This was my second visit to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and since I had already seen most of the art, I got to spend time looking at other things, while my friends did their browsing. I should admit, I found the architecture of the building more beautiful and enjoyable than the art pieces themselves. People predictably gave me confused looks, every time I aimed my camera in directions and towards places which seemingly had nothing to offer, for them to talk to their friends about.
After the trip to Paris, I needed a break to settle in and to let the fact sink in, that I actually crossed an item off my bucket list. Most of my time went into the usual work, personal projects and editing photos. It was over a month, before I felt I was ready to travel again. One sunday, with all my friends down being lazy, it was becoming evident that the day’s plan to visit the Tilburg fair was not going to materialise, at which point I decided to take off alone to visit Delft – a very cute university town in the South of Holland.
Two trains and 45 minutes later, I was greeted by the sight of cycles…
Graffiti..
Alternate modes of transport
Gorgeous canals, most of which were calmer, narrower and prettier than those in Amsterdam
Open parks and grounds
Shops and old buildings that look like they are making faces
One bored Sunday afternoon I decided I needed to go somewhere and hopped onto the next train to Rotterdam with absolutely no plan, which to my dismay was a disaster, as most museums and attractions were closed. There was too much sun to be able to do any photography. Boredom lead to an itch for adventure and soon I found myself on a train, alone, headed towards a spot I picked randomly on Google Maps. What I stumbled on to my delight, was the beautiful coastal fishing district of Scheveningen, in the city of Den Haag.
Here are some pictures from that visit and from 2 later planned visits.
Queens day happens to be one of the most important holidays in the Netherlands, this year even more so, as the queen was abdicating in favour of her son and from next year the day will be the King’s day, which hasn’t happened in over 200 years. The event originally started to commemorate the birth of Queen Beatrix, but for people its an excuse to drink, party and vandalise the town.
The royal family’s house is Orange and Nassu, which makes Orange the predominant colour of The Netherlands, also the reason the entire country unanimously drowned itself in a sea of orange.
Orange was everywhere. People painted their cycles and vehicles
Shops and stores painted their logos in orange
Street vendors and hawkers were everywhere making a killing
People were sporting orange caps of all kinds
Even restaurant’s were following the suit wherever they could
Flags were placed at every nook and corner – outside monuments, buildings and houses.
Some spent their time either basking in sun, smoking up or going about their normal business, or all of them.
Amsterdam was completely crowded and littered everywhere! So much so it almost reminded me of India.
Even the flower beds on the streets were turned orange
Some even resorted to playing with orange color, which took me by surprise, as the only time I’ve seen it happen was during the Festival of Holi
Amidst the city up in chaos, with people on drinking binge and party spree, some found their moments of quietness
They even managed to organise a cheesy concert at the center of the city, where the only played songs of praise of the King and Queen and their children (ridiculous and preposterous IMO)
With millions of tulips planted just in the main garden alone, keukenhof stands as the worlds largest flower garden. That is not even including the hundreds of acres of private tulip plantations around the main garden. To say it was a lovely sight is a gross understatement and its something only pictures can convey.
Tulips were not the only attraction, there were lot of art pieces all around the garden, not that anyone cared to notice them.
Along with tulips there were other kinds of flowers too, just enough to not bore people with tulips.
This was the sight right outside the main keukenhof garden
