Saturday March 24 Exploring!

Eyewitness Travel Book
The Netherlands
Suggested Spring Driving Route- The Bulb Fields

We are so happy with this book! It gives a starting and finishing point, stops along the way, driver tips, photos, a map, the whole stroopwafel!
We headed straight out into the sunny blue skyed morning..

1. Cruquiusmuseum- In this former steam-driven pumping station,you can see how the people of Holland keep the water in check. The Stoomgemaal(steam driven pumping station) at De Cruquius is one of three steam driven pumping stations used to drain the Haarlemmermeer.  The reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer by means of steam marked the breakthrough of the Industrial Revolution in the Netherlands. "De Cruquius", commissioned in 1849, pumped the Haarlem Lake empty in three years and three months, together with two identical steam pumping stations. The other two stations were drastically modernized after 50 years, but  Cruquius remained untouched. It was decommissioned in 1932: the Dutch Royal Institute on Engineers adopted the station and saved it from demolition. The steam boilers were removed and the boiler rooms fitted with an exhibition about the age old battle against the water. The museum, when it opened in 1936, was one of the first technical museums in the world. The Cruquius houses the world's largest steam engine: its main cylinder has a diameter of 3.66 meter! The engine room, unchanged since 1849, is a miracle of Victorian technology. The guide started up the engine, and showed us how the water drained from the land and eventually was sent out to the sea. The demonstration on what the Netherlands would look like without dikes was amazing. They also showed year by year the Polders(reclaimed land parcels) and how Holland has expanded over the years. We were in a group of only 10 people, because the tourist season has not arrived yet. I chatted with two execs, one is the latest distributor of cut produce for supermarkets in Holland, and the other works for the largest saurkraut manufacturer in the US. He had just returned from Poland. Fascinating!
2. Next stop was to be Linneaushof, a huge park named after Linnaeus, the 18th century botanist, which was said to have Europe's largest playground. Bad news for us...opens in April! onward.....
3. Drive through picturesque Lisse, decide not to stop at the Tulip Museum after our long stop at De Cruquius. We enjoy the windy streets and old homes right on the roadway.
4. Onto to Sassenheim...to find a castle...but wait, there they are! BULB FIELDS! It is a Holland Postcard come to life. Waves of beautiful colours and farm houses. Wow! We park and get out to take a walk, and the smell! The air is filled with perfume,each puff of wind a feast for the nose. Wow!
5. The ruins of Burcht Teylingen: an 11th century castle was originally the residence for the Lords of Teylingen and served as a protection for the Rhine dike and the road to Haarlem. In 1282 the fief fell to the counts of Holland and served as a hunting lodge for them and a residence for the head forrester. The ruins today consist of an impressive shell-keep, dating from around 1200 that is surrounded by a water filled moat. The keep, added in the 13th century dominates the flat countryside. You can climb up the stairs to a turret on the wall. Danny sat in a delivery window, a shoot where people could pass things into the storerooms. He climbed a servants passageway from the storeroom to the great hall. He saw several fireplaces and window seats which showed where the wooden floor wood have started.There were alos bits of vases,dishes,etc. that had been found on the property and were now displayed. It was very cool.
6. On to the North Sea! The kids are now starving so we head to Noordwijk aan Zee, a beach town,to stroll on the shore. We eat our picnic and collect shells. The beach is packed with strollers of all ages, loads of dogs and kids, and a couple of hardy souls kite surfing on the waves. There are lots of beach clubs where you can pay a fee and get a lounge chair, which we plan to check out in May or June.
7. and Home again! It was a great day!