April 18, 2026.  Flew out of Jacksonville airport on a relatively comfortable American Airlines Boing 737 airplane, though EF Go Ahead Tours (unlike Viking) did not allow us to select good seats in advance.  We flew into Philadelphia Airport and transferred to a Boeing 787, otherwise known as a flying sardine can.  Three columns of three seats squeezed across, totaling over 300 seats.  Service was the worst ever experienced on an airline, served prepackaged processed food tossed to us in boxes.  The flight attendants were clearly rushed to serve so many seats in the time allowed.  Note to self:  never again fly with American Airlines.

Betty had a hard time getting around with her cane, so we asked for help whenever we could get it.  At the Jacksonville Airport, she fell backward using the automated sidewalk on way to the departure gate.  Getting some ice in a plastic bag to apply to the injured area helped a lot.  At the Philadelphia Airport we had to beg for a man with an electric-powered seat with slots to hang some baggage.  The electric multi-seat conveyances we find at Houston and Atlanta Airports are not common in most other airports.  I ran along behind pulling my luggage as we traversed from one end of Philadelphia's airport to the other.

Arrival in Amsterdam was not too bad.  Now it was Sunday morning due to time zone changes.  Getting someone to help was fairly easy, but getting to the point where a representative of EF Go Ahead Tours would meet us was not simple.  After a long trek, we found the place where one of their representatives was waiting for us holding a sign with the tour name on it.  The location looked nothing like what the tour company said to look for.

The cab driver who took us from the airport to the hotel gave us the usual instruction to look out for the bicyclers, who honor no rules of the road.  He noted that the population of Amsterdam is over a million, but there are far more bikes than people.  This story was repeated to us by the tour director.

Along the ride to the hotel, one could see the cherry blossom trees in bloom.  They seemed even more magnificent than the ones in Washington, D.C.  They were in full bloom that day and mostly for the rest of our visit.  There was such a tree across the street from the hotel, but it was not nearly as full of blossoms as ones we saw along the way from the airport.

Cherry Blossom Tree Across Street from Hotel

We arrived at our hotel, which the tour guide loved because of its location.  By that he meant that it was across the street from the Rijksmuseum and adjacently across the street from the canal on which we later would have a tour.  We would find out later that this location was very far from the bus stops to which we would have to walk over a mile to reach for the tour.  We signed up for this tour solely because it was advertised as the least physically demanding of all their tours.  Not true!  The Iceland tour we took a few years ago was far less demanding, and the busses picked us up at the hotels.

Rijksmuseum, Which Was NOT On Our Tour This Time

White Building to Far Right Is the Hotel

View of Hotel from Canal Tour

The name of the hotel was the Leonardo Boutique Museumhotel.  It is part of a chain of similarly-named hotels in Amsterdam.  Among its problems are that they serve no lunch or supper, only a few ordinary sandwiches via special order.  For a better lunch or supper, you would need to walk a mile or more down crowded streets to try to pick out an eatery that looked suitable.

A Long Walk Through That to Find a Meal

Furthermore, the rooms were not ready for guests until 3 pm, but we arrived in the morning, pretty tired from the change in time zones.  The tour advertised that we would have the day to rest, but there were no rooms for us.  We were told to rest sitting in the lobby from mid-morning until 3pm.

Our tour guide managed to get us something earlier, likely due to Betty's exhausted appearance.  He bragged about the room being so big (by Amsterdam standards) but it was on the first floor opposite the entrance where deliveries were made at all times of the night and loud shouts of arriving groups made sleeping difficult.  We even had a broken window that kept it from closing, allowing more noise in.  The room was actually so small that the double bed would barely fit into its space, thus blocking the bathroom door from opening fully.  Bathroom sink had a large crack in it.  Wallpaper was peeling in spots. Our tour director had later talked about the high cost of apartments in Amsterdam, and those apartments consisted of combination rooms, where living rooms combined with kitchens, bedrooms with dining rooms, etc.  Apparently this meant that the condition of this room was considered acceptable.  

Panorama View of Room from Door

Halfway Open Bathroom Door Hits Bed

Bathroom with Narrow Deep Tub

Tiny Bathroom Trash Can

Delivery Trucks Outside Our Window

Once everyone was in a room, our tour director had us walk a "12 minute walk" to a "very Dutch restaurant serving very Dutch food."  I remember that language from our last tour in Amsterdam.  And walk we did.

