Day 9 - It's Tulip (Picking) Time
- Kara Monroe
- Apr 14
- 7 min read
Hi all. Kara starting out again today. Our river cruise is starting out with what we've learned is an unusual occurrence! We have two mornings in a row that are sailing mornings. As such, we had a nice leisurely morning.
I woke up at 6am and went down to the coffee machine in the lounge to get my first cup - a mocha. There was a sign up on the desk that we could pick up our colored tour cards at 8 a.m. These cards tell you what time you get to leave to go tulip picking. I passed the time until 8 reading and enjoying my mocha back in our room. Then, close to 8, I headed back up to the lounge to grab another coffee. This time it was a cafe cream. I may try all the different varieties in the machine by the time the sailing is over. As I walked back into the reception area, I got the last two green cards for the first of the four tulip picking tours of the day! Yay me!!
Gayle: I’m so grateful for Kara, as I was still sleeping until 8:30am.
Kara: We got up and moving between 9 and 10:30am and then headed to the lounge to watch the ship sail through the canals. At 11am was a cute Disney Trivia about cheese followed by some cheese knowledge along with some cheese tasting - led by Florin, the hotel manager. We tried Gouda and Edam which are Dutch cheeses. We also had Limburger, Camembert and one called either Harzer or Titsil (we got told two different things and based off of the google search I’m not sure which was right). I had never tried Limburger before so glad to get to try it and know I never need to try it again. For me, it tastes like it smells.
There was a little time between the cheese tasting and the start of lunch time. At the 12pm lunch they had a make your own pho bowl bar, which I tried. The broth had a bit of a sour taste that I didn’t enjoy all that much, but I enjoyed the opportunity to try something new. Gayle started with a chicken consommé, which was a very dark broth with the tiniest pieces of chicken and vegetable noodles. We had a simple pasta dish (noodles, oil, & a dash of cheese) for lunch today that Gayle said I could make at home any time. I’ve been wanting to make cacio a Pepe and this was similar to that, so I will be happy to add something like this to our dinner rotations back home.
Before our dessert came, they announced it was time for our group to gather in the lounge.
Gayle: Let’s just say a low-level Gayle Hulk was seething in silence. We’d arrived to the dining room prior to noon, but the service was such we had to skip the dessert course. (Thus everyone should be surprised that I controlled my rage, especially since it was supposed to include both bread pudding and hazelnut ice cream.)
Kara: We went back to our room and retrieved our day bags and headed to the lounge. We met our bus driver (whose name I’m sad to say we didn’t catch) and our local guide (Ron). Mikaela and Gina went out with us as our Adventure Guides.
Here's the official description of our excursion:
Enjoy a scenic journey along the Tulip Festival Route, a yearly, mapped-out path for cars and cyclists that guides you through vibrant tulip fields. Along the way, learn about the region’s agricultural history and tulip cultivation. You will also experience the Tulip Picking Garden in Marknesse, where you can explore miles of tulip fields, pick your own flowers and enjoy the charm of spring.
We docked right in the small village of Kampen. In the 1400s Kampen was bigger than Amsterdam. Ron shared with us that in the Netherlands, when two people are talking, it’s about the weather, when three people are talking, they are creating a new religion. Hence, there are 28 reformed churches here in Kampen which is now home to about 37000 people.
Ron decided to take a detour and take the scenic route to the tulip farm - apparently he had the idea he would have us stop along the road, get out in front of a tulip field, and just take pictures. Mikaela sorted it out quickly and we are on our way.
ADVENTURE! We are on the inaugural Holland and Belgium Tulip Time River Cruise with Adventures by Disney(r) and we were in the first group to do this excursion. Hence, sometimes little miscues like that will happen which just makes for fun memories. Ron told us all about the history of the area which was formed from the 1940s - 1960s
The tulip farm we went to was in the Noordoostpolder. According to Wikipedia, polders are made in three different ways. According to our guide Ron, these Polders are all reclaimed sea bed that was drained using canals, dikes, and other feats of water engineering. In most of our drive today we were always below sea level. This created the rich farm land that produces tulips as well as onions, potatoes, apples, cherries, grapes, and more.
Along the route, Ron pointed out that many of the farms were built on raised areas of land - built up about 6 - 8 feet - all by hand. Additionally, we quickly drove back (hence the reason for the detour I think) onto a small area that was a former island. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Museum Schokland. According to Ron and Google, if we’d had time to stop and walk around there, the contours of the island are still visible even though it now sits in a man-made polder.
Ron also pointed out the use of alternative energy. This part of the Netherlands gets over 60% of its power from wind and solar power. It’s interesting to see buildings that are clearly quite old with solar panels installed on their roofs.
After our detours, we arrived at the Tulpenpluk Tuin which according to Google Translate means Tulip Picking Garden. We were greeted by the owner Josie and her daughter Ann. They served us a delightful spiced cake as well as drinks. Josie talked about the farm and they showed us a video featuring some of the many photos taken in their garden. When Josie and her husband created the garden they planted over 50 varieties of tulips. Today, they aren’t exactly sure how many varieties are present. Traditionally, tulip fields are a single color in each column, but Josie wanted them “mixed up”.
This is a unique opportunity as you are not supposed to go into tulip fields in the Netherlands and there are very few designed for picking.
After the presentation, Mikaela led us back to the garden where we could take photos and pick a small bouquet of tulips to enjoy in our staterooms for the rest of the visit. We got loads of pictures and it was an amazingly beautiful garden full of tulips. The weather was also gorgeous. I had a very emotional moment as we entered the garden. This trip has been on my list for as long as I can remember. We began seriously discussing it in at least 2017 if not earlier. After my cancer diagnosis, everything changed about how we approach life - especially travel and making memories together and with my family and our other friends.
Gayle: I had been a few steps ahead of Kara and started tearing up, but worked to hold it together. A couple of minutes later I saw Kara getting emotional and joined her. Mikaela, the Adventure Guide, was available to take our photos (part of their role), noticed our expressions, and we all took a few minutes to recount how and why this trip came about. It’s a “core memory” I’ll cherish forever.
Kara: After a few happy tears, it was on to take loads and loads and loads of pictures and videos. There was also a small tower you could climb to get a view of this field as well as some of the other solid color tulip fields beyond.
When our time was up, we headed back to the courtyard area and wrapped up our bouquets and headed to the bus. Once onboard, Mikaela gave us our custom pins for the day!! This one was oriented to the theme of the day “Say Kaas” which is Dutch for Say Cheese.
After the return to our ship, Gayle and I walked into Kampen for a bit. We explored a sweet shop (yum) and a bookstore. The town was particularly quiet today as the Dutch close nearly all public - and apparently many private - locations on Monday. Those that do open, often don’t open until the afternoon.
We returned to the ship and did our daily catch up on blogging, videos, photo uploads, etc. and get ready for the evening’s activities.
Disney Differences
Disney Trivia
Custom pin - We are being reminded everyday we are “#1” in being on an inaugural sailing!
Photography of us by the Adventure Guides
Photo contest
Our picked Tulip bouquets were transported from the bus to our staterooms by the ship staff
On that note… Disclaimer: I (Gayle) am a travel agent with Authorized Disney Travel Planner agency - Off to Neverland Travel. Contact me today for a no-obligation quote!
As to Disney artwork, logos, and properties: ©Disney | Ship Registry: The Bahamas | CST# 2090317-40 / Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST37203
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