First Time Visitor's Guide to Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Keukenhof is one of my bucket list destinations. It took a lot of planning and coordination to visit Amsterdam when the tulips were in full bloom. The garden is open every year from March-May. But visitors have a narrow 2-week window to see the flowers in bloom. Ideally, the 3rd or 4th week of April would be a perfect time to visit the gardens. Flowers would be in full bloom and the weather would be generally mild.

Flowers Infinity

This garden was started as a flower exhibit. The idea was that the bulb growers can showcase their flowers and eventually boost the Dutch export industry. The actual product of trade is bulbs. Walking in the Keukenhof garden was like walking into a beautiful tulip wallpaper. The garden designers created beautiful artwork with colorful tulips as their medium. Do not expect straight rows of tulips in the garden. You will rather encounter a creative combination of colorful flowers. It is quite impressive to see a variety of flower combinations creating a perfect flower carpet.

Beautiful Flower Combinations

How to reach the garden? Reaching Keukenhof is quite easy. Driving is the easiest option if you have a car. Airport transfers and hotel transfers are available from almost all hotels. Check with your hotel reception if they have a transfer to the garden. Regular tours are available from Amsterdam city center. Few tours include bulb farm tours as well. Plan an entire day for the garden visit. Despite the huge crowds, you will encounter queuing only in few places. Viator, GetYourGuide, and TravelAdvisor have reliable tours and transfer to the garden. Public transportation might be cheaper but might be a questionable means of transport for first-time visitors. If all means fail, there are always taxis available.

Flower Carpet

What to expect? Keukenhof is a 32-hectare garden showcasing 7 million bulbs with 800 varieties of tulips. The garden is stroller accessible. A variety of sculptures are spread across the garden with beautiful backdrops. It is not only a flower lover's paradise but also a perfect destination for a family outing. With a variety of playgrounds, maze, petting zoo, boat ride, and a windmill to explore. Kids will have a fantastic day as well. For more tips, visit the garden's website. 

Notice The Crowd In The Background?

There are several pavilions spread throughout the garden. Each pavilion is dedicated to a purpose. William-Alexander pavilion, the largest of all is located in the middle of the garden. With hundreds of tulip varieties in bloom, this is a tulip paradise.

Beautifully Coordinated Flowers Outside William-Alexander Pavilion

William-Alexander Pavillion

Flower Power 2019

Oranje-Nassau Pavilion is filled with beautiful flower shows every week. Beatrix pavilion, located at the far end of the garden, is dedicated to Orchids whereas Juliana pavilion is dedicated to the flower and bulb history. Visiting all the pavilions and all the walking will make one hungry. Yes, there is a pavilion dedicated to food. Wilhamena pavilion is a dedicated food court with a vast seating area. Irene pavilion, which was an old entrance,  now has gift shops, food court, and toilets. Keukenhofmolen is a windmill right next to beautiful rows of tulips. This is a perfect place for a picture and hence is overrun by tourists. There is an hour-long boat ride starting from the windmill that would take tourists around the tulip fields adjacent to the garden. If you have time and patience to wait, don't miss the windmill and boat ride.

My Favourite Display

Bulb Farm Nearby

Toy Soldier Factory, Macroom, Co. Cork, Ireland

Toy Soldier Factory is an hour away from Cork city center. It had been established in Ireland since 1976 and this is Europe's only toy soldier factory. This is a very good find in the West Cork area. It is one of the best ways for families to spend a rainy afternoon away from gadgets. This can be a nice family fun activity where kids and adults get to cast their own metal toys and paint them too. The factory is in an informal setting. The visitor center is also a gift center with a variety of toy soldiers beautifully painted and meticulously arranged. One can walk in and browse the store to one's heart content. They sell chess sets which were adorable but very expensive for me. 

Perfect Toy Chess Set 

The back story from Irish Examiner is that a newlywed couple named Lars and Gunilla Edman traveled thousands of miles from Sweden to a sleepy town in west Cork with their two die making machines and started toy soldier factory in 1976. Casting toy soldiers was a Swedish hobby for young boys aged 7-12 years old. But, today it has visitors, young and old, from all over the world and helps visitors make cherished memories.

Witch Fairy Face-Off

At the start of our visit, the receptionist at the visitor center demonstrated the casting process and kids got to choose their figures to cast from the display board. She was very patient and helped kids through the casting process. It took around 90 seconds for the casting to set. Once the casting is set, she applied primer to the cast and we were ready to paint. I was very happy with the final product and we will be using them during Halloween and Christmas going forward.

