I’m back in The Netherlands and last time I was here I promised myself I would see and do more in my little country. South East Asia was very exotic and coming back home I feel a bit of reversed culture shock. It’s a week later now and at times I still feel bad when I throw the toilet paper inside the toilet. A slight panic comes up before I realise this is normal. I am allowed. I am also surprised when I’m on a train and everybody speaks Dutch. I am shocked by how easy travelling is and how nice it is to finally eat real bread, muesli and potatoes.
Still being in the tourist mode, I took my parents out to what must be one of the most famous attractions in the Netherlands and the most famous garden in the world. Thousands of people come every year to admire the flower fields and the gardens of the Keukenhof. It was about time for me to see it too.
Inside the Keukenhof, many architects and gardeners worked on massive fields filled with tulips and hyacinths. There are several pavilions with all types of flowers inside. Who knew there were so many types of tulips!
From the Keukenhof you can rent a bicycle or go for a walk and see the fields where they grow the flowers. People were picking flowers and some fields were not blooming yet, so some just looked green. But the ones that were in bloom were spectacular.
If you are in The Netherlands between March and May, you can visit the flower fields. I highly recommend riding a bicycle and there are routes that will take you through the fields all the way to the beach. You can combine this with visiting Keukenhof, which will only take a few hours. It’s a massive garden with a different theme each year. It’s crowded, so time it well. It took us 50 minutes just to get off the parking lot at the end of the day! Buy an online ticket in advance to skip the cues and you can bring a picnic lunch to save some money.