Walking around the streets of Amsterdam can sometimes feel like you’re in a park on account of the many magical waterways and wildlife sightings.
The herons, coots, and grebes (just to name a few) were plentiful and enough to delight birdwatchers navigating through the city.
This is just a part of daily life adding pure enjoyment getting from point A to point B, adding a natural element into the urban expanse.
Vondelpark
Right in the middle of the city this sprawling park was filled with people all with different agendas.
Some were biking and jogging, others were lounging, many had dogs, and others still were rocking out to the live music playing. There are fields for playing sports, benches for sitting, restaurants, restrooms, this park has so much going on. Upon entering, I was excited to check out the map. I love maps and it’s always great to know you’re surroundings. This map had a quirky pole right in the center, what?
There are a lot of oddities to this park, I like that. We walked slow finding all of the blossoming strange and beautiful details in the park.
All of the water, ponds and canals, meant two things. There would be many bridges. They were unique and intricately designed. One bridge led to a little island surrounded by tulips.
The other thing that all of the water brought was fantastic birding. There were interesting ducks, coots, magpies, a stork!, woodpeckers, and most bizarre of all parrots?
I never guessed that parrots would live in a cold climate like this. At first sight I thought, okay, a persons pet parrot may have escape. Then I started seeing the birds everywhere, and recognizing their distinct call. Vibrant green parrots in all of the trees, flying in little troops across the sky, in Amsterdam. How amazing is that? I never did find the original Picasso sculpture that resides in the park, let me know if you do!
Keukenhof Gardens
This is tulip mania to the extreme. A tourist attraction to be sure, but hey, I was a tourist of the city in springtime.
We were in town on the last possible day to visit the gardens so the crop was definitely past its prime, but the gardens were still lovely to see. The drive itself is peaceful, through the countryside, passing many tulip fields along the way.
The park is large and can be a bit overwhelming trying to take in the sights with a map and camera in hand, so we just took to wandering. There were so many variations of glorious tulips with stupendous names like Spongebob and in kitschy arrangements.
There are overlooks to the tulip fields, and during my visit the once bold and vibrant rows were trickled with color.
Wooden shoes, windmills, and royal Copenhagen porcelain are all found like hidden treasures on a Dutch scavenger hunt.
Inside there are many cool displays, demonstrations, a food court, and gift shops. I especially liked the orchids in pants and blue variation.
Birding was great whether it was native or non-natural. Watching a coot build its nest was heartwarming and the little lovebirds kissing made me swoon!
There is a great little petting zoo for the kiddies and kids at heart.
This was perfect for a haft day getaway from the city. Although it was loaded with tourists, I love flowers and nature so it worked for me!