strolling.along.kraanlei

you walk along the river bank, now you focus on detail. you observe the color of doors and windows. you wonder who lives behind these windows and what the stories are behind each window . you wonder if these windows have been there since the beginning....

you now pay attention to the lock of the doors. these things just intrigue you now. never mind the peeling paints, never mind the rustic look. you wonder how the interior of these buildings look like. you are tempted to walk in but you not is impossible.

then you spot a nice little tea room. you are not in the mood for sweet tooth at this moment. so you say to yourself tomorrow you will come by for a cup of tea. you spot a gummy cake and cupcakes. you wonder if the gummy cake is delicious but it is definitely interesting. you can't help but walk in just to take some photos

then you come to the end of the cobbled street, you turn left into a main road. you are welcomed by this giant fortress 'gravensteen' or the castle of the counts

you walk into the castle. you feel the past glory of this place. you actually walk into the underground without paying since no one is stopping you. you decide you should not do take the advantage, so you walk up to the reception and walk out...

off.to...

tomorrow is a public holiday (yah!)... queen's eve (tonight) and queen's day (30th april) is usually celebrated in an elaborated way with people dressing in orange color, partying, drinking and be merry...

we are heading to belgium for a short overnight trip, my little white bear has been busy reading up on ....

happy queen's day, viva orange!!

scent.of.hyacinth

walking on hyacinth field is such a pleasant experience, the frangance fills the air, the soft pastel colors fill the sight with endless of purple, pink and white...

the soft purple hyacinth, with dutch flag and an old tower form the perfect picture of dutch spring country side

hyacinth closed up

pink hyacinth

what a joy and blessing to enjoy these!!!

tulip.i.love.you

the best picture of the trip, captured by a talented photographer with a dslr

orange/red mix

pink

orange

i thanked God for creating beautiful flowers for us to enjoy!

paint.brush.of.tulips

when i started with water color painting, i practiced strokes of paint brush all the times...

these are the giant paint brush of c.o.l.o.r.s but forms by tulips...

endless of tulips

spectacular

awesome landscape

love the contrast of the full bloom tulip and the patch that still waiting for the time to blossom

flower.parade.twenty.ten

what a lovely saturday!! my girlfriend visited me from mannheim specially for the flower parade and we tagged along another sabahan young lady who is here for exchange program... we arrived sassenheim quite early, early enough to get a parking and a nice spot...

waiting eagerly for the flower parade to start

the starting flower cart - tulip land and the giant bulb

second cart - the dutch lady, cow and me

france with the theme of paris - the most elegantly decorate flower cart

turkey with the famous islamic chanting dancer

another generic tulip land cart

azerbazian - a small country next to turkey who also part of europe

ballroom grown and evening dresses

italy - cycling through italy the pisa tower and the colossuem, but the colossuem looks like a 3 tier wedding cake to me

united kingdom - a walk in english landscape with sheeps and nordic walk sticks

another italy cart with venice theme - mask, gondola and lovely swans

spanish flamingo dancer...

portugal cart is the most impressive one among all, love the contrast of colors - very exotic

i.amsterdam

if not because i have to collect a watch that i sent for repair awhile ago, i probably won't step in to amsterdam city center. i took a tram from office to dam square, the weather is fine and i am quite thrill like any tourist in the city

the big ferries wheel is being set up right in front of dam square.. after i collected my watch, i decided to venture into bijenkorf for lunch

afterall i am already here, i might as well have my lunch in the city center

and then walk towards magna plaza where i can catch my tram back to office

this shot is taken by accident but it turns out quite well... all in all 120 minute in the city...

much to my surprise, there is another i.amsterdam set up right in front of the square in zuidas where my office is located, previously this is only available in museum square...

perhaps zuidas has becoming another tourist attraction?

sun.beach.kite

we decided to venture to the beach this afternoon (first time this year) although the temperature is not too warm but it's sunny enough to enjoy the fresh air and cool breeze

the scheveningen old port, quite a picturesque and quiet port

our kite flying high

it was a lovely afternoon at the beach, not too warm but warm enough to enjoy the sun, beach and kite. we faced some challenge in keeping the kite flying as there's not enough wind to sustain the speed... nonetheless, it's an enjoyable thing to do...

this part of the beach used to be quite deserted but now there are two restaurants cum cafes with some lounging setup for sun seekers. we stopped by for some drinks before heading to rotterdam for dinner...

heidelberg.castle

after the late lunch, we decided to walk up the castle despite of the weather...

the view of the castle and its ruins taken during the short hike to the top

the view at the top is quite rewarding, the rhine river is clearly visible although a little sunshine would enhance the entire experience better...

finally at the main gate of the castle

we didn't pay to enter the castle as it is already late and it doesn't impress us as we walk our way up, there is a lack of natural lurking to enter the actual heidelberg castle. I am actually quite happy to be just at the castle compound and able to enjoy the view of heidelberg from the top...