Amsterdam 201503

This marks my 3rd work trip since I join e new dept. haha my 2nd work trip wkend was spent in Ghent and Brussels so that made my total Belgium cities visited… 4! So for the 3rd work trip, I was thinking where to go….. SW then suggested why not check if e tulips in Amsterdam is blooming anot! And the tulip garden Keukenhof is really opened! That wkend I m there is the opening wkend! I feel lucky! Woo hoo~

21 Mar 2015 Saturday

There are 2 kinds of trains that travels frm Antwerp to Amsterdam. 1 is Thalys; takes 1 hr to reach Amsterdam and cost 140 Euros 2-way. The other kind of train is Intercity; takes 2 hrs to reach Amsterdam but cost 40 Euros 2-way. So since I m alone and hav a lot of time so…. I chose e 2 hr train hehe Actually I find it quite therapeutic to take long train rides. Just sit n stare at e sky. See e boundless land (which is something U dun see in SG) weather is looking good Eh? After a while, it became abit gloomy When I reached Amsterdam Central station, I saw 1 of e stalls listed in Keukenhof point of sales. So I gt very excited! I went to buy e tix and it cost 28.50 Euros. Actually I Shld hav just bought frm Schiphol airport; it is 23.50 Euros there. Very hungry by then so start to make my way to Anna Frank house and hopefully find lunch along e way. Weather is quite good at tat time. Distracted by Swarovski along e way to help my fren check prices. There is this ring which cost SGD210 in SG but 90 Euros in Amsterdam. Ok finally lunch! Hahah nice tender beef! But the corn is too dry. After lunch I continue e hunt for Anne Frank house and….  Super long queue lo!!! I was tinking whether Shld I give up. Then I Tink ok la I also not much places to go so…. I jz waited. But it’s like so cold!! I started beyond e building so there is wind blowing. Brrrrrr even e Ang mohs queuing ard me also v cold. They went to buy hot drinks. Haha… Anne Frank house provided free wifi for the ppl queuing but…. My hands too cold to leave my jacket pockets haha… There is crowd control within e house Cuz it’s quite small so when we finally reach the counter…  Ok la what is 10 min compared to 1.5 hr of queuing liao? No pics are allowed within the house so this is my only pic there. This is the model of the house. The back section is where Anne Frank n her family hide.   Walking in e house is quite claustropbic Cuz its boarded up everywhere and the rooms r small. It was boarded up to ensure no one can see the family at all. So they lived in this boarded up area for 2 whole years!! The Nazis only found this place based on ppl tipping them. To this date, the betrayer is not known. This is e exterior of the Anne Frank house. The gd weather already disappear as I was queuing which was quite wasted Cuz this scene wud look real nice with the sun. Was thinking of going Van Gogh museum but it was like 5+pm when I leave Anne Frank house and Van Gogh closes at 7pm. So, I jz hang ard e area and visit a tulip museum! It’s actually a tulip gift shop with a basement on history of tulips. Was wondering if they close at 6 but e cashier just ask me take as long as I want. So nice! Tulips didn’t originate frm Netherlands! Haha wonder if we go Turkey now can see tulips anot. Then tulips became a symbol of status where ppl paint it on utensils, wall deco etc. Tulip prices grew to an insane amt where 1 tulip bulb can rival e price of a house. So it’s like e dot com burst! This painting depict the situation then. Mayb monkey see monkey do?   Outside e museum got this pot of blooming tulips. Sure hope these wun b e only tulips I will see. Hahah Mum said I dun look nice in this pic 😦   The amsterdam canal area is good for taking artistic shot Hahha attempt at an emo shot.  Big boathouses. Some r restaurants but because weather is cold like maybe 3,4 degrees? So there were no one sitting there.  These small boats reminded me abit of Venice. I wonder if anyone really use them.  For dinner, i was looking for a place tat I dine w my colleagues in my last year sept trip. N I found it! But it wasn’t as nice. Mayb cuz it was rather packed and e owner was busy liao.

22 Mar 2015 Sunday

This is my overnight bag! N I even hav change of PJ inside. I m impressed by myself haha…

Found this at e breakfast table and took it to try.  Tadah! This is how u use it! Hehe my mum saw n ask why my breakfast so 清淡 😮

The chocolate is v nice! So I bought a box of 8 back! Hehe … Time to set off for tulips liao! So excited !!! I took a train to go Schiphol airport to take the bus to Keukenhof. Just 1 train station away! N I start looking for Starbucks haha Cuz the bus 858 is at e exit Nxt to Starbucks. Schiphol has 2 Starbucks tho! So find e one in Arrival Hall 4. Exit the door and U will see bus 858 painted all over w tulips! And U can buy tickets onboard! So excited to find e bus!

