Kings Day??? We lived in the Netherlands for a few years, back when it was Queen’s Day. But I guess Beatrix has abdicated the throne.
Yes, Amsterdam to Paris is a logical & easy to do itinerary. The Thalys maglev train does that route. That’s the train line that Spencer Stone heroically beat the crap out of that poor-excuse for a terrorist.
Keukenhof garden is very beautiful, but I think the blooming farmers’ fields of tulips are more jaw-dropping because of the mega-expanse of it all-- plus viewing the farmers’ fields is free.
I wouldn’t spend a lot of time in Brussels. After you’ve seen the Mannekinpis and eaten mussels at Leon’s on Rue des Bouchers, you’re done (good thing @Xiggi quit CC or else there’d be a fight about Brussels).
Make sure when u depart CDG that u allow a GENEROUS amount of time for check in. That’s got to be the most dysfunctional 1st World airport there is.
So much great information. I didn’t check the date of Kings Day prior to booking the tickets. Kings day in 2016 will be April 27 which is the day we arrive in Amsterdam at noon. I better get on that reservation quick. I’m assuming getting into the city that day will be a challenge.
Any thoughts on staying the first couple of days in Leiden or Haarlem? I’m thinking it will be a zoo getting into Amsterdam mid day on Kings Day. H doesn’t love big cities and I don’t want to overwhelm him the first day.
Kings Day is a national holiday and is celebrated all over the NL. Haarlem is lovely. I don’t remember a lot about Leiden, but it’s nice too. It’s a university town.
On Queens Day (I’m assuming it’s the same for Kings Day) anyone can sell anything, so it’s a national flea market day. Even children are out w a blanket spread on the ground, selling their old toys. It’s a very entertaining day!
I was curious and learned that Queens Day is now Kings Day.
I realize it is a national holiday but thought a smaller town might be easier to navigate on that afternoon.
Funny that Kings Day really is Wilhem-Alexander’s bday, 27-apr. Queens Day was intended to celebrate the former monarch’s bday. But Beatrix’s bday is actually in January, when the country is cold, grey, rainy, miserable.
I think regardless of whether u go to Amsterdam or a smaller town that day, not ALL the streets will be blocked/shut-in for flea market. The taxi drivers will know how to get u to your hotel.
Don’t want to sidetrack the thread but, since it’s already been mentioned a couple of times, I have two questions about the Skagit festival which I just learned about last spring. Dh and I agreed we’d go this spring. If we need to plan in advance, is planning on going the second weekend in April giving us the highest likelihood of seeing the flowers in bloom? I spent a bit of time on tripadvisor and that was the conclusion I came to. And, second, seeing the tulips on a weekend would be best but the consensus on TA was that it was way too crowded. How much less crowded is it on a Friday? Would loved for dh to not have to take a day off work so am trying to figure out whether it’s worth it or not. Can create a new post if needed.
Some day I’ll make it to the festival in the Holland…
We used to live near the fields. I only really stopped and took pictures one year, probably driving to the store for a few of them, on a Monday. My sister was there over the weekend and we had no trouble seeing them on Saturday and we circled back through on the way to Seatac. The dates were April 9, 14 and 17, 2007 on my photos. There were a lot of people and cars just pull off to the sides of the road, but it was not what I would call crowded - nothing like DC in July.
Another domestic alternative is visiting Holland, Michigan, which claims to have millions of tulips. The festival in 2016 is May 7-14. I went years ago for a family reunion, and it was gorgeous.