Tulips and sand dunes - 1 maggio, 2014

This month's weekend trip was to the land of tulips. I have always wanted to visit The Netherlands when the flower fields were in bloom so we booked a trip for the end of April which also allowed our friend Jamie to join us. We rented a little holiday house near Noordwijk in South Holland close to the shores of the North Sea. This is the low country where the sandy soil and criss crossing canals create the perfect environment for growing tulips. Little did we know how fleeting the season truly is, as we watched the tractors clipping off the colorful flower heads just as we pulled out our cameras. These farmers are in the business of producing bulbs, not flowers so once the flowers bloom and are inspected, they are cut back so the the tulip plants can use all of their energy to grow the bulb. The majority of tulips sold as cut flowers are grown in greenhouses.  So the season of the flower fields is short and precious,

We spent a day riding bicycles by the seashore, up over the sand dunes, along the canals and through the flower fields.  A few times, I actually wanted to beg the tractors to stop so I could continue to photograph the beautiful colors but luckily we still found plenty of blooms to enjoy. Then we visited Keukenhof Gardens which is a showcase for the Dutch floricultural industry. It is open for only 8 weeks a year and it is where 100 floral companies show a living catalogue of their products with 7 million planted bulbs. It was an explosion of color and variety stretching beautifully through a park setting with ponds and mature trees so we definitely found enough tulips to photograph.

The Netherlands is an orderly and efficient country which is an interesting contrast to the Italian culture in which we have been recently immersed. We loved the roads dedicated to bicycle traffic that go everywhere; it makes biking safe and so enjoyable. During our visit to the seashore, we saw people of all ages bicycling as well as others inline skating, horseback riding, birdwatching and even exercising in a group. It seemed like everyone was active and enjoying nature as spring had arrived. 

We also had the opportunity to visit the open air museum of Zaanse Schans which has working windmills and a historical village. Riding, walking  and outdoor dining in the towns of Lisse, Haarlem and The Hague helped us see contemporary life in the provinces of North and South Holland. The country was celebrating "King's Day" on April 26th, which is a great excuse to wear orange and party in honor of the king's birthday. Three days in this beautiful and interesting place gave us the time to enjoy tulip season but let us know we need to plan another trip to explore the rest of the country.

Uh oh....here comes the tractor.

The North Sea, east of Noordwijk

Bike roads - flat and smooth.

Before cutting

After cutting

Keukenhof 

My favorite

Bikes rule!

Open air museum at Zaanse Schans