The Battle of Waterloo

The second part of our visit was the display of the Battle of Waterloo. A nominal fee of 3€ per adult is paid to visit the display. One of the rooms inside the toy soldier factory has a huge foam table on which the battle of Waterloo is displayed. A 15 min documentary gives an insight into the Battle of Waterloo. On Sunday 18 June 1815, the battle was fought between Anglo- Duch army and Prussian army against French forces. The French army was under the leadership of Napoleon. The defeat of the battle marked the end of Napoleon-era. This battle played an important role in European history and led Europe towards a peaceful path. The documentary was brief yet clear enough to understand the context and importance of this battle in European history.

A 500-Man Battalion Squares Formed By British Army

 

Anglo-Duch & Prussian Army vs French Army 

Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland, UK

Officially Nothern Ireland is a part of the UK. Causeway Coastal Route stretches from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry. As of now, there is no hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland so there is no border control, passport checks, etc. You can drive between these two countries and wouldn't even notice crossing one country to the other. Northern Ireland (NI) is best visited during the summer months. Despite detailed planning, we couldn't make it during the summer months. However, in September, we got to spend a fabulous weekend in Northern Ireland. A day visiting Antrim coast and another day in Belfast. Click here for the trip ideas.

Weather on islands, in general, is very unpredictable. Even forecasts end up being an approximation. Whether forecast projected sunny and clear skies on the day of our visit. On the contrary, it was stone cold with strong winds and cloudy skies. The spellbinding views were worth the trouble. No matter how much I write in this post, I wouldn't do this place a justification. Just hop in a car and drive. You have to be there to see it. All I can say is 'Don't miss it'. We drove from Belfast to Dunluce castle and followed the Coastal Route back to Belfast. In a day, we were able to visit Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dark Hedges and stop for a few quick photos along the Causeway Coastal route. 

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge:

View From The Rope Bridge

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

Spellbinding Views

Game of Thrones Location Near The Rope Bridge. Also Used As Car Park

Giant's Causeway:

Giant's Causeway

I came across Giant's Causeway in a kid's encyclopedia. The Giants Causeway is a result of an intense volcanic and geological activity. This is a UNESCO world heritage site with 40000 interlocking basalt columns. The interlocking basalt columns are a result of cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows.

 

How Do I Explain This????

A new state-of-the-art visitor center is energy efficient and has a grass roof. This is where the science and the stories come to life. Walking tours and audio tours start from the visitor center. With a nominal price, a shuttle bus runs from the visitor center to and from the Causeway.

And This???

There are four trails for visitors to choose from. All of them are color-coded and have beautiful views of the Causeway. Green Trail is the easiest of them all.  While Blue Trail takes you to The Camel, Giant's Granny, and is moderately difficult, Red Trail and Yellow Trail are challenging. All the cliffs and Causeway routes are unfenced, slippery, and are accompanied by high waves, strong winds, and cold temperatures. Please maintain caution at all times.

Causeway Coastal Drive:

Sheep Island

Carrick-a-Rede View From Far

Dunseverick Castle Ruins

Sheeeeep!!!!!!

Dark Hedges:

Game of Thrones Location

Dark Hedges

Cobh - A Beautiful Seaport Town, Co. Cork, Ireland

Cobh (pronounced as Cove), a colorful Irish port town on the south coast of Ireland and is only half an hour away from Cork city center. Briefly from 1849 - 1920, Cobh was called Queenstown to commemorate Queen Victoria's visit to Ireland. After independence from England, its name is changed to Cobh (Cove in Irish). This town played a very important role as an emigration hub in Ireland's history.

Cobh Heritage Center - The Irish Emigration Story: Heritage Center has many emigration stories to tell.  Between 1850 - 1950 over 2.5 million Irish emigrated from Cobh port to Australia, USA, Argentina, Brazil in search of better lives. Under British rule, many convicts were transported as forced labor to the West Indies and many other colonies in sailboats. Cobh Heritage Center depicts the dire conditions under which Irish traveled and hardships endured by them to reach faraway places in search of a better life. The sinking of Titanic and Lusitania was the major wreckage Cobh had seen. Cobh was the Titanic's last port of call where 123 passengers boarded the ship. A section of exhibits is dedicated to Titanic and the passengers that boarded Titanic in Cobh.

"Forgotten Irish" @ The Heritage Center

Servia Model

Annie Moore Monument:

Annie Moore With Her Two Brothers

The Statue of Annie Moore and her two brothers is at the cruise ship dock on the quay. Annie Moore and her two brothers sailed on SSNevada from Cobh to New York on Dec 20th, 1891. They reached New York on Jan 1st, 1892 and Annie Moore was the first immigrant to be processed on the newly opened immigration center in Ellis Island, USA. 

