Travel to Holland in the Springtime!

First let me say, The Netherlands is the friendliest place to visit. The people are so open and helpful. Most of them speak English too. They will be quick to correct you that speaking Dutch is not at all like speaking German. In fact, it's closer to English than German.

Amsterdam is a great city to visit. There are many things to see and do, Ann Franks house, the seven canals tour by boat, the red light district for those who want to venture out to see some interesting characters to say the least, Rembrandt House Museum, and a good place to take the day trip tours.

Now, I have visited Amsterdam and some of the outskirts of the city four times. But there is more to the Netherlands than Amsterdam and the timing of the year can be more fulfilling to see if you pick the right season. My favorite months of the year is late April or early May. Why? Because it is tip toe thru the tulip time! You will see rows and rows of breathtaking colors of flowers when driving through the countryside. Although, flowers are a product of nature and depending on the weather will be when the flower blooms. The most popular flower is the tulip. Typically the period of late April to beginning of May is a good time to catch it.

You would want to visit the Kuekenhof Gardens which is the most popular place you must see during the April-May period. Keukenhof Gardens is located in Lisse, Holland which is not far from Amsterdam. You can purchase a complete package which includes a train ride and an admission to the Keukenhof Gardens at the Amsterdam Centraal Station. Once you go through the tour of the Kuekenhof, you can visit the gift shop to purchase bulbs from Holland. One note that is very important that I had to learn the hard way, don't purchase any bulbs in any other places in Europe unless it has a stamp certified that it was packaged in Holland and approved by the US Department of Agriculture. Your item would not be accepted once you got to the US. And you could be considered bringing in illegal plants.