The ticket and … My only company for e day -.-”  Saw a lot of empty fields along e way. Made me wonder if it will all b filled w flowers in mid-apr. Oh wells~ we do wat we can. Hehe… A short 30 min ride away and we r here!   Just in case, I downloaded the map of the garden into my phone! Huge eh? N did I mention tat e whole garden is wifi-enabled! I can keep in touch w my frenz! Hahah not lonely *yippee! Dance ard*

Upon walking past the entrance, this is e first thing u will see. The pond w ducks in it. I happily stood there n took pic of the father and son then the mother realised my angle quite good so also came over to take a pic. :p Walk abit further in and this is grounds! Very pretty right? This is the first weekend that Keukenhof is opened so as u can see some flowers are still in e buds. This is taken at the historical garden by an elderly ang moh who is very amused by my peace sign. :p There are not only tulips here. Dunno the name of this flower but it just look so cheerful 😀  More pics of random non-tulip flowers ! 

  

I like the strong colour matching done here; purple and red. This pic is taken by a Vietnamese girl. She approached me to help her take so I erm… 顺便 :p  We have the same iPhone haha

There is this children playground area which actually have goats and rabbits ard! 

After walking in the cold, i decided to go indoor for some warmth. First stop is Oranje Nassau. Outside the Oranje Nassau is a portrait of Van Gogh!

OK the flowers yet to grow up but I m pretty sure it will be beautiful when they r in full bloom.

The tulips here really have a wide variety but abit like florist cuz they are in buckets. They having a Van Gogh theme so they setup a few of these kind of photo booths around. There was this competition going on at 1 corner where ppl vote they favourite tulip. This got my vote cuz its so sweet.  Visited the loo at Oranje Nassau too. Loo is quite clean. Heh after which I left the warmth and go into the cold …. and start feeling hungry! Hungry Yan is not gonna be a happy Yan!

Luckily I saw another building and inside have food!

Upon entering Willem-Alexander, I got distracted by….

Patches and patches of tulips! Ok granted they are indoor so mayb abit fake. But then…… I didnt get to see so many tulips during Tulipmania in Gardens by the Bay. Besides the area shown above, there is another equal area behind the camera. So its double what you see.

There are hyacinths too! They really smell nice~~ and ur nose no need to be very clear to smell them hahah…

Ok… hunger still came n look for me in e end…. so i decided to eat then continue admire the flowers. Bought the following lunch at 14.60 Euros. OK la the fries really quite nice. Burger abit dry… Soup is shiok….. With this kind of view, I guess any food also shiok haha.Cuz the hot soup was so shiok, I decided to add a cup of hot chocolate. 2.60 Euros.

Eat full full then can resume selfie lo! hehe

This is very interesting “furry” tulip.

And giant tulips!

After leaving the Willem-Alexander, sun start coming out lo! Happiness~

Saw this patch of growing…. plants? I tink in 2 weeks or so, it will bloom very nice here!

Met an old couple and I approached the lady help me take pic.

She is so cute! She said the pic will be nicer if i stand closer to the flowers haha… So naturally i obliged her. Actually I realised… that its not easy to ask strangers help u take pic cuz…. may feel abit self-conscious hahha

This is taken by an Ang moh lady. I rem she came close to take pics of e flowers and she had a pink camera. After she helped me, I volunteered my services too. Hehe she replied “oh why not” and beckoned her partner over. I took 3 or 4 for them frm different angles. I wondered how they turn out. :p  

Next indoor flower show is at Beatrix. They have….. orchid show ongoing and the theme is…. LOVE. haha whole place decorated like a wedding reception.

See all the love signs put up.  

I saw BLUE orchids here!

There is a free tour at 2pm starting from Juliana (pronounced as Yuliana). I reached slightly earlier so was sitting outside and enjoying the sun and flowers. Was chatting w a fren who asked wat I was doing. Told her I sitting outdoor enjoy the sun and using the wifi. She said its her kind of place! Gt sun and wifi hehe…

View from my seats 🙂

At 2pm sharp, the tour starts. There were more than 25 ppl which is the usual grp size. However, due to insufficient staff, the tour still proceed. There are 2 tours: 1 in English and 1 in Dutch. Tour guide is a very nice and patient lady. She told us that there are 7 million bulbs in Keukenhof and all are hand planted. The names of the various buildings mentioned earlier are all named after royalty.