St. Coleman's Cathedral:

Alter - St. Coleman Cathedral, Cobh

St. Coleman's Cathedral stands tall overlooking Cobh's town center. It is hard to miss this beautifully detailed gothic structure. Walking uphill from the town center to the cathedral is a bit challenging. The Gothic exterior and interior architecture of the cathedral are beautiful. Entry is free and there are few free tours of the cathedral as well. Starting in 1868, this cathedral took 47 years to be built. Choirs from around the world perform their Recitals at this cathedral. The cathedral's organ has 2468 pipes is under renovation at present. The light filtered through the beautiful stain glass windows around the cathedral is a feast for the eyes.

Organ @ The St. Coleman's Cathedral

West View/ Stack of Deck:

Stack of Deck

A short walk from St. Coleman's Cathedral in West View, a beautiful row of century-old houses. The houses are stacked upon an impossibly steep hill. Apparently, each house is supported by the lower house and hence the name Stack of Deck.

Stroll Through The Town Center:

Cobh's beautiful town center has a good collection of restaurants, pubs, ice cream shops, and gift stores. Several walking tours start from the city center. However, the best views of Cobh city center are from the sea. Sailing, kayaking, and boat tours are available from the pier. Sonia O' Sullivan's bronze statue and Lusitania memorial are two quick stops on our stroll. During the time of the first world war, Lusitania was transporting passengers between Liverpool and New York. On its voyage back from New York, on May 7th, 1915, the liner was 16km away from Old Head of Kinsale when it was struck by a torpedo from the German U boat. Within 18 min, the ship sank killing 1198 people. Only 761 people were rescued. Cobh (then Queenstown) had to deal with the aftermath of the disaster. 

Colorful Cobh Town Center

John F Kennedy Memorial Park

However, my favorite thing to do is grab an ice cream from Scoops and head over to John F Kennedy memorial park. Relax and watch the boats passing by as kids let loose in the park's play area.

Titanic Memorial Garden:

The Memorial is a short walk away from the town center. A small yet colorful garden with beautiful views of Cobh harbor. It is the best place to enjoy some quiet time in the town. As a last Europian port town, Cobh has witnessed many traumatic shipwrecks in the past. Titanic was one of the shipwrecks with major casualties. 123 people boarded the Titanic in Cobh port on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Only 44 survived the Wreckage and reached New York.  This is a perfect place to pay homage to all the lives lost and reflect be thankful for the modern means of transport.  We skipped Titanic Cobh Experience on purpose as we are heading to Belfast and I am excited to visit Titanic Belfast.

Burren National Park, The Cliffs of Moher & Aran Islands, Co. Clare, Co. Galway, Ireland

Burren National Park: Burren comes from the Irish word 'Boíreann' meaning the rocky place and it appropriately suites the terrain. Burren National Park is 10 minutes away from Corofin village, County Clare but the terrain extends till Cliffs of Moher and to Aran Islands as well. This lunar-like landscape is out of this world. The National Park is 30 km to the East of Cliffs of Moher. But if you cannot make it this far, there are Burren mini-cliffs on the way to Doolin from Cliffs of Moher. 

Burren National Park

The National Park has several marked walking trails for the visitors to explore. The easiest of all with reasonably good views is the White Arrow Walking trail. Feel free to install the Burren app from the iTunes app store to help you through the trail. White Arrow Trail is a 1.5 km loop that passes through Ash/ Hazel woodland, on to limestone pavement, and ends in vast meadows with limestone mountains as a backdrop.

Burren Mountains - View From N67

If you are feeling a bit adventurous and have the stamina to hike these monstrous limestone mountains, there are many challenging trails like red /green /blue routes. Corofin is a very small and remote Irish village and Burren National park information center is in the village. There are no facilities in and around the national park as such. These humongous mountains can be viewed as you drive towards the cliffs or towards Galway on N67.

White Arrow Walking Trail  - Burren National Park

Burren Center which is different from Burren National Park is in Kilfenora and is often confused with Burren National Park. We drove towards Cliffs of Moher next and on the way dropped by at Vaughan's pub in Kilfenora which was an oasis. Tasty food and a glass of stout beer are all you could ask for after a strenuous hike in the National Park.

