You can’t possibly live in the Netherlands for a year and miss out on seeing the tulips. Along with clogs, canals, bikes, and windmills, the flowers are a key symbol of the country- even if you have to travel to the North to see them.
This is exactly what James and I did one day in May, when we lucked out on the weather- it was probably 13 degrees, but it wasn’t raining, so I call it lucking out- and decided to head to Keukenhof Gardens, one of the most photographed places on Earth.
Thanks to HEMA one-day train passes, our trip was considerably cheaper than it normally is. That’s because these tickets allow you to use all the trains across the Netherlands during a single day at a discounted price. Because of that, we also managed to combine the journey with a small trip to Amsterdam, but more on that later.
Two and a half hours and one train change since we departed from Maastricht, half an hour later than expected, we arrived at Schipol Airport to catch a half hour shuttle to the Gardens, and along the way, got to see some remainders of the harvested tulip fields. The trip also included James mistaking wind turbines for solar panels, but I think he hasn’t lived that one down yet, so I won’t keep reminding him of it.
Because we had our passes printed off the day before, there was no need to wait in lie, and we quickly breezed through the entrance to see more colors of tulips than you can ever imagine.
There isn’t much to be said about the place that hasn’t been said already. If you find yourself in the Netherlands between March and May, Keukenhof is not to be missed, especially if you’re looking for new desktop backgrounds and photo ops.
Here are some pictures to drive the point further:
1. Even guys enjoy it
2. Everyone wants to stop and take pictures with the pretty flowers
3. There’s always something to see
4. You can take shelter from the elements by visiting the interior expos
5. Your art appreciation skills will be tested
6. It’s a lot of fun!
Beyond Beirut 