Hi, everyone!
Remember when Grandma and Grandpa were going to take me on a trip to see the tulips, but the volcano got in the way? This time we actually got here! We’re in the Netherlands! Sometimes the country is called Holland, but that’s actually the name of one of the states, instead.
We got here on Saturday, and there was a big party going on! Everybody was celebrating the new King’s birthday by wearing orange and having parties in the streets. Grandma and Grandpa and I made sure we were wearing something orange, too! Amsterdam has rings of canals, and there were parties on the bridges over the canals and on boats motoring up and down the canals, too! There were special one way traffic routes for the boats, and cars and buses weren’t allowed on the downtown streets. Grandpa and I had an Indonesian style bun to eat as a snack. Dutch people used to run the government in Indonesia, so Indonesian food is popular here. As we were walking around, we saw a DJ with a sound system in a boat! We also saw a lot of litter on the streets. I hope the partiers plan on cleaning up after themselves!
On Sunday morning, we took a bus tour to Keukenhof Gardens. That’s the place all the tulip growers show off their flowers. It was raining lightly, but the flower beds were still very pretty. I liked the fountain that changes where it sprays water every few minutes.
There’s a special part of the park for children, and I made friends with a bunny statue and a dolphin fountain there. Then Grandma took me up to the observation deck of the windmill. Most of the fields of tulips just outside the garden have already finished blooming, but there were still some colorful rows of flowers. I tried on some wooden shoes, like Dutch farmers wear, but even the small pair was too big for a little lion! Then Grandma took me to the Japanese garden. There weren’t many flowers there, but it was very pretty anyway.
Since it was raining, I was glad there were some flowers inside for me to see. The Beatrix pavilion was full of orchids, and I made a lot of new friends there. I was really happy to see displays honoring some of the places I have traveled: New York, Japan and Paris!
Outside one of the pavilions, I made friends with two of Grandma’s favorite musicians, Brahms and Mozart. Then I went into another building and saw several kinds of lilies. The azaleas and rhododendron were in bloom outside. I hope there aren’t any hungry deer around to eat them up! Some of the bulbs have been planted to make a picture of the way houses look along side the canals in Amsterdam. I even saw a folding chair in the shape of a tulip!
Just before we left Keukenhof, we found a quiet sunken garden. I really liked the waterfall there and the sound of water running over rocks!
After we took the bus back to Amsterdam from Keukenhof, we walked over to the Maritime Museum, near where we’re staying. I found a new lion friend on the front of the ship Amsterdam, which was built for the Dutch East India Trading Company.
Monday was the day to get on the ship for our river cruise. Before we did that, Grandma and Grandpa took me to the Rijksmuseum, the most famous museum in Amsterdam. The central courtyard reminded me of the Louvre, in Paris. So did the crowds around the most famous painting in the museum, The Night Watch by Rembrandt. I made a new cannon friend and looked at a sign from a French king who came to rule the Netherlands. There were lots of interesting things to see, like ship models and doll houses!
Right outside the Rijksmuseum, there’s a little park with a fun fountain. The pattern of spouts changes in ways that let people into the middle of the fountain and then closes them in. I didn’t want to get wet, but it was fun watching other people go in and out. Grandpa and I had a snack while I watched. Then we walked over to the I Amsterdam sign on Museum Place. Can you see me in the sign? I’m right in the letter “e”!
We took the tram partway back to Centraal station, then it was time to go to the boat. The Amadolce is a sister ship to the Amacello that I was on for our river cruise of Germany. Our stateroom is even in the same place on this boat, so I knew just how to get there. And I remembered about the treats at teatime, too!
I’m looking forward to all the places we’ll go this week!
Love,
Lion-san
We are glad you finally got to Amsterdam to see the tulips. It looks like you saw a lot of pretty flowers. We found you in the e! Can’t hide a lion from a moose! You saw a lot and we hope your river cruise is just as much fun.