12 May 2013

Keukenhof - Sundays In My City

In a previous post I wrote about how bicycles are as ubiquitous to the Netherlands as windmills and tulips.  Yesterday was all about tulips.  The plan was to take the train up north and bicycle around the tulip fields (passing a few windmills along the way...how much more Dutch can you get?!?!).

The friend who went with me was, let's just say, not exactly prepared.  The weather was a bit ominous with dark clouds and serious threats of rain.  My friend did not have rain gear. So when we arrived we first had to walk into town to get her some.  And a sweater because she didn't dress warmly enough.  When we finally got the bikes she informed me that she hadn't been on a bike in years.  Uh oh.

Most of the Netherlands is extremely flat so it is very easy to bike.  Well, easy for most of us.  Within minutes I was told to stop riding like speedy gonzalez.  I was barely pedaling.  In fact, at one point the wind was strong enough to push me without any pedaling and she still couldn't keep up.  I am by no means a fast rider!  About 20 minutes into the ride she was crying that her butt hurt.  She looked miserable. I felt bad for her but I was also annoyed (really, why say you want to go on a day-long biking excursion if you can't ride a bike?). We didn't make it to the fields. 

Instead, we went back and got a bus to the Keukenhof.  The Keukenhof is the world's largest flower garden.  There are approximately 7,000,000 (seven million!) bulbs planted there and it has over 15km of foot paths.  It's only open a couple months each spring when the flowers are in bloom.  It's impossible to really capture the grand scale of the place but here are a few (I literally took over 200 pictures and it was really hard to pick which ones to post but I assure you this is only a few!) pictures to try and give you an idea of the different flowers and colors. It is amazingly beautiful there!


















Stroll on over to Unknown Mami to see what's going on in other parts of the world.

Unknown Mami

17 comments:

  1. The flower garden is amazing. So many different blooms and such vivid colors. Beautiful.

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  2. Oh my, the flowers (and your photos) are beautiful! Sorry about your bike ride, I know that must have been frustrating. :/

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    1. I'm going back on Thursday but this time alone!

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  3. Wow. Breathtaking! I used to bike on nature trails when I lived in flat Louisiana. I recall a few times having friends along, often thin, who had no stamina. Very frustrating.

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  4. Those tulips are so gorgeous they seem faked/photoshoped. Amazing.

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    1. I assure you there is no Photoshop going on...they are all straight from the camera. I don't even know how to use Photoshop (I have only the most basic understanding of technology!).

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  5. Your pictures are amazing and the color of all of the flowers is breathtaking! Thank you for sharing. I want to come visit! Thanks also for stopping by my blog, and for your kind words. I look forward to another visit here!

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    1. If you want to see the flowers you have to come between mid-March and mid-May. Better flower viewing in April but your best chance of decent weather is in May.

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  6. Oh my goodness! Those flowers are amazing!
    :-)
    Traci
    P.S. We got the cork and it's so cool.I'll be posting later this week! <3

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  7. Oh gorgeous flowers! My butt hurts on a cycle seat too! I was laughing at the speedy gonzalez because that's what we say when one of us is rushing somewhere without keeping pace!

    The swan was such a beautiful surprise in the middle of these brilliantly colored photos!

    Hugs! :D

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    1. My butt used to hurt a little but once I decided to be a bicycle commuter it toughened up pretty quickly :)

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  8. Oh my goodness, the tulips are out of the world, they've always been one of my favourite flowers. they just seem so happy! :) I read a book several years ago about about a fictional guy who went to the netherlands to find tulips to bring back to english royalty. unfortunately, that's about as much as I remmeber!

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    1. According to a sign in the express bus to the garden, tulips where the cause of the first recorded financial panic, back in 1637!

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  9. How beautiful!

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  10. wow, what a colorful flowers!
    so beautiful
    It makes me want to go Holland
    Hope I will

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  11. Wow! Unbelievably beautiful. I'm sorry your friend was so easily tuckered on a bike.

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