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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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More Tulip Mania at Keukenhof

Any time of year, you’ll enjoy flowers in the Netherlands (as the Dutch are experts in greenhouse technology). But if traveling to Holland in May, be sure to visit Keukenhof, just half an hour south of Amsterdam. The park is well-connected by public transport and a delight even if you think flowers are overrated.

Wandering through Keukenhof, you’ll take piles of photos in search of the most beautiful flower.
Wandering through Keukenhof, you’ll take piles of photos in search of the most beautiful flower.
I think I have a new screensaver. Centuries ago, diseased bulbs came with wild patterns like these. Today, they are bred to be exotic.
I think I have a new screensaver. Centuries ago, diseased bulbs came with wild patterns like these. Today, they are bred to be exotic.
The first bulbs were imported from Turkey. In fact, the word "tulip" comes from the turbans — which resembled tulip bulbs — of the merchants who sold them.
The first bulbs were imported from Turkey. In fact, the word “tulip” comes from the turbans — which resembled tulip bulbs — of the merchants who sold them.
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Tulip Mania at Keukenhof

We work very hard to flex our tour itineraries in order to take advantage of any special opportunities. In May, our tours in the Netherlands trade a stop at the open-air folk museum in Arnhem for the amazing tulip festival at Keukenhof. The huge park is bursting with color and dotted with Dutch clichés (windmills, wooden shoes, and pancakes).

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Tour Time

For 25 years, I led our tour groups. For the past decade, rather than lead our tours, I actually take them. Each year I sign up (with a pseudonym) for one of our tours. In recent years I’ve enjoyed Village Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Scotland. This year, as I paged through our catalog, the right tour for my travel dreams became perfectly clear: our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour.

For the next three weeks, travel with me via this blog on what I consider the best itinerary of what Europe has to offer: Amsterdam, the Rhineland, Rothenburg, Bavarian castles, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, the Swiss Alps, Burgundy, and Paris. Of the 30 or so tours we offer, this is the granddaddy…the flagship.
For the next three weeks, travel with me via this blog on what I consider the best itinerary of what Europe has to offer: Amsterdam, the Rhineland, Rothenburg, Bavarian castles, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, the Swiss Alps, Burgundy, and Paris. Of the 30 or so tours we offer, this is the granddaddy…the flagship.
For the next three weeks, travel with me via this blog on what I consider the best itinerary of what Europe has to offer: Amsterdam, the Rhineland, Rothenburg, Bavarian castles, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, the Swiss Alps, Burgundy, and Paris. Of the 30 or so tours we offer, this is the granddaddy…the flagship.
For the next three weeks, travel with me via this blog on what I consider the best itinerary of what Europe has to offer: Amsterdam, the Rhineland, Rothenburg, Bavarian castles, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, the Swiss Alps, Burgundy, and Paris. Of the 30 or so tours we offer, this is the granddaddy…the flagship.
Our bus drivers are an integral part of what makes a Rick Steves tour unique. They are part of the family. And Joe Stulens has driven more than a hundred of our tours.
Our bus drivers are an integral part of what makes a Rick Steves tour unique. They are part of the family. And Joe Stulens has driven more than a hundred of our tours.
We were in Amsterdam on the Dutch Memorial Day. Throughout Europe, various monuments remind people of the challenges societies have as dense and diverse populations struggle to live peacefully together. Amsterdam’s monument to the homosexual victims of the Holocaust was covered in flowers, providing a fine lectern for our guide, Reid, to give us some historical context.
We were in Amsterdam on the Dutch Memorial Day. Throughout Europe, various monuments remind people of the challenges societies have as dense and diverse populations struggle to live peacefully together. Amsterdam’s monument to the homosexual victims of the Holocaust was covered in flowers, providing a fine lectern for our guide, Reid, to give us some historical context.
I’ve long reminded people with serious dietary concerns to print them legibly on a small card, along with a local translation, so they can clearly communicate to waiters what they cannot eat. One of our tour members came well equipped with this card, and will eat better and with more peace of mind because of it.
I’ve long reminded people with serious dietary concerns to print them legibly on a small card, along with a local translation, so they can clearly communicate to waiters what they cannot eat. One of our tour members came well equipped with this card, and will eat better and with more peace of mind because of it.
My filming and research lately has taken me to the fringes of Europe. Much as we all like to get off the beaten path, the biggies remain the biggies. This Best of Europe itinerary is all about the biggies, and I’m enjoying revisiting them all. Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is newly opened after a long period of renovation. And it is a glorious place to display the very best of Dutch masterpieces…like Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch.”
My filming and research lately has taken me to the fringes of Europe. Much as we all like to get off the beaten path, the biggies remain the biggies. This Best of Europe itinerary is all about the biggies, and I’m enjoying revisiting them all. Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is newly opened after a long period of renovation. And it is a glorious place to display the very best of Dutch masterpieces…like Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch.”
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Bouncing Around Holland’s Polder Land

Exploring polder land with Majel, our Wetlands Safari guide, we learn that the ground is just a mat of vegetation, and below it is the inland sea — and when you throw your weight around, the world becomes your own private trampoline.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.