The Famous Blooms of Holland

I just realised that I am not really doing justice to the title of this blog. This was supposed to be a journal of my experiences in Netherlands or Holland. So shaking of my lethargy I have decided to actually arrange my experiences of travelling through this beautiful and historical country. Initial exploration has been entirely as a tourist. What else would you expect from an expat? In first couple of weeks I covered all the top touristy places/ tours at a frantic pace since everybody kept telling me good sunny weather does not last too long here so had to make the most of it! I will put my experiences post by post. So here goes the first entry ...

I started off with the great Keukenhof flower park. Made it just in time. This place is open from March to Mid May only, when the tulips are in full bloom. In addition to the artificial garden/ park maintained, there is also an option of taking a boat ride in the waterways cutting across the big fields of flowers. I regret missing the ride but we were too late!

Flowers in all hues and color spread all across- till wherever the eyes can see. The main protagonist being the tulips in this flowery opera ! The park has a small pond in the center and some very interesting sculptures. There are small cafés in case you get hungry or thirsty during your almost 2-3 hours of walk through the entire place.

There is a area where they have put swings etc to serve as children’s play area and nurseries are scattered throughout.

They even have an area with futons, bean bags and mattresses thrown around to rest your weary bones- if you please!

But the most breathtaking sight is a magnificent windmill right next to the spot from where the boat rides to the fields begin. This was my first encounter with one of the key emblems of Holland. Set against the clear blue sky there it was- old –its fan wheel rotating lazily. One can go up and see the view from top.

Not only this, each year they have a place reserved where they create a theme park. This year being Chinese garden..

Normally there is a flower parade once a year in April which is held from Noordwijk to Haarlem which is known as the bulb region of Holland. This is a major tourist attraction especially because there is a beach near Noordwijk and Haarlem is one of the charming and oldest cities (some say older than even Amsterdam itself) of Netherlands. (BTW yours truly lives in Haarlem!).

A central point to go to Keukenhof is to take bus 58 from Schiphol Airport- the international airport of Netherlands. I also discovered that the management also runs a booking counter at Schiphol which has shuttle services to the place.

Flowers in all hues and color spread all across- till wherever the eyes can see. The main protagonist being the tulips in this flowery soap opera! The park has a small pond in the center and some very interesting sculptures. There are small cafés in case you get hungry or thirsty during your almost 2-3 hours of walk through the entire place.

There is a area where they have put swings etc to serve as children’s play area and nurseries scattered throughout.

They even have an area with futons, bean bags and mattresses thrown around to rest your weary bones- if you please!

But the most breathtaking sight is a magnificent windmill right next to the spot from where the boat rides to the fields begin. This was my first encounter with one of the key emblems of Holland. Set against the clear blue sky there it was,- old –its fan wheel rotating lazily. One can go up and see the view from top.

Not only this, each year they have a place reserved where they create a theme park. This year being Chinese garden..

Normally there is a flower parade once a year in April which is held from Noordwijk to Haarlem which is known as the bulb region of Holland. This is a major tourist attraction especially because there is a beach near Noordwijk and Haarlem is one of the charming and oldest cities (some say older than even Amsterdam itself) of Netherlands. (BTW yours truly lives in Haarlem!).

A central point to go to Keukenhof is to take bus 58 from Schiphol Airport- the international airport of Netherlands. I also discovered that the management runs a booking counter at Schiphol which has shuttle services to the place.