Keukenhof

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter." ~Ansel Adams

April 14, 2013 (Continued)
Keukenhof Tulip fields is the most photographed location on Earth and the largest botanical garden in the world.  According to their website, over 7,000,000 bulbs are planted annually in the 32 hectare park. It is only open from mid-March to mid-May and is visited by millions of people every year.

There were five of us left for the trip to Keukenhof—Liz, Lauren, Gaby, Katie, and I. On our bus ride over we talked a lot about the trip and our plans for our remaining time in Europe. Luckily, during the hour it took to get to Keukenhof, the sun came out and blue sky burst its way through the clouds. When we were about five minutes out from the park entrance, we started to see streaks of colors on the horizon of the fields. We could see little boats floating through channels of the fields as well as cyclists riding circles around the fields.

The bus pulled into a large parking lot where we all got off. Our tickets for the bus also covered our entrance to the park, but we wanted to check about bikes or boat rides that might be available. As we walked up to the main office, I spotted rows of lockers by the bathrooms.  These were all operated by keys, so I felt a little more comfortable ditching my bag here.

Inside, a very nice lady helped us at the desk.

“How much is boat ride?” one of the girls asked.

“The boat is not affiliated with Keukenhof,” she said. “They have their own field.”

“And what about bikes? Are bikes available to rent?”

“No,” she said. “Bikes are not allowed in the garden.”

“How about lockers?” I asked.

“They are free,” she said. “They require one euro coin to remove key, but you get it back when you return key. They are only thing here that is free.”

I went to store my bag in a locker while the girls asked her more questions. She basically told them that because of the cold spring we’ve had, most everything was still green and we should come back in May. This wasn’t what we wanted to hear, so we decided to just explore the garden on our own.

One of the girls said that entering Keukenhof was like entering Disneyworld. There were restaurants and concessions everywhere in the main courtyard. A large wooden organ was playing tinkling away music while families ran around everywhere snapping photos with everything.

The fountain in the main courtyard was beautiful. The streams of water spewing out of the top looked like dandelion seeds tumbling to the ground. Just beyond the fountain, was a Gazebo with a life size chess board, like something out of Harry Potter.

We didn’t see any flowers until we rounded the corner. Initially, they were all in potted plants—which was still stunning color—but after walking past a small boardwalk, we started finding the gardens. I actually liked the potted plants better. They were large flowers in fiery orange and golden colors. The first few gardens we came to were flimsy little white and yellow things. Gradually, the white flowers were joined with little red buds and purple blooms sprouted up among the yellow ones. As the pavement turned to stepping stones and the paths became more circuitous, we slipped out of the basic gardens and into a botanical fairy tale world.

There were waterfalls and fountains that looked like they’d been plucks form a Chinese palace. There were winding paths through flowers and moss covered trees that looked like they belonged on the set of The Wizard of Oz. There was, and yellow, and purple, and white, and orange, and pink…of course, there was also lots of green, but even that was beautiful.

We eventually wound around to one concession stand. Waffles (while originally from Belgium) are a huge hit in Holland, especially with the Dutch people. They are thick and doughy, and served with whipped cream. I decided I needed to try one so I bought one for lunch. Outside the concession stand were two stilt walkers dressed like flowers. They were making cooing sounds for tourists and posing for photos.

As we continued walking, there was a large man-made lake with several different fountains and sculptures into it. Rows and rows of red and yellow tulips encircled the lake and we had to stop to take photos of them. The highlight however was the small stepping stone path across the lake that went right by the fountain...that too required a ton of photos.

And the garden certainly held up to its photographic title. There were cameras of all shapes sizes and types snapping photos of the Keukenhof spectacle.

The path continued through some artistic gardens where blue and purple flowers formed ying-yang shapes and other patterns. There would be flashes of red or trickles of pink but each little patch of blooms was its own unique image. The golden yellow freckled the fields, and little white patches puffed-up here and there.

There were two indoor gardens too. The first was the orchid house. The colors here were not only incredible but the shapes too were ridiculous.  From decorative hearts to spikey fists, every shade of pink and purple hung from the wall in its own unique form. There was also an indoor fountain made of mirrors. It was shaped so that you could see the reflections of the people you were with, but you couldn’t see your own reflection.

Outside, we continued on until we found the windmill. About this time (naturally) my camera batteries started to die. I teased them by rotating them in and out and flipping them around a few times. I was able to get some great photos as the impressive blade spun round and round. Before getting on the bus, Andy had warned us “Don’t get hit by the windmill.” Now we understood why.

There was a line to go up in it, so before we did, we swung into the gift shop to look around. The girls bought some popcorn and we sat on the steps of the windmill munching on it. Not only had the sun come out, but now it was getting hot.

When we’d finished out popcorn, we went up in the windmill where we had a view of the fields. The lady had been right, they were mostly green. There was a large patch of purple just across the river. There was also a line of red and a line of yellow a bit further out. It didn’t matter though. The garden was beautiful, the company was fun, and it was another day full of adventure.

Walking back through the garden, there were various sitting nitches decorated with different themes. One was like an overgrown trailer park. Another was like an outdoor living room. There was a little rowboat filled with flowers that groups could climb in to take photos. There was also a fun little footbridge that looked like monkey bars across a canal.

At the end of the loop was the indoor tulip garden. I remember that we used to plant tulips at the memorial site for my grandparents on our property up in the mountains. Those flowers looked nothing like these. The shape was the same but the blooms were absolutely huge. The stems were easily 18 inches tall and the blossom just as proportionately alrge. There was every different color from a sweet scarlet red, to a mango tinted orange, a passionate pink, a creamy yellow…there were even black flowers and some that were multiple colors. It also turned out that tulips came in a million different shapes. While the general look was similar, some had long stamens while others were all petal.

We took our time walking through the greenhouse and met up on the other side. The girls looked through the sourvineer shop again, while I hit the WC and then we met up to get ice cream at a concession stand.

At that point, Katie had about 90 minutes till her train left Schipol. We headed back to the bus to get her back on time. As we exited the park, I grabbed my backpack, we pitched our ice cream cups, took a few last photos, and boarded the bus.

The bus back was packed (we’d been practically the only ones on the ride over.) Within minutes of pulling out of the station, Gaby, Katie, and Lauren were all asleep. I ate my sandwich from earlier and drank the orange mineral water I’d bought. Liz and I talked most of the ride back, laughing and telling stories from our trips so far.

The drive back actually looked a lot like my drive from my house to my university. If you through in some mountains on the horizon and an agricultural smell it could have been identical.

When we got back to the airport, we said goodbye to Katie as she went to catch her train. We also left Lauren who didn’t fly out for another four hours. Gaby, Liz, and I went to get their bags. The two of them grabbed some dinner in the massive terminal food court, and then we proceeded through security.

My bag didn’t get checked this time, but both of the girls got searched. We regrouped on the other side of security and walked for a bit towards our gates.

“I really am excited to get back to the US,” Gaby said. “It’s been fun, but I’m anxious to see my friends and be with my family again.”

“When do you guys go back?” I asked.

“Like four weeks,” they said.

I was flying out of the B concourse and they were out of D. We hugged each other goodbye and said we’d get in touch on Facebook and with that we parted company. As I walked towards my gate, I saw something that caught my eye. There were two coin operated massage chairs. They cost 2 euros for five minutes. I checked the change in my pocket and decided I need to give this a try.

Everyone needs to have a little fun in Amsterdam, right?