TULUPS AND WINDMILLS VIKING RIVER CRUISE - SERIES #12

"Don't understimate the therapeutic value of gardening. It’s the one area where we can all use our nascent creative talents to make a truly satisfying work of art. Every individual, with thought, patience and a large portion of help from nature, has it in them to create their own private paradise: truly a thing of beauty and a joy for ever.” – Geoff Hamilton, Paradise Gardens, 1997

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND- APRIL 3, 2014 (Part 2)

This Time Our Focus Would Be More On The Decorative Floral Aspect Of The Garden. Like A Fashion Show This Garden Also Showed The Latest Trends In Gardening. It Had 7 Inspirational Garden Pavilions.

Welcome Back To Keukenhof Garden. This Was Part Two Of Our Garden Tour. There Were So Many Flowers & Things To See At The Keukenhof Tulip Garden, That We Didn't Know What To Look At.

 

Every Year The Garden Had A Theme. For 2014, The Theme Was "Holland." C'mon Let's Continue Our Garden Tour!

 

Beautiful Hanged Glass Bottles On The Tree  W/ Colorful Flowers. Interesting Neatly Lined Up Blue And Green Dutch Clogs W/ Succulents Planted On Them.

Lets Look At The Many Floral Arrangements Through The Eyes Of An Impressionists Artist  - Vincent Van Gogh.

 Modern Floral Arrangement W/ Anthurium From The Orchid Pavilion

"It's Not  The Language Of The Painter But The Language Of NATURE Which One Should Listen To, For Reality Is More Important Than The Feeling For Pictures." - Van Gogh 

 

Modern Floral Arrangement W/ Red & Black.

"I Long So Much To Make Beautiful Things. But Beautiful Things Require Effort And Dissapointment and Perseverance." - Van Gogh

 

Clusters Of Multi-Colored Orchids On Glass Vases

"If You Truly Love NATURE, You Will Find BEAUTY Everywhere." - Van Gogh

"Keep Your Love Of NATURE, For That Is The True Way To Understand Art More And More." Van Gogh

 

"How Right It Is To Love Flowers And The Greenery Of Pines And Ivy ...." - Van Gogh

 

"....... And Then, I Have NATURE And Art  And Poetry, And If It is Not enough, What Is Enough?" - Van Gogh 

 

Multi-Colored Orchids W/ Reflecting Mirror

"Experience A Period Of Frightening Clarity In Those Moments When NATURE Is So Beautiful. I Am No longer Sure Of myself, And Painting Appears As In A Dream." - Van Gogh
 

Now Let's Hear Another Impressionists Artist, Claude Monet

A Polka Dotted Orchid

"The Richness I Achieve Comes From NATURE, The Source Of My Inspiration."- Claude Monet

 

" I Owe Perhaps Becoming A Painter To Flowers." - Claude Monet

"I Must Have Flowers, Always And Always."- Claude Monet

"My Garden Is My Most Beautiful Masterpiece." - Claude Monet

"Color Is Daylong Obsession, Joy And Torment." - Claude Monet

"Everyday I Discover More And More Beautiful things. It's Enough To drive One Mad. I Have Such A Desire To do everything, My head Is Bursting With It." - Claude Monet 

  

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES ABOUT FLOWERS FROM GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

"Nobody Sees A Flower Really; It Is So Small. We Haven't Time, And To See Takes Time - Like To Have A Friend Takes Time." - Georgia O'Keeffe 

"I'll Paint It Big And They Will Be Surprised Into Taking The Time To Look At It – I Will Make Even Busy New Yorkers Take Time To See What I See Of Flowers." (Georgia O'Keeffe)
 

                                     

"I'll Make Them Big Like Huge Buildings Going Up. People Will Be Startled; They Will Have To Look At Them." - (Georgia O'Keeffe)
 

"If You Take A Flower In Your Hand And Really Look At It, Its's Your World For The Moment." - Geogia O'Keeffe
THEME FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS:

 

A Bicycle Cart Filled W/ Blooming Orchids. It Depicted The "Holland" Theme.

 

Another Angle Of The Bicycle Floral "Holland" Theme.

 

Brilliant Orchids Shown W/ Keukenhof "Holland" Theme. 

Expressive And Bright London Floral Theme

Sophisticated Parisian Floral Theme

Japanese Floral Theme W/ White Lantern & Pink Orchids

Me, W/ Colorful Decorative Tree Filled W/ Bromeliads. 

"Flowers  Are The Sweetest Thing God Ever Made, And Forgot To Put A Soul Into." . ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

"Flowers Always Make People Better, Happier And More Helpful: They Are Sunshine, Food And Medicine To The Soul." - Luther Burbank

 

After Our garden Tour We went Back To the Ship For a Leisurely Lunch At the Ship's Upper Lounge.

Photo Taken W/ Some Of The Viking Staffs And Kitchen Crew At The Buffet Lounge 

 

Rhod W/ One Of the Filipino Chefs On Board.

