in another back building surrounded by flowers and a garden. It was a DREAM to stay in such a special place…..cake waiting for you every afternoon when you arrived home! I am a seamstress so I was on the lookout for lace shops and the Lace Museum…..they did not disappoint. The shop across the street from the Lace Museum, ‘t Apostelientje, was amazing. She had gorgeous pieces of lace along with dresses, handkerchiefs, anything you wanted. We had a wonderful time every afternoon taking the walk from our B&B to the windmills on the edge of old Brugge and seeing the quiet backstreets and canals. Our canal tour there was great. We made new friends at Dumon Chocolates…Nele and her family that run it. Their chocolate was just unreal….so worth the price and care they give you and their product. We took our time each day to walk the streets, watch the horse-drawn carriages go by and attend the market Wednesday on the town square. I was told we would fall in love with Brugge and want to stay longer and we did. The laundromat here I need to mention….in our travels we have seen at least a dozen….all over Europe. Never ever seen one so easy to use as this one in Brugge…EVERYTHING completely automated by use of your credit card. Great directions in all languages! It made our visit SO EASY…wish all of Europe would adopt that in the laundromats. Once again the train info desk was so helpful in Brugge getting us on to our next stop, Brussels.