View from Our Table at Dutch Restaurant

The meal was mostly some kind of a beef dish poured over fried potatoes, this time it was fried potatoes instead of mashed like last year's meal.  Our tour guide went to lengths to claim that these were the best fries in the world.  A couple days later he admitted that he had stopped off for lunch at a McDonalds on his way to the post office.  He was shocked by how good McDonalds fries were.  No kidding!

Our Main Dish

Dessert was not bad.  Not sure what it was.  Served in a tiny dish with a tiny spoon.  Photo below does not portray the true size.

Our Dessert

Then a walk back to the hotel.  We slept poorly that night due to the noise outside.

On Monday, Apr 20, 2026, we walked a long way to the bus stop area (Betty's pedometer said 5.4 miles altogether).  This was the day they had arranged for us to visit the city of Delft.  The schedule had been rearranged from what we registered for due to complications on their end.  We were glad to get onto a bus.  We had to wear "Whispers" which are radio receivers with ear plugs to hear what the tour guide was saying.  We wore these most of the time on the tour. 

Each day that we walked the roads from the hotel to the buses, we passed a very interesting-looking tree that impressed both of us.  Have no idea what kind of tree it is, and of course no one around there seems to know either.

Interesting Tree by Rijksmuseum

Delft is where the Hague is located.  It is also where a museum is located where Vermeer's "Girl with Pearl Earring" is displayed.  According to our tour guide, there are two "must see" paintings in the world:  The "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre and "Girl with Pearl Earring" at the Mauritshuis Museum in Delft.  Thus we were going there.

But first he took us on a walking tour of the Old Church and New Church of Delft, and a long walk it was!  The Old Church was Roman Catholic before the Reformation, but now both churches are Dutch Reformed Protestant.  Neither of these churches are associated with the English Puritans who later emigrated to America.  The English moved on to Leiden, which we did not visit.  

Along the way the guide pointed out some tiny apartments along the canals, though there are tiny apartments everywhere.  The red structure below squeezed in between two other structures is the smallest structure in town, yet it has been divided into two separate apartments!  Note the two very different entry doors. 

Red House Has Two Doors,
Each Leading to a Separate Apartment

Attractive Delft Canal

Tour Guide Took This Photo of Us Along the Way

Betty Shot This Nice Reflection Image

These two churches are steeped in Dutch history which we hear little about in America.  Several Dutch heroes are buried in the floor of these churches, and the royal family of The Netherlands continue to be buried in the New Church.

The Old Church

Plaque Outside the Old Church

Old Church Welcome Sign

Inside Old Church Panorama

Panorama from Opposite Side

Closeup of Organ Pipes

View Down Aisle of Old Church

Betty Got This Shot Inside Old Church

With the Reformation, Protestants removed all icons and statues that Roman Catholics used in their worship.  The only item that remains from the original Old Church is the pulpit shown below.  Interestingly, Protestants added a newer one opposite it.

Original Pulpit Remains from Roman Catholic Days

New Pulpit Across from the Old One

After viewing the Old Church, we were off for another long walk.  Finally we reached Market Square where the New Church is located.  There is a statue of Hugo Grotius out front.  On the opposite side of Market Square stands City Hall.

City Hall in Market Square, Delft

Opposite City Hall Is the New Church

Betty Stops for a Photo of New Church

Statue of Hugo Grotius, Local Hero of Reformation

View Down Aisle of New Church

Church is Filled With Tombs of Royalty

Tomb of Dutch Royal

It was hard for me to keep track of all these royals and heroes of Dutch history, since most of the inscriptions were in Dutch.

Another Dutch Royal

Floors Are Covered with Raised Inlay for Tombs

A woman (not with our tour) tripped on all these inlays, fell and hurt herself badly while we were there.

One mystery to me was the presence of candles in a Protestant church.  I checked the web site, which said:  "Candles in the Protestant New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) in Delft are primarily used to provide a space for visitors to light a candle for remembrance, comfort, and quiet prayer.  This practice, while stemming from older liturgical traditions, has been adapted in many Protestant churches as a personal, spiritual gesture of hope and reflection rather than for traditional adoration."  Go figure.

Candles in a Protestant Church

For lunch we were to find for ourselves something in the Market Square, which offered mostly Indonesian food restaurants.  Our guide said that there were no American food companies offered there due to promoting Dutch establishments.  We asked about all the Indonesian eateries, but he had no reply.  We walked and looked for a while, then around one corner we found a Subway run by Indians.  At least we could order something familiar.  This is the day that our tour guide drove to the post office and stopped off at a McDonald's for lunch and marveled at their French fries.  

After lunch they walked us to a Delftware handmade pottery shop.  

Front Window of Pottery Shop

Pottery Shop Lobby

Much was made of always buying authentic Delft Pottery, since many foreign knock-offs are on the market.  It seems the main way to tell them apart is that the Delft Pottery has very dark blue painting.

We were taken to a back room where the proprietor demonstrated the lengthy process for producing quality pottery.  By this point we were already pooped from all the walking.

They Offered Betty a Chair

The proprietor used exhibits from the top shelf to demonstrate how a piece of pottery moves from German clay in a mold, then working the piece, and passing through several sessions in the kiln, and finally painting to arrive at a finished piece of pottery that is authentic Delft pottery. 

Proprietor Selects First Piece of Formed Clay

Eventually we see the progression, below shown right to left, of several workings and trips through the kiln.  The two pieces below on the left show the before and after the paint application.  The far left is the finished product.

Final Version of Demonstration Shelf

The Many Molds for Different Pottery Pieces

One of the Kilns

A Pictorial Pottery Piece

The Artist: The Final Touch

Imaginative Crustacean Pottery Piece in Lobby

Next we were off to catch a bus to the Mauritshuis Museum.  

The Mauritshuis Museum in Delft

As you enter the  courtyard of the museum, one finds that you can enter via the stairway to the first floor, or take the clear elevator down to "street level" and find another elevator to take you back up.  Betty needed the elevator, so we went down.

Clear Elevator to Reach "Street Level"

We then entered the museum and found the elevator to take us back up to the first floor.  Yes, pretty confusing.  The tour group was headed for the second floor, which the main elevator would not reach.  We were told (hush-hush) that a secret security elevator is available if we find a security officer, which we did.  It took us up to the second floor to join the group.

Secret Passage to Security Elevator

Thus we rushed to catch up with the remainder of our tour group. There clearly was a crowd rush to see the "Girl with Pearl Earring."  

 

The Edge of the Crowd Around That Painting

The Star of the Show

Panorama of Museum Second Floor Interior

Betty shot some pieces about which I have no further information.

One of Betty's Photos

Another of Betty's Photos

I was mostly interested in the Rembrandt pieces that were there.  

Susanna Bathing

Simeon's Song of Praise

Homer

Portrait of Elderly Man

Saul and David

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Bust of an Old Man

Self Portrait

Portrait of Two African Men

Walking back to the bus, we got a view across a waterway of the Hague government complex.

The Hague Government Complex

Tuesday, April 21, 2026.  Today we went for a short walk across the street to the canal boat cruise.  

Our Canal Boat Awaits at Right

There was an unusual sense of humor displayed in the name of the boat.

The Titanic

We cruised past various houseboats anchored out front of apartments.  The cruise host explained that these boats never leave the docks.  They are extensions to the apartments opposite them, since the apartments are so tiny.  Living rooms are often located on a houseboat.  Restaurants are on houseboats, etc.  The soil is so uncertain that many buildings are sagging to the side, so it may be safer in the boats.

Upscale Houseboat in Front of Sagging (Tilting) Buildings

And There Are "Hippie" Houseboats

We Even Saw Elaborate Boathouses in Delft

We Passed the National Opera House

There are many bridges over the canals of Amsterdam.  At one point we passed a point where the bridges all lined up into one tunnel.

Alignment of Canal Bridges

Our cruise host explained that when people in Amsterdam tire of a bicycle, they simply toss it into a canal.  Really.  He runs a second business using a barge equipped with a special crane that grabs bicycles off the bottom and retrieves them onto the barge.  He fixes them and sells them back to the Amsterdam population.  No one knows how many times the same bike makes it through that cycle.

Our host also surprised us with a recounting of events during and after World War II.  His Jewish family that managed to flee to North America or England returned after the war only to be charged by the Dutch government for back property taxes on homes left behind when they fled.  Apparently they were not welcomed back.  He went on to say the Dutch government was very complicit with the Nazis.  Only the selfless kindness of individuals reached out to help Jews during or after the war.  He enumerated other examples too numerous for me to recall now.  It was quite a surprise to me.

After the canal tour was over, the tour director wanted to take us on a special mini tour tasting various Dutch foods.  From the sound of it, we passed.  We simply returned to our room to rest, since at this point we really needed it.  In the afternoon our tour was going to the Van Gogh Museum.  Since neither of us were Van Gogh fans and continuing our rest in the afternoon seemed good, we passed on that as well.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026.  

This was the long-awaited tulip day, but we found out later that many other things would also be squeezed into this day.  

First, after we walked to the bus, we were taken to the Aalsmeer Flower Auction.  I had seen scenes of this on television, but being there was truly amazing.  Almost all the flowers commercially bought by auction occurs here.

Welcome Sign to Flower Auction Center

After passing through the lobby, one enters a maze of hallways upstairs still under construction due to continuing expansion of the center.  One eventually reaches the area where tourists may enter.  

Panorama of Walkway to Observe Flower Delivery Routing

A Simpler Panorama

Each Participating Country Has a Section for Auction

Window Into Auction House

There Are Special Sections for Particular Flower Studies

One Looks Down at a Myriad of Flowers Packaged for Delivery

It is hard to convey the immensity of this whole operation.  

This Is a View Down One Section of This Warehouse

Another View of Its Size

And Yet Another View

Opening in Back Leading to Another Warehouse

Lighting in there was not great, so getting sharp photos when the objects might jolt into motion at any second was quite a challenge.  A few efforts follow.

Shot Down at One Trailer Load

A Zoom-In

Another Zoom-In

Partially-filled Trailer

Setting Up A Long Train of Trailers

After walking the length of the warehouse walkway, we exited to an area leading to the exit for the building.  Here our tour guide invited Betty to sit on one of the carts that are used to pull these trains of flower trailers around the warehouse.

Jens Invites Betty to Have a Seat on a Cart

Jens Snaps a Photo

Betty Enjoys Her New Seat

Then I am invited into the photo scene.

Hope I Did Not Spoil the Image

 
Then we loaded back onto the bus for our trip to the Keukenhof Gardens, the central point of our trip to The Netherlands.

These gardens are a strong draw for tourists from around the world.  Note the traffic jam leading to the gardens.  

Traffic Jam Leading to Keukenhof Gardens

From Bus We Could See Flower Farms in Yellow Bloom

Here is a Farm of Red Flowers

We Are One of Scores of Tourist Buses

Then Another Long Walk to the Gardens

Entrance to the Gardens

Once inside, one passes through an area where mediocre food is served, and a few other tourist trap areas.  The gardens themselves are a maze of winding pathways, rivers, bridges, and creations of every conceivable kind of flowers.  It seems designed for you to get lost inside, and we did.

Map of Keukenhof Gardens

Shooting photos around the mobs of tourists was quite a challenge.  I by no means captured everything there is to see, but I made a serious attempt.  What I did capture are displayed below.  Some clusters of flowers had a sign with their name; others had nothing to help identify them.

Betty Snapped This Shot in the Visitors Center

Entering the Gardens from Visitors Center

Dark Tulips

Red and Pink Tulips

Dark Red Flowers

More Dark Red Flowers

More Dark Red Flowers

Rockabilly Tulips

Fun Colors Tulips

Slawa Tulips

Bed of Red Flowers

Bed of Red and Yellow Tulips

Pink Tulips

Dolls Minuet Tulips

Star Shaped Tulips

Barcelona Tulips

Allison Bradley Tulips

Pinks and Reds

Coventry Tulips

Light Pink Tulips (Name Tag is Blocked)

Bed of Reds and Pinks

Sugar Crystal Tulips

White with Pink Outline

Wrinkled Pink Tulip

Bed of Pink with Orange Tulips in Background

Katinka Tulips

Lavender Tulips

Pink, Purple, Yellow, and Red Tulips

Pinks with Orange Background Plant

Purple and White Tulips

Purple Crystal Tulips

Purple and Gold Combined

Purple, Reds, and White

Variations in Reds, Yellows, and White

Circle of Reds and White

Combination of Reds, Purples, Yellows, and White

Explosion of Colors

A Study in Orange

More Red Than Orange

Red and Orange Sweep

And a Little More Orange

Reds, Purples, Yellows, Orange . . .

Another of Explosion of Colors

Column of Colors Under Cherry Blossom Trees

Wide Column of Orange and Red

Patches of Orange

Golden Power Tulips

Green Mila Tulips

Yellow Bulb Combination

Reds and Yellows

Pie Slice of Yellow, Blue, and White

Yellows, Purples, and Reds

Serano Tulips

Merci Tulips

Barcelona Blanca Tulips

White Tulips

Potted Calla Lilies in Visitors Center

On Sidewalk Outside Visitors Center

Some of the Cherry Tree Blossoms

Closeup of Cherry Blossoms

Unusual Tree at Gardens

Another View of These Trees

Panorama of Area with Unusual Trees

Betty in Sculpted Bush Archway

Now we had to walk back to the bus for our journey to the Dutch Cheese Farm & Clog Factory.  Seemed to us like we had seen what we came on this tour to see, but back on the bus we went.  

Pooped, We Gathered Back on the Bus

Betty was exhausted, so she stayed on the bus while I went in to see the cheese and wooden shoe making.

Entering at the Shoe Making Portion

First we saw a demonstration of wooden shoe making.  It starts with a block of wood, which the woodworker hews down to a smaller piece.

Chopping Out a Piece of Wood

Hewing Down to Size

Then a template shoe of the size desired is loaded into a special lathe.  

Note the Smooth Template Shoe in Lathe

Next the Fresh Block of Wood is Loaded into the Lathe

The finish work is done by hand.  The last step is the painting.

The Finished Product After Painting

When asked if the local residents actually wear these shoes.  We were told that they were mostly for special occasions.  Some women insist on wearing them at their wedding to become keepsakes thereafter.  Plainer versions are worn by some farmers working in the fields.  They sell very thick socks that are worn with them, apparently to comfort the feet in loose-fitting shoes. 

Cheese Making Demonstration Area

Offscreen is the area where the actual cheese making work is done.  The wife of the owner gave a demonstration of separating curds from whey, etc.  She would not allow photos of her doing it.  The finished product looked like those discs of cheese on the shelves in the photo above.

As we were routed out to leave, we passed through a sizable cheese store offering their finished products of various kinds.  

Their Inventory of Cheese for Sale

This was basically the end of the tour.  Our tour guide had set up a special group farewell dinner at an Indonesian restaurant (the Dutch seem to prefer Indonesian food to their own).  50 Euros for the meal if interested.  Many apparently took him up on it, but we were exhausted.  

Now the walk from the bus to the hotel once again.  Along the way our tour guide walked with us being very talkative.  We had been told that in Europe we would meet hostility due to Donald Trump's vocal salvos toward that continent.  We did NOT find that to be true in The Netherlands.  Our tour guide was actually a big Trump fan!  Knock me over with a feather.

Along our walk, our guide pointed out another oddity in Amsterdam.  The top-tier shopping stores are frequented by wealthy residents who prefer to show up in their down-scale form of transportation.  Note below the dinky cars considered a status symbol.  Once again, go figure.

Their Version of Rodeo Drive

When we got back to the hotel, we noticed on a small table in the lobby a cutting of cherry blossoms.  Seemed like a nice final touch to the day.

Cherry Blossoms

That evening, when the tour guide returned from the Indonesian restaurant, we had a small gathering in an area off to the side of the lobby.  A few drinks and memories were shared.  Most of the other guests were years younger than we were, and long walks meant nothing to them.  So they were in good spirits.  We were simply glad to be leaving the next morning.  They had finally fixed the window in our room.

At least we did not have to walk to a bus the next morning.  A taxi picked us up at the hotel to take us to the airport.  We had that same kind of airplane on our flight to Philadelphia as we had flying out of there.  This time at the Philadelphia Airport, we found someone with a motorized conveyance in which both of us could ride and carry our luggage.  Long layover in Philly, then a shorter flight to Jax.  We arrived in early evening, so our drive home was rather simple.  So good to be back home!  Now to deal with the jet lag.