Two weeks ago, my friend Kim and I got up extra early, found our way to a gas station on an autobahn outside of Cologne, hopped on a bus and drove to the Netherlands.
We were on our way to the Keukenhof tulip festival.
After a 5 hour drive, the view from the bus began to change.
Fields after fields of brightly colored flowers greeted us around the town of Lisse.
You know you’re in the Netherlands when the bike park takes up a quarter of the car park.
The Keukenhof is a large, gorgeously maintained garden. Open for only April and May, tourists flock from all ends of the earth to see and smell the fragrant tulips, hyacinth and other spring bulbs.
Unfortunately, the swarm of people greatly distracted from the beauty of the grounds. We were led through the tiny footpaths like packed sardines.
That part wasn’t fun.
It was really difficult to get photos without people’s legs and bottoms in the shot.
Whereas Kim tried to avoid photographing anyone but the two of us, I found it so ironic that there were more faces than flowers, I found myself photographing the unbelievable crowds.
One thing is for sure, the gardens are beautiful.
Spring is my new favorite season.
The color combinations were so inspiring.
I had planned to pack a lunch for our day trip but the 5:30 wake-up call was early enough- we bought our lunches at the Keukenhof.
The most expensive cheese sandwich I have ever eaten.
Later on in the day, we also bought a Dutch sweet.
Although these waffles looked delicious, they were too Belgian and we wanted something very Dutch.
Our noses found the way to the Dutch caramel waffles.
Yummy! Sticky, gooey, hot, sweet waffles!
Although the Keukenhof gardens were beautiful, after a couple of hours we were both feeling a bit irritated by the crowds and needed some space to move.
We needed to get out of the gardens and into the fields.
My friend Kim is a beautiful person, both inside and out. She really has a way to make everyone feel calm, comfortable and beautiful. Even a photo-shy person like me was able to relax while Kim took flower photos.
“You need to have photos of you too,” she said. “20 years from now a bunch of photos of flowers won’t matter, but the way you looked as a 25 year old who lived in Germany and travelled to Dutch tulip fields will matter.
How right she is.
All day, I had my family strongly on my mind.
When I was in 8th grade, my mom and I went to Whidbey Island, Washington to visit my Aunt Bev.
While there, on the same Palm Sunday weekend only 11 years earlier, my mom, aunt and I went to the tulip fields of Skagit Valley.
Seeing the tulip fields in Washington is still one of my favorite memories, and sorry to say it Keukenhof, but the Skagit fields have you beat.
In honor of family ties, here are a few photos from the day that reminded me of my family back home.
This one’s for you, Mom, the Jan Bos hyacinth.
Ben, if anyone can spin a joke on a long Dutch word, I know you can.
Whenever I see bleeding hearts, I think of you, Christopher. Are they still your favorite flower?
Here’s a flower-covered airplane float that I knew you would like dad, especially since you didn’t have to sit through a parade to see it.
Patrick, you would totally do this. You can’t see from the angle of the photo, but the suited man is also enjoying a beer from atop the street sign.
So, there you have it. Although the Keukenhof tulip festival was a sight to be seen, it was hard to enjoy the sights due to the hordes of people.
Regardless, I still had a wonderful day with a fantastic friend, and that’s all that really matters.
