From Cheese Wheels Wearing Clogs to Miffy-Spotting: A Tour Guide to the Netherlands in Springtime

Spring break and looking for the most touristy thing to do in Europe? Ahhh, tulip fields in Holland, perfect.

Seriously though, we wanted to see somewhere new and the fact is, if you want to see the tulips there’s only a limited window of time, about mid-March to end of May, when its really possible. Thus, off we went to The Netherlands, and to a really great vacation. And the touristy tulips were everything we had hoped for, so let’s start there.

To see the tulips you really have 2 options – biking the fields or seeing them at Keukenhof Gardens. We tried both. There are a lot of good online resources for ways to bike the fields, like here and here, so I won’t go into great detail about the biking.

Although biking from Leiden to the fields sounded like great fun for Rudy and me, I would have heard no end of complaints from the girls, who, as they’re growing up in Denmark, see biking as a commuter activity rather than a fun and relaxing day. Thus we split the difference – took the bus to Keukenhof, rented bikes in the parking area just in front of the gardens, biked the fields for a leisurely 3 hours, and then finished up with something to eat and a tour of Keukenhof. By the end of the day we were exhausted but had really seen the best of the tulips. And the girls really enjoyed the day – I had my doubts as kids don’t generally care about flowers, but the daffodil, hyacinth, and tulip fields we saw (and smelled) really won them over.

Keukenhof Gardens

Keukenhof is curated to really highlight the tulips and give a Dutch experience. There’s a windmill, boat tours, greenhouses, and cool sculptures everywhere. Very touristy, and very busy, but still a stunning display. We spent about 2 hours wandering around and having something to eat. The restaurants weren’t overly interesting, but also we saw no restaurants while cycling around the flower fields, so I recommend bringing a picnic.

Biking the Fields

When you rent bikes from Rent-a-Bike van Dam, directly in front of Keukenhof, they give you maps of a few routes. We winged it, which might not have been the best plan, in hindsight, but we saw plenty of flowers.

It was so worthwhile to bike the fields, the colors were amazing and each new field felt like a new discovery on a treasure hunt.

Haarlem

One of the coziest places we stayed was just outside Amsterdam, about a 20 minute train ride away – easier to find affordable food and lodging, and a completely charming town. We ate a delicious breakfast at a spot called Frenchie and we were lucky enough to wander into a carnival while we were staying there, which of course meant we needed an hour to ride some rides. Our views from the Ferris wheel were spectacular.

One spot we really wanted to see but couldn’t (a lot of attractions were fully sold out during the holiday break) was the Ten Boom Museum, a WWII hiding place for those hunted by the Nazis, including Jewish citizens and members of the Dutch underground. The Ten Boom Family and their friends and co-workers saved an estimated 800 Jews and other refugees. I recommend going to see it but book in advance!

Efteling World of Wonders

A little out of the way, but something that looked too fun to pass up, was a day trip to Efteling, a fairytale and fantasy theme park in the south of the Netherlands that first opened in 1952. We took the girls as a surprise day trip, and the park completely lived up to the hype of a fantastic surprise. The rides and the fairytale themes were so great, I think we could have easily spent a second day there and not run out of things to see and rides to ride. Highly recommended for anyone who loves fairytales, fantasy, and theme parks.

Utrecht & Woerden

Another spot we stayed in the Netherlands was Utrecht, a city outside of Amsterdam that features many buildings and structures dating as far back as the Middle Ages. It was the religious center of the Netherlands starting in the 8th century. The highlights of Utrecht center around the canal, which encompasses the old city, and the cathedral.

