Tulips Everywhere

Welcome to Keukenhof, Home of the Tulip.

We visited Keukenhof shortly after arriving in Amsterdam on Saturday (12 April 2008). Flowers were everywhere even though it had been a pretty cold Spring. There were certainly large amounts of bulbs not yet in bloom, but we couldn't complain.

The flowers came in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. The only thing more abundant than flowers were people. Of course the people came in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes as well, but we tried to just focus on the flowers.

Notice that most of the people have cameras. Their website boasts that it is the most photographed place in the world. I think that might be stretching the truth a little since they are only open for 2 months during the year. They probably only rank 2nd or 3rd.

I think the little white flower is looking a bit lonely in the picture above (right), maybe searching for others of it's kind. Possibly it's a bit envious and is dreaming of what it might become with just a little more water. It could possibly just be a small white flower next to a bunch of purple ones...that can't be it.

Anyway, even though there were an awful lot of flowers and still even more people there were still hidden treasures to be found. I found this gem hiding in a maze no less.

Keukenhof is a happy place. A place that makes you feel happy to be alive and allows you to express your inner self.

This is Dirk and Candice frolicking around in the flowers. The curious people passing in the background had just finished their bit of frolicking and seemed keen to start up again when we moved on a little ways. By the way, Dirk and Candice were our hosts in the Netherlands (for the 2nd time, I can't believe they let us stay with them a 2nd time) so just wanted to say Thanks (Again).

With all this frolicking going on one might think it was all fun and games at Keukenhof. Not so, there were dangers lurking in them flowers. I layed down for a nap and was promptly attacked by a giant dragonfly.

I'm thinking cool, a giant dragonfly is eating me, I wonder what species it is? Luckily Cheryl, after snapping a pic, came to the rescue. Yes I did survive, but it was close. Other dangers included this giant music machine.

I know what you are saying. How dangerous could a music box be? You could easily get lost in the melodious sounds emanating from the giant speakers. Or more likely you could be subjected to the organ muzak version of the Grease soundtrack. Would have been brilliant to have this at the marathon in Rotterdam. Muzak Greased Lightnin would be really good to run from, I mean run to.

Back to the flowers.

There were several instances where we found misplaced flowers. Of course we had to ask the staff what was going on. Unfortunately, we didn't speak Dutch, so here is what we think they must have said. The flowers are bad, so we punish them by placing them in with prettier flowers. This teaches others not to disobey the rules. I'm thinking the Dutch are really odd, either that or something was really lost in the translation.

Oh, I just had to show this one. The tulip version of heaven.

I'm guessing, it's just a whole lot better for a Tulip to just remain in the ground where it's nice and warm. Ok now for some classic Dutch scenes.

Not the most comfortable seat and the smell really not that great. Here are just a few more pictures. Keukenhof is just a great place even with the hordes of people. If you find yourself in the Netherlands during the Spring, go see the Tulips at Keukenhof.

Cheryl and Robyn

This will be an extremely short post since I am exploring a new (to me) program to help me with posting. The name of the program is Windows Live Writer. I've had a few issues with it but hopefully I have worked them all out. The last post Tulips Everywhere!!! was my first try with this program and it really made things go a lot faster. So if posting is easier, than you will probably see a lot more of these short quick ones.
I thought this was a great picture of Cheryl and Robyn (taken by Robyn's Grandmother Jean).

Late Breaking News

Unofficially Cheryl Braunstein placed second among US women at the Rotterdam Marathon on 13 April 2008. Cheryl, her time just slightly short of her personal best, was overjoyed at such a high placement. "Luckily the rain held off and the course was flat and that helped my time" said Cheryl in the after race interview. Unfortunately Cheryl had suffered stomach problems at the beginning of the race which slowed her quite a bit. Muscle cramps near the end of the race also slowed her down but overall she was glad she raced. When asked about plans for the future marathons she said this was her last one (until the next one) and planned to only run shorter distances in the near future. Stay tuned for Cheryl's future race schedule.

See videos of her performance below.

