Gouda
(Here)

Village Life in Holland and Belgium, 2006

Part 5: Gouda; Tulip Gardens

In the morning of Thursday 2006-05-11 we toured Gouda, a quaint old town famous for its cheese (some of which we bought). In the afternoon we had a fast tour of Leiden.

Friday 2006-05-12 was packed with activities. First we visited the flower market in Aalsmeer, adjacent to Schipol airport, which supplies a major part of the world's flower trade. Nearby is the Keukenhof Garden, where growers show their best tulips. In the afternoon we visited Rembrandt's house and studio, followed by the Rijksmuseum. (Unfortunately no photography inside.)

Click on an index image to see it at a larger size.

Touring Gouda

An old church is being restored	An old style commercial building	Originally a convent, the building is now used as a school	Courtyard of the convent
Courtyard of an alms-house, now inhabited by middle-class families	Miao! Hellen greets someone's cat	Art in the windows is very common, not just in this house	Water is everywhere. In the middle ages this was the sewage system.
Another residential canal	St. John's Church: stained glass, Jesus washing the disciples' feet	St. John's Church: stained glass	St. John's Church: stained glass

Afternoon in Leiden

Statue of Rembrandt as a boy

Historical plaque on Rembrandt's childhood house

Commemorative arch by the Guild of Arquebusiers

Aalsmeer Flower Market and Keukenhof Tulip Gardens

Warehouse area of the Aalsmeer flower market	Rows of flowers waiting to be sold	An endless line of all kinds of flowers	Waiting to be collected by the buyers
Waiting to be collected by the buyers	Near the entrance	Yellow tulips by the lake	Alice and tulips
Tulip beds	Tulip bed through the forest. Vendors show their best bulbs here.	Sculpture, a cascade of glass	Orchid show: orange ones
Multicolored tulips, with Alice	Jim and variegated tulips	Alice with pretty pink tulips	Tulip bed across the pond