In our wanderings, we explored the canals, streets, and buildings. Our highlights:

• Utrecht is the home of Dick Bruna, the creator of Miffy. There’s a Miffy Museum (Nijntje) but its targeted at smaller children; we went to the gift shop, though. Also one of the walk signals is Miffy instead of a person
• Pandhof Garden at Dom Church – a lovely enclosed courtyard garden where we saw people taking wedding photos and doing cosplay
• The funny stone figures at the canals – a lot of interesting scenes are captured in stone carvings along the canals
• Utrecht Lumen – a lit up tunnel that was a fun spot to pass through, and some other fun art in restaurants and the streets
• Cat cafe, Kat & Bakkie – what’s a trip anywhere for us without a visit to the local cat cafe?
• Beer church: a former church converted to a bar and restaurant, what’s not to like? We tried some Dutch food at the Belgisch Biercafe Olivier Utrecht
• Museum Speelklok, an intriguing museum about self-playing musical instruments
• Nearby Woerden, which on Saturdays holds a cheese market. We also bought freshly made stroopwafel at the market

Amsterdam

What to say about Amsterdam? We would need to live there, possibly for years, to get to do and see everything we wanted to see and do. As it was, I felt incomplete leaving Amsterdam, and yet entirely satisfied with our time there. And what did we see? A pretty decent list – Rijksmuseum, Vondelpark, De Papegaai (parrot church), Chinatown, Bloemenmarkt, De Pijp, Albert Cuyp Market, Boom Chicago Improv, Royal Palace Amsterdam, De Dam, Rembrandtplein, and a canal tour, not to mention the time spent touring around on foot along the canals, and snacking at cafes.

What would I go back for? Anne Frank House (sold out), Van Gogh Museum, Moco Museum, Nxt Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Hollands Hap Hmm Restaurant (sold out), Holocaust Memorial & Dutch Theater (closed during our visit), Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, amongst many other things.

Rijksmuseum

We had a really fun time trying out the Family Quest at the Rijksmuseum, a scavenger-like game where the kids learn about the more unusual items in the museum’s collection, and win a pretty awesome interactive book when they finish the game (open it right away, its intended to be worked on as you walk through the remaining parts of the museum).

One of the most beautiful rooms in the museum is Cuypers’ Great Library; don’t miss it.

Outside of the Rijksmuseum was arguably as fun and beautiful, with the cherry blossoms blooming everywhere.

Vondelpark

What’s so amazing about this park? I’d say the wild parakeets who live there. But the ice cream, playgrounds, and scenery were pretty great, too.

De Papegaai

De Papegaai, the Parrot Church, was an interesting spot to peek into, while shopping and heading towards the Royal Palace.

Fun Architecture Around Amsterdam

Boat Tour

The boat tour was a good way to see the city, although having an enclosed top limited the photo quality a bit. There are many spots to take a tour boat right across the street from the central train station.

Food & Drinks

Here’s some places where we ate and drank and highly recommend. We enjoyed eating at lot of really fantastic Asian restaurants in the area.

• Korean BBQ, Amsterdam: THE BAB Amsterdam Oost – this place was so good, I think I still dream about it. Not only did they find us a table on a very busy nigh, but the food was wonderful and they were so friendly
• Chinese, Amsterdam: Nam Kee – Amsterdam has a thriving Chinatown and some great authentic restaurants. Nam Kee is one of those; local, simple, and most of the customers were Chinese, so we knew it’d be good
• All sorts of things, Amsterdam: Albert Cuyp Market: we ate bao, we ate tacos, all while shopping and exploring. Everything was great
• Snacks & Drinks, Amsterdam: Cafe P96 – cute spot, had some beer and snacks. Great canal view
• Dutch Food & Drinks, Utrecht: Belgisch Biercafé Olivier: great atmosphere (beer church), loved the drinks
• Vietnamese, Utrecht: Kimmade Vietnamese Food Village – another wonderful restaurant, along the canal so a pretty spot, also
• Asian Streetfood, Utrecht: WOK! – this place is very casual, but had a cool mural in the upstairs hallway (photo above)
• Pizza, Haarlem: Casa di Papi – authentic Neapolitan pizza and really a great dinner after a long day biking around tulip fields
• Breakfast, Haarlem: Frenchie – cozy spot, tasty breakfast