The Worlds Most Beautiful Spring Garden

If you didn't know, Keukenhof is a big garden (32 Hectares!!) situated in Lisse, not too far from Amsterdam in Holland.  It is touted as the worlds most beautiful spring garden and after being there I believe they could be right.  Holland is famous for its tulips and at Keukenhof it's all about the tulips. They do also have daffodils and hyacinths but the tulips are the main attraction. I never knew tulips grew in so many different colours, shapes and sizes!

The park itself is full of beautiful trees, water ways and meandering paths creating a perfect backdrop to the flowering bulb display. We almost went there a few months ago but were told the tulips weren't in flower and I'm glad we waited so we could see the full splendour.

The weather was overcast and threatening rain when we went, which I think was actually a blessing as the crowds didn't seem to be too thick. And then the sun came out in the afternoon.

There are also lots of flower fields in the area, where tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are grown for their bulbs. This means you can see the fields in flower. After the peak flowering, the flower heads are cut off (or vacuumed off in some cases!) so that the plants energy goes into growing more bulbs and not into seed making. The bulbs are mechanically harvested and then separated by hand. I'm sure if you know someone from Holland, they will have done this as holiday job as a kid/student or know someone who has!

If you get the chance I definitely recommend visiting Keukenhof and the surrounding fields in springtime.

xx

Leiden

Last weekend we went to Leiden, Holland to see the Tulips in bloom at Keukenhof. Leiden is about 25 mins away from Keukenhof by car and is connected by buses which run around every 10 mins. So it makes a perfect base to see the tulips.

Leiden itself is also really picturesque with windmills and canals aplenty, and worth visiting. It has a lovely market on Saturdays, with fresh produce, cheese, stroopwaffels, clothing and fabric (I got some pink tulle).  Small enough to wander around by foot Leiden is still big enough for a nice selection of restaurants and shops. It also has a lot of museums, but we didn't get a chance to see any of them.

 This was the canal we could see from our hotel room.

DO NOT PRESS! Installation 

Close to our hotel we saw some great art installations -This one was my favourite, who could resist a big red button and "Do NOT Press" sign....
xx

Munich

Last November I traveled to Munich with my husband and mother-in-law. November was cold! but there was enough autumn colour left to brighten up the city. Especially the gardens. 

The above photos are from the Englisher Garten.  The English Garden is a huge park in the middle of Munich and is named thus because it is in the "English Style". It has a more flowing natural feel than most German parks at the time it was created. Most other parks were rather formally structured like the Hofgarten  (below), with lots of paths, hedges and fences.

We stayed at Hotel Mons am Goethe Platz. For the price the hotel has a reasonably nice modern acetic and furniture. When we stayed however we found dirty curtains, mouldy showers and an unfriendly reception. We had paid for breakfast to be included. One morning while eating breakfast we were told we hadn't paid, when we insisted that yes we had, the matter was dropt but very ungraciously and with no apology for the misunderstanding.  Breakfast didn't have a lot to choose from, but what was there was good. Overall I wouldn't recommend staying at Hotel Mons.

One place I would recommend if you are in Munich is the Vietnamese Tapas Restaurant Tonkin.
It is located not far from Hotel Mons at Lindwurmstrasse 65.

It was almost full when we turned up without a booking and they happily seated all three of us, even though the only table available was a table for two. We all ordered the same dish, a curry with sweet potato and rice. We all agreed it was delicious! I also had the fresh squeezed orange juice and it was super refreshing, sweet  and delicious. The service was fast, friendly and unobtrusive. To top it off the decor was quite something special as well -especially the brass ceiling.
This place totally got my thumbs up, I wish I lived closer so I could go there again and try more of the dishes.

I didn't get any photos of Tonkin so the above two are from Gastroguide München.

xx

Neuschwanstein Castle

My Mother in Law is visiting and seeing as she has come the long way from Australia to Europe we did some travelling with her. The first thing on the list was Neuschwanstein Schloss. This is the castle which is cited as inspiration for the Disney castle. It was built by a King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was declared crazy and died a mysterious death before he could completely finish the castle. As a result only some of the rooms inside the castle are complete and the incredible throne room is missing its throne.  King Ludwig's bedroom was one of the first rooms to be finished. It has its own ensuite bathroom, very advanced for its time, complete with running water and a green leather flushing toilet!
We did a tour and the finished parts of the interior are amazing but unfortunately you aren't allowed to take any photos inside the castle.

This is his Dad's castle, we ran out of time to see it up close as we did a day drip from Munich.

A fabulously kitschy house in the little town near the castles.

It was starting to get dark by the time we headed off. November isn't the best time to go, as it is cold and gets dark early but we did avoid the crowds!

xx