Bib F1093

Name			Cheryl Braunstein
City			Washington, DC
Distance			Fortis Marathon Rotterdam
Category			V35
Overall place			5578 / 6903
Category place			117
Speed			9,331 Km/Hour
Gross time			4:32:22
Net time			4:31:20
		Net split times (difference)
	5 Kilometer	28:44 (28:44)
	10 Kilometer	56:52 (28:08)
	15 Kilometer	1:25:36 (28:44)
	20 Kilometer	1:57:24 (31:48)
	Half marathon	2:05:04
	25 Kilometer	2:30:33 (33:09)
	30 Kilometer	3:03:07 (32:34)
	35 Kilometer	3:39:59 (36:52)
	40 Kilometer	4:16:33 (36:34)

This just in: Cheryl Braunstein's pre race diet might have led to the stomach problems that slowed her pace during the first half of the marathon. This photo suggests some strange eating habits, but Miss Braunstein was unavailable for comment.

More on Cheryl's April visit later.
Congratulations Cheryl!!!!!!

Go Cheryl!!!!!!!

Hi All,

Cheryl is almost in London. Okay, she will be here tomorrow. We actually have a lot planned while she is here, no need for details other than flying off to Rotterdam so she can run another marathon. Ok I did say marathon and am amazed she found time to train for this one. We were talking the other day and figured out this one was going to be really tough compared to the last one. Heck, she has already done two and one of those just last October, so we all know she can do it. So everything about this one is tougher, finding the motivation to train through the winter in DC just had to be really hard if not impossible, but she did it and is as ready as she can be to run 26.2 miles in the rain on Sunday.

So this is the post that will push her on to the finish line on Sunday. Either that or just a bunch of pictures I took over the weekend.

To start things off, London is being invaded yet again, this time by mysterious snow people. Make sure you click on the pictures to get the larger version. Notice the distinct lack of snow anywhere else in the picture. Makes you wonder how they got there. I think the one on the right saw me so I made a quick exit. The motivational theme behind this picture is: Run, Run away, Your being chased by snow people with......no legs. Ok you will probably be safe if you just walk away at a slow meandering pace, probably even stop for coffee.

As I was running away, I happened upon this lot. What could this guy have done to be forced to dress like that and run through central London on the coldest day in April. All he has to keep himself warm is that little torch thingy. Anyway, he certainly had quite the following, I decided not to join his little group as they didn't seem to care for others joining in.

There did seem to be large crowds of people all around, and a whole lot of yelling going on but I figured they were probably just excited about this guy and his torch and what it represented. Anyway, back to the motivational theme: Run and there will always be people to cheer you on, wow that one was kind of nice.

After the run is over you might as well just head for home. Some people have larger homes than others and they like to show them off...for a fee. One such home is Windsor Castle. This is where the current Queen resides. As far as castles go, this one is pretty nice. The flag on top lets you know if the queen is in residence or not.

For anyone interested here is just a small bit of History borrowed from this website.

Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace. For part of the year visitors can also see the Semi State rooms, which are some of the most splendid interiors in the castle. They are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection including paintings by Holbein, Rubens, Van Dyck and Lawrence, fine tapestries and porcelain, sculpture and armour.
Within the Castle complex there are many additional attractions, including the Drawings Gallery, Queen Mary's dolls' house, and the fourteenth-century St. George's Chapel, the burial place of ten sovereigns and setting for many Royal weddings.

Below is St. George's Chapel where King Henry VIII is buried. He died in 1547 and is buried next to his 3rd wife Jane Seymour who died 10 years earlier. This was a trivia question on a quiz show I saw last night, I got one right.

All in all, it's a very cool castle, not quite as cool as this one that Cheryl and I saw while we were in Germany in November, but still very cool. More about the German castle in a later post as I try to catch you up on our European vacation.

Anyway back to the theme of this post. Cheryl, again I would like to let you know how amazed I am that you are attempting this, and how proud I am that you have found the will and desire to go through with all the training and hard work required to prepare for another marathon. We all wish you good luck on the run on Sunday. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.

I'll try to post pictures of Cheryl's visit sometime next week.