We went into the centre yesterday and were greeted with a very surprising sight- Dam Square had been transformed into a soccer field. And not just any soccer field, it was a beach soccer field. The whole square, which just a few months ago was under inches of snow and ice, was now under a foot of sand. It was a nice warm day, perfect weather for the beach, but unfortunately the sand was for players only so we had to be content with watching for a few minutes.
Beach soccer field, with the royal palace and the Nieuwe Kerk in the background
Nieuwendijk, the shopping street adjacent to DamSquare, is also soccer-crazed. These decorations must be in preparation for Euro 2012 which starts next weekend.
After a few great days in Paris, we were off to our next stop- Schwangau, in the south of Germany.It was an early start to the day, partly because it was a 9 hour drive, but mostly to avoid the ridiculous Parisian traffic. So, with a 4:30am alarm and a lighter wallet due to the exorbitant cost of parking in Paris, we were off.
Other than the excitement of crossing the border and entering Germany for the first time, the drive was largely uneventful- until we started reaching the mountains. When one of us first mentioned that the ground outside looked like it had snow on it, the rest of us dismissed the though, saying that it must be dead grass or ash from a fire. Twenty minutes later though, we stopped excitedly on the side of the highway to discover enough snow to allow us to make a little snowman.
Our little snowman
Another twenty minutes after that though, we felt ridiculous at having been excited with such a small amount of snow. As we drove, it got thicker and thicker until all we could see all around us was just white. We could see the storm ahead of us that was leaving the snow, but we didn't manage to catch it. When we stopped again, the snow was so thick and fluffy that all we could do for half an hour was have snowball fights and build a massive snowman that put our previous effort to shame. We then noticed that the snow we were throwing and dirtying was actually the front lawn of an expensive looking hotel, so it was back in the car before they came out to kick us off.
Our big snowman
Me losing at snowball fights
Schwangau is quite a small little town, it's call to fame being it's proximity to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles. We spent most of our time in the Hohenschwangau castle grounds enjoying the snow, taking photos of the lake and doing the walk up to the actual castle which looks down on the grounds. This walk would be lovely at any time of the year, but with snow falling from the trees and big icicles hanging from every stable surface it was incredible.
Hohenschwangau castle grounds, from the base of the castle
Hohenschwangau castle
As we were driving back from the castles in the evening, we saw a snow covered field with a small wooden cabin just visible through the thick mist. It was very simple compared to all the fanfair of Paris and the magnificence of the German castles, but for me it was one of the greatest moments of the whole holiday when we stopped and walked through it and took some photos.
Cabin in the mist
On the one night that we stayed in Schwangau, we went to an awesome little restaurant which served massive portions of authentic German food for very cheap prices. I had a huge schnitzel washed down with a stein of Radler- delicious.
We were also planning to go to the Neuschwanstein castle, which is apparently the inspiration behind the castle on the Disney logo, but it was a few kilometers away and due to the snow the shuttle bus was not running and time constraints meant we did not have time to walk or catch the horse-drawn carriage there. Also unfortunate was that the castle had scaffolding all along the side so was not great for photos. We did get many amazing photos, here's just a few of my favourites.
When our family was visiting in April, we took them to Keukenhof, a large public garden full of beautifully landscaped gardens with all sorts of trees and flowers- and of course, many many tulips. The gardens are about a 30 minute bus ride from Schipol airport, and it is possible to buy a Combiticket which includes the entrance fee and the bus ride to and from the airport. They can be purchased at the tourist information centre at the airport.
The gardens are only open for about 2 months per year, between March and May. We were there on the first weekend after opening, so there was quite a few displays which were not yet in full bloom, but it was far from disappointing. We spent about 5 hours there and still didn't get to see everything. It was a lot of walking and we were very ready to go home by the end of the day. Fortunately for Nanna they provided wheel chairs so she didn't have to walk (although when she wanted to walk, the others were more than happy to have a turn it it!)
As well as the many outdoor landscapes, including the hedge maze and the windmill, there were a few themed indoor displays, such as the tulip house and the orchid house. It was quite nice to get inside every now and then because it was a cold, windy day.
Video of the indoor tulip display
There was not as many people there as I expected, given the short duration which it is open. It also was not just tourists, there were many Dutch people who had come to enjoy the flowers. Regardless of nationality though, every person had a camera and was trying to perfectly capture the amazing colours of the flowers, some with little point and shoot cameras, other with foot-long lenses and tripods. We also took many photos, it was hard to choose which ones were best but there is a selection of my favourites here.