Came to this fountain and we saw rainbow! 

Walking further up from the fountain, we came across a viewpoint of the private flower fields. They are currently barren but I can imagine how beautiful it will be when its e right season. There are boat rides that starts from the Mill and goes around Keukenhof so that you can see the flower fields. Since the field is barren, I didnt take the ride.

I want to come back again!

I tink this is the inspirational garden. Guide was saying ppl always say tulips are planted on beds. They took the literal meaning and really put cots there haha. I can really see the tulip bulbs.

Guide led us to the mill which I couldnt reach on my own earlier on 😀 This is the view from the top of the mill. Hehe

Saw ppl queuing to get on this boat to take pic with the windmill forming a picturesque background. And I….. follow suit hahah *bo liao* but ok la the pic really turned out well.

Bottom 3 pics r taken at … selfie garden! Hahah it’s like MY garden how can dun take pic right?!

There is this very big pond in Keukenhof. The surrounding lands are beautifully planted with colours. I wish…. i can come back here in mid Apr.

There are swans to make the whole place romantic.

OK…. white flowers also can look nice 🙂

As I was feeling abit cold and hungry and my HP is dying, I went back to Juliana to grab a bite n tea while charging my HP. I sat near here.

Over here I met a girl who asked if I m Chinese and so I said yes. We started conversing in Chinese. she wanted to borrow my cable for a while. So I said sure. Then we chatted and I mentioned tat flight frm SG is v long so I jz made use of this trip n come visit tulips. She gt confused and said oh tot u chinese? I said 对啊。我是华人。hahaha…. Then she was like oh!
W her is a Taiwan companion who said she will always clarify that she is a Taiwanese.

Anyway these 2 girls quite interesting. 1 from China, 1 frm Taiwan. So how they met n travel together ? They met each other in POLAND and found out tat they both gonna b in Amsterdam during e same wkend so they 结伴。They are quite nice too. They wanted to invite me for dinner, but i told them I need to travel back to Belgium cuz it will be a 2-hr journey. 😦 Oh wells~

While waiting for the girl’s hp to charge, i went to take this touristy pic of me naming some tulip. hahah I sure look very blur.

At 4+pm, I decided to go visit the Willem-Alexander to bid the tulips farewell :p

Along the way, saw these tiny tulips hehe

My last chance looking at all these beautiful and colourful tulips~

I like this pic cuz the colors are captured nicely tho my pose looks erm abit weird.

Saw this very interesting color tulip. I wonder if the green leaf slowly turned pink to reveal the tulip hehe… 

再不舍得, 我还是得离开了. I spent a total of 7 hrs here and I still cant bear to leave this place. I cant imagine if all the flowers are actually blooming then what will happen to me? haha….

Goodbye tulips~ I hope to see u again and in greater amounts nxt time!

The bus that brought my back to Schiphol airport 😦

As its a 2 hr journey back and I do not want to reach Antwerp too late, I take away a BK salad to eat on the train! But its not very nice.

Saw the skies change colours during my train ride and managed to capture it.

这为我这一趟旅程画上美丽的句点. Till e nxt time I see e tulips lo!

Beer and last night in Antwerp lo!

I think 2.50 Euro beer are generally not creamy enough haha… This Maes is slight bitter n not creamy enough

Wow I like this one! Haha creamy and smooth tho w a slight bitter after taste. Goes very well w BBQ ribs! Haha I ate 1.5 slab. Shiok ! My Antwerp colleague told me this is at least 8% haha I jz googled and it’s 9.5%! No wonder I felt abit woozy after drinking haha and ya this is 3+ euro

Yesterday got a colleague asked me whether I have tried De Koninck; he claimed it to be THE beer to try in Antwerp. Haha luckily today’s restaurant serve it n from e tap somemore! Shiok! This is creamy without any sweetness but also not bitter. Just 重口味. Oh but the aftertaste dun sit well w me so not my mug of beer. Alcohol percentage is 5%.

Since last night in Antwerp lo, I can make my decision lo! My fav beer is….
Duvel and La Chouffe beer!! Ok are … Not is but o wells it’s a tough decision. I nd a session to drink both together to judge hahha 😀

And cuz it’s last night, all my colleagues join me in drinking. Cheers to Singapore hawker food! Woo hoo~

Beer and girls

And so my hunt for e perfect Belgian beer continues!

