April 13, 2025
Today is all about the Tulips!! Holland is famous for it’s tulips and I plan to celebrate them today along with a few hundred thousand of other tourist.
The day started with the annual Tulip parade. Think of the rose parade but done with Tulips!! The level of detail and creativity was in full display as the floats were cheered on by the crowd. What a fun way to begin a day celebrating tulips.
The afternoon was spent at Keukenhof. The history of Keukenhof dates back to the 15th century. Countess Jacoba van Beieren [Jacqueline of Bavaria] (1401-1436) used ‘Keukenduyn’ [kitchen dunes] as hunting ground for the kitchen of Teylingen Castle. Keukenhof Castle was built in 1641 and the estate grew to encompass an area of over 200 hectares.
In 1949 a group of 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters came up with the plan to use the estate to exhibit spring-flowering bulbs, signaling the birth of Keukenhof as a spring park. The park opened its gates to the public in 1950 and was an instant success, with 236,000 visitors in the first year alone. 75 years later the park is renown as the ultimate celebration of tulips. The park is incredible and super crowded but I was able to go to the outer regions with fewer people and it was so peaceful!
As the sun set I reflected on the day and it was absolutely a “Best day ever so far!!”
Wow! Wow! Wow! What beautiful sights. Thank you so much for sharing!
Reminds me of the flowers on the floats for the Rose Parade. So beautiful!