CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG April 30th, 2026 - AMSTERDAM

 

4/30/26– Over ten hours of sleep isn’t bad and I’m up before 8am. We purchased tickets for Keukenoff to see the tulip fields in bloom, with our bus not leaving until 11am. It should be another sunny day so I’m expecting very good picture opportunities.

We leave our hotel around 10am, walk ten minutes to the train station to hop on the metro train, take the train four stops only to have to wait in a long line to board our bus that’ll take us to our destination. The line literally wraps around in a spiral. We could’ve cut the wait in half if we wanted to stand, but thirty minutes is way too long for that sort of nonsense. Finally we board only to have one seat available. We take turns switching off as the other sits on the elevated step.

        

Once there, we scan our ticket and are surrounded by hoards of zombified people making their way toward the gardens. I’m talking pets, kids, people in wheelchairs, it’s like Disneyland for flower lovers. Kelvin and I split up as he prefers to enjoy the walk around without stopping every two second for photos, which I don’t blame him one bit.

                
 
 

Snaking my way around the crowd, I do my best to get some intriguing shots. The further I walk the more I realize how vast this place really is, and on the other side is loud carnival music playing by a small pond and fountain. Seriously, all this is missing is “It’s A Small World” ride.

          

After an hour plus my camera has its fill of flower shots and I’m ready to leave. Seems a bit of a waste of $45 USD for this place (including round trip bus fare) but where else would I get the chance to see this? At least there are barn animals.

I meet back up with Kelvin, find the bus to take us back to Amsterdam (with the wait much shorter) before jumping on the metro. This time we get off two stops early to check out the Heineken Factory.

We purchase two tickets at the kiosk just as the behind the brewery tour is about to start. The lady speaking through the microphone is quite overbearing as her voice loudly projects in the small room we're in. I’m beginning to wonder if we got jipped into overpaying, but as it continues it does start to get more interesting.

Much of it is a self-guided tour as if moving through a museum or past advertisements and bottles, but every now and then a guide will explain the beer making process. Then it gets weird as it feels like we’re in a nightclub with a lightshow and holograms surrounding us. We haven’t even got our beer yet and already I’m feeling like I’m in the matrix.

        

Finally, we get to the sample area and are told it’s the freshest we will ever taste in their beer. I’m not a beer fan myself, but it is cold… not sure about refreshing at all. Maybe that’s just me. After going downstairs to a few more floors we reach the bar, present our token and given a pint of Heineken each. As the people start to filter in, we locate an empty table to relax for a spell before tossing around the beanbags in cornhole. Of course I can’t finish my beer and Kelvin downs it before we leave.

Two metro stops and a short walk later we are back at our hotel around 5:30pm. It was an interesting day to say the least but enjoyable to a degree. This wraps up Amsterdam for us as we prepare for next destination.

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