Brigand – a 9.0% alcohol beer. Smooth and fragrant beer but gt bitter aftertaste and….. Gt siap siap feel too so dun really like. I was totally zonked after this beer; think it’s cuz I had prosecco before :p

Tripel Karmeliet beer was a beer recommended by Maritime place guy to go w mussels. Very smooth w a tinge of sweet. But totally no beer taste cuz not bitter at all. Hrumpf! This doesn’t come w corresponding mug

Leffe blond tastes like beer le. Very smooth w a tinge of bitter. When I drank this, I kept burping. I dunno is it cuz I drank too fast. Then when I read online, I realised this beer known for gassy.

Tongerlo – goes well w beef stew and ham. Cuz that’s what I had when I was drinking it. Smooth as most Belgian beer but abit bitter. Tho e bitterness disappear when I start eating haha

Now now for contender w Duvel! La Chouffe! Haha the logo very cute de! It’s a dwarf! This beer is smooth, sweet and w e beer taste. I was thinking whether to get another 1! Cuz there is marching band playing in e backgrd, air is cool. Totally enjoying e moment haha

Tho nxt topic has nothing to do w e beer I drank but I tot beer n girls match.

We managed to walk past Falcon strat twice! It’s Antwerp’s red light district. Once at 6pm when it’s still bright and on our first day in Antwerp! We a accidentally walked in and as we walked … We realise e streets seem to b full of unsavory ppl. Then my colleague started telling me she saw a mannequin moved in the window display ! Haha they r not mannequin!!! They r really skimpily dressed. Some are just strips of cloth to cover e bare necessity. Saw a few where can see e whole boobs area n they looked … Artificial. Quite a few fat one so lotsa cellulite shown. :p It’s quite an eye opener.

Nxt time we went was at night n intentional liao. Haha~ gt this female colleague w erm inquisitive mind; want to see clearer. As we enter e street, uncle colleague asked me walk in front cuz I walk got wind can protect them

Nighttime is when e neon lights are on. Lights are all shine on e bodies. Cannot really see e face. Saw a girl wearing neon lingerie. 😮 somehow the night time girls appear … Thinner.

Anyway a lot of window display w girls in them hav Te Hur placards hanging. We wondered if it’s e place for rent or… …

On our train ride to Brussels today at like 11+am, we also saw such window display at a station near Brussel station! The girls so early start work?

Bread and …. Beer!

For the past 2 days’ lunch, our colleagues kindly helped us bought…. Bread

They are hard and no soup to soften them zzzz I was saying “now we know why Ang moh so 牙尖嘴利; cuz they can 磨牙on such bread”

Then my colleague was saying “I hope they wun buy lunch for us tml liao”

Yeap, tats hw jialat it is. Now tat we got hw bad e bread is away. Let’s go to a good thing abt Antwerp!

Beer!!! They hav like a dozen of beer here. Haha just nice for my 2 wks’ stay.

First up is madman of Brugge. Haha tats wat e bartender told me. Not too bad. Quite light n fragrant.

Nxt is Vedett. Totally ladies’ beer. Very light. No beer taste at all.

Of e 3, I like this best. Duvel. Waitress told me tis is local favourite n it has high alcohol content: 8%. Oops~ this has e very gao n fragrant beer taste but no bitter aftertaste.

Heh tats all e beer I hav till now. Will upd when I try more!

Turbulence and what to do w life

The flight leaving singapore for Antwerp met w quite abit of turbulence.

I was in e loo when 1 such turbulence hit. And it’s not just a short lurch! It was a few lurches and I felt like my feet left e grd at 1 pt.

The most scary part is I got nothing to hold on to. I attempted to unlatch e toilet lock and even tat also tough to connect my fingers to e lock.

Most alarming turbulence ever for me!

Heng as we approach Amsterdam, the turbulence decreased.

As we exit frm the baggage control, these cuties greet us!

Schiphol airport has a lot of shopping opened at 7am on a Sunday morning. To describe the place as bustling will not b amiss. Train station is really near Burger King as my colleague says.

We had to walk further than train station for our ride to Antwerp tho. Our ride is waiting for us at Sheraton hotel lobby.

Amsterdam scenery is not bad. Captured frm the car

There is this grandfather that went w us. He is 63 yrs old this yr. Still very active. He applied for this job rotation that will require a lot of traveling. On e flight, he strike a conversation w his neighbor to find out what he do etc. And……. He learnt hw to fly a plane back in uni days and…. He know hw to speak Italian! Hahaha

This sets me thinking … Given his age, i would hav tot e opportunities and choices he hav would b limited. Like how I envy e younger ones nowadays cuz their choices are more.

But Mayb it doesn’t really depend on e times u live in?