travelphotoblogger

Life has its little hiccups……I was so keen to blog; for the opportunity to write, as well as share photographic impressions of Holland … When I made my hotel/pension choices, in addition to ‘cheap and clean’, internet capability was an obvious must.  Pension Maaike in Noordwijk, my stop after Amsterdam, clearly advertised WiFi in every room….Well, of course, the internet was ‘down’ and the ‘man-who-knows-what-to-do’ was on holiday….Although I eventually found another place willing to let me send some quick emails, blogging wasn’t an option.

So, I will start where I left off…the ‘bleeping’ Royal Taste Hotel stairs….Getting my suitcase from the fourth floor to street level was a step by step, breath-gulping, drag and bump affair….Luckily, at the bottom, I was able to park my luggage in the pub for the few hours I had before collecting my rental car.  I had decided that the Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt), the largest of its kind in Holland, would be a fun place to wander and shoot. So I pulled up my hood and again hit the wet Amsterdam cobblestone. This market is an amazing place ! Stall after stall after stall of blooming flowers, bulbs of all proportions (tiny up to grapefruit-size), and seed packages by the thousands….My overwhelming sensation was of colour and bustle:  tourists jostling to get out of the rain and collect souvenirs; locals trying to have a chat while buying flowers, and everyone oogling over the bulbs….Plus many, like me, trying to photograph the scene. A good time…

After the protection of the market, it was damn cold outside. The Canal boat cruise which had been lower on my ‘to do’ list started looking like a really good (= warm) idea…The boats are totally enclosed  with glass, and provide an entirely different perspective of town. On the street there are bikes parked literally everywhere, and locked to anything available. One of the funnier sights, more obvious from the water, were the number of bikes hanging along the inside of the canal and bridge walls, just above the water. Premium spots, but a tad trickier to park.

Before I headed back to the airport to get my car rental (a very cute, deep purple Fiat Panda) I wandered around the Jordaan district of town which is renowned for it trendy older homes and smaller, tree-lined canals….Not disappointed…very quaint and photo-worthy !

My drive to Noordwijk was only an hour, but positioned me well for an early start the next morning at Keukenhof Gardens…The tulip extravaganza extraordinaire….Photo-heaven !!!  I spent 9 hours shooting there the next day…..I was one of the first through the gate when it opened, and had maybe an hour and a half of relative ‘people free’ shooting…but after that the crowds descended and it got packed…I didn’t manage to see the entire place, but what a delight the flowers were. The horticulturists are geniuses; ‘playing’ with colour, height, texture, and shape so beautifully. I was so engrossed that I somehow managed to burn through nearly 900 frames ! Whoops !…That adds a little more  time to my post-production…

The next day it poured again, and the winds were so high I didn’t even try to go back and shoot the  fields lined with tulip colours…My tripod wouldn’t have held against the wind. Disappointing.

It took most of the day to travel the 250 miles to Maastricht, where my sister Sally and her family now live. Great roads, but construction and an accident slowed the pace significantly. Today has been spent relaxing and enjoying family. Tomorrow is the  celebration of Dutch Queen’s birthday  so we will see how Maastricht observes the occasion.

A quick follow-up re my  ‘Stairs of the Netherlands’ obsession. It turns out that my whinging about the Royal Taste was premature…The real danger lurked at the Pension Maaike . My room, again on the top floor, again reached via very steep, windy and narrow stairs, was a floor above the loo….requiring descent and ascent of said stairs at night in near pitch black conditions. I only had to do it once, which was enough; by the 2nd night I found my flashlight and the light switch.