 

Photo W/ The Captain Of Viking Bragi (Left Side)

 

This Was The Last Day Of Our 10 Days River Cruise W/ Viking Bragi. So Long! So "Doei," (Bye - Bye in Dutch). Till Our Next Trip W/ Viking.

"Life Is Short And The Older You Get, The More You feel It. Indeed, The Shorter It is. People Lose Their Capacity To walk, Run, Travel, Think And Experience Life. I Realized How important It Is To Use The Time I Have." - Viggo Mortesen 

TULIPS AND WINDMILLS VIKING RIVER CRUISE - SERIES #11

"At the sea, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun."  -Unknown

WALCHEREN, HOLLAND - APRIL 2, 2014 (Tour 2)

This Friendly Dutch Girl Said....Goedmorgen!" (Good Morning In Dutch). And "Welkom In Holland!" (Welcome To Holland In Dutch). Later, We Traveled To Another Part of Zeeland In The  Village Of Veere. A Quaint Dutch Village Near The Sea. This Pictureques Village Of Veere Stood On the Veere Meer Lagoon on The island Of Walcheren In Zeeland.

A Colorful "Veere " Sign Along The Pathway.

We Stopped In Veere And Enjoyed A Walking Tour Of The Town Filled W/ History. Our Tour Started From This Point - The Grote Kerk ( Big Church), Still Towers Over This Small Village And Small Houses.

A Closer View Of Grote Kerk Veere From 1348.

 

Entering The Quaint Village of Veere, Holland. Let's Take A Little Walk Around The Village. Pictureque Little Village Of Veere, A Favorite Haunt For  Painters.

Time  Rewinds On This Quaint Dutch Village W/ Authentic Architectures.

 

Very Cute Teeny-Weeny Black House Squeezed Among Brick Houses.

 

Posing Infront Of This Gray & Red Medieval Building.

 

Close - Up View Of The Gray & Red Medieval Building. Very Nice Color Paint Combination. So Cool!

 

Bright And Fiery Red Building

 

Harbor of Veere, Holland. In The 17th & 18th Century Veere Was A Prosperous Trading City.

 

Veere Used To Be A Trading Port. Now A Leisure Port For Sailing Boats. The Village's Character Changed Slowly Into A Tourist Resort As The Demand For Beach Recreation Rose About The Middle Of The 19th Century. 

 

This City Was Quiet During Cooler Months, But Was Alive In the Summer Month. Main industry Of Veere Was Tourism

A Serene Seaside Landscape. Veere Was Home To Many Artist That Sold Their Artworks All Over The World.

 

The Fort By The Sea W/ Colorful Canons.

 

At The Old Port W/ Old Walls Still Standing.

 

Now we continue Our village Tour. Rhod  W/ Campveere Tower In the Background.

 

Entrance To Campveere Tower

 

The Campveere Tower Was A 16th Century Tower. Was Built As Part Of The Town Defense Around 1500. One Of The Oldest Surviving Taverns In The Netherlands. Now, used as An inn and Coastal Light.   

 

Closer View Of Campveere Tower

 

 

Most Eye Catching Building Was Of Course The Town Hall Of Veere. But It  Was Under Renovation During Our Tour.  

 

This Giant Panel Was What We Saw. They Said The Town Hall Had A Beautiful Facade. The Tower W/ Bells Dating Back To The 16th Century. The Carillon Was Said To Be One Of The Prettiest In The Netherland.

 

For Some Shopaholics, Here's Few Boutiques To Indulge W/. 

 

Another Cute Boutique, For Those Who Couldn't Resist Shopping For Elegant Clothes.

A Shop selling Wool. Veere Was Formerly A Trading Center For Scottish Wool.

Implulse Shopping for Racing Car, Huh? More Affordable Than Real Ones. 
 

A Neat And  Nice Grassy Green Area W/  Shops, Benches And Cafes.

 

We Took A Break At this Quaint Hotel And Restaurant Named "Vaepen Van Veere."

 

 A Lovely Window Planter W/ Yellow Pansies And Nearby Rattan Menu.

We Found A Nice Seating Area To Sip Our Warm Chocolates And Re-fuel After Our Long Walk.

Socializinmg W/ New Friends  (Ron & Wynn) Whom We Met On Our Viking Cruise. Wynn Took This Shot.

A Nice Garden Decor Sitting On A Garden Fence.

 Two Cute Ceramic Dollies Setting On The Bench. 

 

We Passed By This White And Black Windmill Along The Way. We Said "Daeg" (Bye-Bye In Dutch) To The Beautiful Dutch Countryside. As Tomorrow We Would Be Back To The Big City Of Amsterdam. Our Tour Ended And We Went Back To The Ship For A Leisurely Lunch. In The Afternoon We Had A Relaxing  Time Sailing To Rotterdam. 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain