Flowers are certainly a national passion in Holland. You can feel it at once while strolling through the Floating Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt) along the Singel, between Koningsplein and Vijzelstraat or glimpsing behind the openings of the windows of Amsterdam’s flats. Moreover, behind the facades of many houses along the canals there are often hidden gardens that provide an escape from the bustle of the city. I was lucky enough to spend some time at a friend's house and to enjoy such an agreeable and intimate retreat without leaving the heart of the town.
Here I was told of Queen Juliana as an avid collector of lathyrus, and of Carolus Clusius who introduced the bulb of tulips into The Netherlands in 1592. So it came to me no surprise at all that so many varieties of this bulb were created since gardening is indeed one great passion of the Dutch people who have made it their national flower.
My friend suggested me to go to the Botanical garden Horus Bulborum at Limmen, north of Amsterdam, a living museum of bulb displays (especially 17th and 18th - century tulips) together with narcissus, hyacinths and fritillaries. In the Limmen Museum I could admire the first wild tulips imported from Russia and the famous Constantinople tulip which was brought to the country by a naturalist from Leiden in the 16th century.
Here I heard of the Amstelveen Park, extending over six hectares where hundreds of woodland and field flowers grow and flourish: wild plants and flowers can really rival the beauty of cultivated species.
And believe it or not even camellias have found an ideal spot where to grow very well in the open, it is in Haarlem, in a garden where some trees have been cut to allow the sun's rays to penetrate more easily together with the shade and heat provided by the house.
Amsterdam is a big city and major tourist draw, so visitors come all year round. The days are short in the winter and the weather may be to cold to walk or cycle around the city. If you want to see the tulip fields in bloom, plan a spring trip.
Lots of people come to Amsterdam because of its reputation for tolerance of things that are frowned upon elsewhere. Prostitution is legal and licensed in the Netherlands, and very visible in Amsterdam. The Red Light District has ‘window prostitution’ so if you’re traveling with children, you’ll want to avoid that area. Possession, consumption, and even sale of small amounts of cannabis remain illegal in Amsterdam, though it is condoned by authorities. You cannot, as some people think, get away with anything in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is relatively safe since there are a lot of people in the streets at all times. Like any large city, beware of pickpockets. Do not try to photograph the women in the Red Light District, or you’ll lose your camera! Smart shops peddle herbal enhancers which walk the line between legal and not, including pot, hash, and magic mushrooms. Hard drugs like cocaine, heroine, and ecstasy are illegal and possession is a serious crime in Amsterdam.
