Since it’s the first day of spring today, I thought it’d be the perfect occasion to have a blog post with tons of flower photos. Last Easter my mum came to visit me in The Netherlands and Keukenhof was on the top of the places-to-visit list.
Keukenhof basically translates to kitchen (keuken) and “garden” (hof), and in 15C it used to be countess Jacoba van Beiren’s garden for growing herbs, while her nearby castle was used as a hunt lodge. Today Keukenhof is a grand flower exhibition full of tulips, hyacinths and narcissi, etc. Just imagine flower galore.
You might be thinking that it’s bit touristy to visit a tulip garden in Holland, but being there twice myself I must say I really enjoyed it both times. The first time I was there I visited as a tourist and I was just so blown away – Picture-perfect Holland with windmills overlooking stretches of colourful flower fields in full bloom. Indeed, I loved it as a tourist. The second time I was there I was more of a local expat, still loved it. But this time besides enjoying the sheer beauty of the flowers, what I enjoyed even more was the variety. Young tourist-me just found all the flowers beautiful, but “seasoned” local expat me realized that some of the tulips were “artisan” tulips that were quite rare and were not everyday tulips that you’d come across at the local supermarket or Saturday flower market.
More photos below the cut.
I think customs regulations (at least in Canada) do not permit travellers to bring back flower bulbs as souvenirs, but last year I found out that there are shops in the Keukenhof that have online webshops where you can order the the bulbs in bulk and they make proper international shipments.
Outside Keukenhof are tons of other flower fields. We had a car so on a few occasions we jumped out for some close-up photos. Not sure if it’s considered trespassing but we were a bit sneaky 😉
Not sure if I’ll go to Keukenhof this year, but I always enjoy looking at these old photos. I love how vibrant the colours are, and they remind me of spring. And on that note, Happy SPRING!
How lovely. Those flowers are excceptional.
And so great that your mother came to visit. You must both miss each other.
Tot ziens
brian
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