A Hearty Meal at Vaughns Pub, Kilfenora

The Cliffs of Moher - Cliff Walk

The Cliffs of Moher: The Cliffs of Moher is one of the popular destinations of Ireland. And there is a very good reason why it is so popular. Always plan a visit on a clear summer day. According to The Cliffs of Moher website, these cliffs were formed 319 million years ago and the highest point is 702 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. Feels like they have been around forever. One more reason not to miss these cliffs on your next visit to Ireland. Views were magnificent at sunset when the sunlight hits the cliffs. As you pass the visitor center, towards the right is O'Brien's Tower, and towards the left is the coastal cliff walk. Finish cliff walks first and then visit the tower later in the day. However, if you are planning to walk the 8km trail to Doolin, it starts from O'Brien's tower. 

The Stack - Up Close From Ferry Ride

Visiting the cliffs is never complete without taking a ferry ride. Cliffs of Moher ferries leave from Doolin regularly. We booked Aran Island and Cliffs of Moher cruise combination from doolin2aranferries. If you are short on time, there are a one hour Cliffs of Moher cruise too. I enjoyed the cruise much more than the cliff walk. Read my full post on Cliffs of Moher here.

After the cliffs, the night stop was at Kinvara village and then to Aran Islands the next day.

Aran Islands:

The Aran name is well known and often associated with Aran woolen wear. Aran Islands is a cluster of 3 rocky islands Inishmore (Ínís Mór), Inishmaan (Ínís Meáín) and Inisheer (Ínís Oírr) to the west of Cliffs of Moher.  The largest and more popular of all is Inishmore. Irish is still spoken widely by the inhabitants of these islands. Ferries from Doolin and Galway take visitors to these islands regularly. During the summer months, these islands are full of visitors from all over the world. All three islands have B&Bs, gift shops, restaurants, and the Aran sweater market. But pack a lot of food as the restaurants are clustered in the main areas.

Dún Aonghasa - Cliff Edge, Inishmore

All these three islands are rocky and mostly barren except for the moss and grass. It takes around an hour of the ferry ride from Doolin to Inishmore. We visited Inishmore as it had many places to visit. Even though Island can be visited in a day, staying overnight would give enough time to explore the island properly. Once on the island, visitors have a choice to explore the island on foot / by bicycle / by horse-drawn carriage or by a tourist van. 

Stone Walls In The Island - Inishmore

As we walked out of the ferry, tour vas was available for hire. We visited in the summer months of July. With scorching heat and 2 kids, hiring a van was a no-brainer. The tour of the island cost around 10€ per person. Our tour guide, who also happened to be a native of that island, gave an in-depth tour of the island and we got to hear him talk in Irish as well. 

Stone Walls - Inishmore

Island dwelling, especially in the remote parts and with harsh weather is not an easy task. Even the basic goods are hard to come by and critical medical care becomes a luxury. Man of Aran was filmed on this island. It is a fictional documentary filmed in 1934 depicting the hardships of daily routines like fishing, farming on the Aran Islands. Our guide pointed out all the filming locations and advised us to watch the movie.

The Seven Churches - Inishmore

Inishmore is famous for its ancient stone forts and churches. Seven churches are one of the prominent sites and ancient ruins of churches. The churchyard has graves of several families that live on the island. Whichever island you choose to visit, they all have beautiful beaches to spend an afternoon in.

Kilmurvey Beach - Inishmore

The most impressive stone fort in Inishmore is Dún Aonghasa. Perched on the edge of a cliff, is an 1100 BC fort with stunning views and equally dangerous cliffs. This is the only fort with an on-site visitor center. 1km hike to the top of the hill is quite challenging. The path was rocky, slippery, and steep. The rocky cliffs are quite dramatic with a 100ft drop into the Atlantic.  

100 ft Plunge Into The Atlantic Ocean - Dún Aonghasa, Inishmore

Hike Up The Hill - Dún Aonghasa, Inishmore

There are no barriers and visitors can go to the very edge of the cliff. Strong winds make it even more dangerous. According to many tourists, the best way to see is lie flat on your tummy and get a good view. The views are to die for. I overheard a visitor joking about Irish sending their kids to the cliff and only the brightest return. 

Cliff Edge & Beautiful Views, Inishmore

Inisheer is the smallest of all three islands and popular after Inishmore. It is an outcrop of the Burren landscape with abundant flora and fauna. It is a heaven for bird lovers. With some of the best beaches, this island attracts an equally large number of tourists. The famous places of interest are O'Brien's castle, The Plassey shipwreck, Inish Oirr lighthouse, and beautiful beaches. Don't worry if you can't visit the island in a single visit. You can see Plassey Shipwreck, beaches, and the castle from the ferry. 

O' Brien Castle & Beach - Inisheer