2022 Gardens of Holland & Belgium

2022 Gardens of Holland and Begium Tour

with Charlie Nardozzi

April 27 to May 5, 2022

Waiting List Only!

Sample Itinerary- Subject to Change

DEPARTURE USA – Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Thursday, April 28, 2022:  Arrival at Brussels Airport/Bruges  

Morning arrival at  Brussels Airport.

Morning arrival at  Brussels Airport.   We’ll meet our tour guide and board the coach for the beautiful city of Bruges, the hotel in Bruges with brunch  on arrival. Afterward we’ll enjoy a guided walk of Bruges that will include some quaint public gardens. Our visit will end with a canal boat cruise.  Return to our hotel and check in. 

A welcome dinner is planned this evening.

Meals included:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight Bruges

Friday, April 29, 2022- Bruges

This morning we board our coach with Charlie to visit the home and private gardens of Chris Ghyselen, the famous Belgium garden designer. We’ll visit his 1.5 acre garden featuring wild and native plants. His masterpiece is a 300 foot long, double border flanked by curved beech hedges. Highlights include his greenhouse and a natural stream running through his property.  Return to Bruges where the remaining of the day is at your leisure. 

You may wish to visit the Choco-Story Museum.  Learn about the sweet’s tale from its Mayan beginnings to its modern European incarnations, with special attention given to the growing and handling of the product. Expect a thorough dip into chocolate’s world, ending with a demonstration and a sampling. 

Tonight we’ll enjoy a beer tasting and dinner in Bruges.

Meals included:  Breakfast, Dinner 

Saturday, April 30, 2022 –  Royal Greenhouse 

Today we’ll travel to the Botanical Garden in Meise where we’ll enjoy lunch at the Orangery.   Afterward we’ll visit one of the largest botanical gardens in Europe. In spring, it features flowering rhododendrons, magnolias, cherries and other shrubs and trees, as well as spring bulbs and perennial flowers in bloom. Besides the Orangery, there are also three acres of greenhouses.

This afternoon we’ll travel to see the Royal Greenhouses in Laeken. The Belgium Royal Family opens the six acres of greenhouses only three weeks of the year and we’re here at the right time! The greenhouses feature tropical and subtropical plants, a variety of rare flowers, waterfalls and more. We’ll have lunch at a restaurant near the greenhouses.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch – Overnight Bruges 

Sunday, May 1, 2022 –  Kinderdijk/Delft 

Today we check out of the hotel in Bruges and travel to UNESCO world heritage site,  Kinderdijk, known for its iconic 18th-century windmills. Its water-management network features 19 mills and three pumping stations, plus dikes and reservoirs that control flooding in the polder (low-lying land). Waterways, footpaths and bike trails crisscross the area, leading to the main visitors center and museums in preserved working windmills. We’ll enjoy a lunch together at a local restaurant.

We’ll continue on to Delft to visit the Blue Porcelain Workshop and learn about this beautiful hand-painted pottery, tableware and artwork. Enjoy a stroll through this charming little town where Johannes Vermeer painted the famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. We’ll continue on to Amsterdam and check in to our hotel.  Dinner is served at the hotel restaurant.

Optional concert:  The  Concertgebouworkest is one of the very best orchestras in the world.  Time and time again, critics have lauded its unique sound in the exceptional acoustics of The Concertgebouw.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner – Overnight Amsterdam 

Monday, May 2, 2022 – Appeltern/Cheesemaker 

This morning  we’ll travel to the Appeltern Idea Gardens with acres of plants featuring 200 model demonstration gardens highlighting various gardening themes and ideas. Upon arrival we’ll meet the founder Ben van Ooijen who will give us a talk before we tour the gardens.   Lunch is served afterward.

On our way back to Amsterdam we’ll visit a cheese maker and farm in Amstelveen –Farmer Kees-Jan milks the cows himself and uses the milk directly to make Gouda cheese. Thanks to the addition of different ingredients and herbs, the cheeses all have their own special flavors. Some of the specialties include chili cheese, garlic & chive cheese, Italian-herb cheese, ginger cheese, nettle cheese and truffle cheese.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch – Overnight Amsterdam 

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 – Cheese maker/Leiden/Keukenhof  

Lunch is planned in Leiden at the Botanical Gardens.  After lunch we’ll visit the Hortus Botanicus Leiden, the oldest botanical garden in The Netherlands. The oldest section dates back to 1590, and is the current Front Garden. It has been renovated with new plants and in 2000, a new glasshouse was added to form the Winter Garden.

We continue to Keukenhof  for a tour of world famous bulb gardens in full bloom. There are more than tulips and daffodils at Keukenhof. It also has themed gardens and acres of greenhouses that occupy the landscape.  Dinner options are available at Keukenhof. We’ll return to Amsterdam in the evening.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch – Overnight Amsterdam  

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

This morning we’ll take a walking tour of Amsterdam with our guide. .  

Lunch independently. 

Afternoon is free time to explore the city.   Choose from the best museums and monuments Amsterdam can offer, for example the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum or Stedelijk Museum.  All three are located at the Museumplein (Square), or you may wish to visit the Amsterdam Botanical Garden with Charlie. 

Tonight a farewell dinner is planned at a local restaurant. 

Meals included: Breakfast – Farewell Dinner – Overnight Amsterdam

Thursday, May 5, 2022- Depart USA or stay an additional night (below)

Breakfast at your hotel and transfer to Amsterdam Airport OR join Charlie for a visit to Floriade and Jacqueline van der Kloet’s Tea Garden. 

For those who are extending their stay with us:

Once every decade Europe puts on an International Flower Expo called Floriade to highlight the new and innovative plants, techniques and products from around the world. Floriade will be hosted right outside of Amsterdam when we’re there! The Expo offers 40 inspiring country presentations, a spectacular greenhouse complex, a cable car over the Floriade park, pavilions with sustainable innovations, new varieties of flowers, plants, vegetables and fruits, and a vibrant arts and culture programme.

Afterward we’ll shift gears and visit Jacqueline Van der Kloet’s famous tea garden. Jacqueline is famous worldwide for her garden design work in Holland, at the Lurie Gardens in Chicago and at the New York Botanical Garden. We’ll have a tour of her demonstration garden and tea in the garden.

Meals included: Breakfast 

Please note: Goodspeed & Bach, Inc. reserves the right to alter the order of events or to make changes in the itinerary deemed necessary for the comfort, convenience and safety of the participants. Every effort will be made to adhere to the printed itinerary, but weather conditions and transportation difficulties may arise beyond the control of Goodspeed & Bach, Inc. and local suppliers could force the cancellation or substitution of events or specific services.