Windmills and tulips and river cruising, oh my! Springtime serves up the most iconic sights and moments of Dutch culture – and a river cruise may be the best way to experience them all. 

Our Emerald river cruise sailed round trip from Amsterdam, navigating the Netherlands’ vast network of inland waterways, canals and rivers through countryside, picturesque villages and dynamic cities. We dipped into Belgium, then swung up again to complete our circuitous route back in Amsterdam. 

It was a celebration of spring and a hit parade of the most charming elements of Dutch culture. 

Windmills tie with tulips as the symbol of the country, and one of our shore excursions was to Zaanse Schans, a living museum along the river, where several windmills have stood for centuries. In recent years, other historic windmills from different eras were brought to the same site. We visited on a windy day – “the millers are happy!” said our Emerald Cruises guide. So the windmills were in full operation: pumping water, grinding paint powders, or harnessing the power of the wind to perform other tasks. 

We visited Delft – the town synonymous with the Netherlands’ beloved rich-blue and whiteRoyal Delft porcelain, where we learned the process that is still used today – and even got to try our hands at painting a Delft tile of our own!

On board the Emerald Sky, another cultural craft project: painting our own wooden Dutch clogs. They’re only part-cliché. As our local artist explained, clogs are still worn by some farmers today, and they’re remarkably comfortable, as well as recognized as safety footwear! Inspired by our trip to Delft- and not very good at painting – I painted my clog in Delft blue and white. The hand-sized clog is a much more manageable size than some of the canoe-sized clogs that are scattered throughout the Netherlands for visitors to take jokey photos with!

But what everyone’s here for in springtime is the tulips. Horticulture is big business in the Netherlands, which produces nearly 2/3 of the world’s spring flower bulbs. 

That means that, every springtime, vast fields of tulip farms are blanketed in blooms – a spectacle you have to see to believe!

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tulip fields, the world’s biggest spring garden and more Tulip Time scenery!

Guests on our river cruise get to see the tulip fields on their way to Keukenhof – the world’s largest spring flower garden, and the highlight of our Emerald Tulip Time river cruise. 

The entire journey was experiencing one vividly colorful, record-breaking tulip spectacle after another: from tulip fields, to Keukenhof garden… to the world’s largest flower auction house. 

The Royal FloraHolland auction house is the size of 200 football fields and auctions 50 million cut flowers – every day! Even if you’re not into flowers, the phenomenal logistics of the intake of that many highly perishable products, auctioning them off to buyers around the world, sorting all the supplier’s blooms into different orders for buyers and handing them off to be shipped worldwide while still fresh – is mind boggling and was one of my favorite shore excursions. 

SPRING FLING

Of course, you can sail the entire river cruising season in the Netherlands. But if you want to experience one of the most iconic, seasonal river cruises – and be simply blown away – by the spring wind powering those windmills, as well as the incredible colors and spectacle of one of the most famous floral phenomena in the world! A Tulip Time river cruise must be on your life’s bucket list. 

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Story and video by Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert. 

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