Weekend in Holland!

Quick lesson that I learned at an embarrassingly late age: The Netherlands is a country where the Dutch people live. They speak Dutch. The country is made up of 12 provinces, two of which are called North Holland and South Holland. A lot of the sea-faring adventurers came from the coast which is where those two provinces are, and claimed they came from Holland. So the two terms aren't interchangeable, only people from those two provinces are from Holland. Also of note - one other province there, Zeeland, is the Sr. of New Zealand.

So I took a train to Amsterdam, only about 4 hours from Bonn. I honestly wasn't really looking forward to the city, and I was pleasantly surprised. So far my favorite European city. 

Hanging out at Museum Platz

Perfect day at Vondelpark

And yes, the Red Light District. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Window Shopping"

 I stayed at a house in Almere, I booked a room through Airbnb, and it was fantastic. My host, Caroline, gave me wonderful insights about the area, growing up in the Netherlands, and she made me an amazing and huge breakfast each morning.

I spent my Sunday with tulips. Took a bus to the Keukenhof museum, the world's largest flower garden. Dwell on that fact for a minute. It is amazing. I was weary that it would be too crowded, but it was a beautiful day for anyone at the park. Absolutely stunning. They had some fun traditional songs and dances around the park as well. I posted a million flower pics on FB, but I'll post a few here. 

After spending a few hours at the Keukenhof, I rented a bike and went out on my own. I biked for about 4 hours, through a few cities, went to the coast, and through at least 75 tulip fields. It was a perfect Sunday (minus the flat tire I got about 5 kilometers away from the bike rental place)