Tulips in Holland

Flowers... Flowers.... Flowers.... Holland has tons of them, but are most known for their tulips. There are fields full of them and people go to the West coast along the North Sea to visit the fields in bloom at the end of April / beginning of May. Just think of the corn fields in Indiana in September, but add red, yellow, white, and orange petals instead of stalks and you definitely will have an idea of what it looks like here. Flowers are everywhere - there are several street markets selling roses, tulips, daisies - you name it. And it is very common to have fresh flowers in your house year-round. Just stop by a stand on your walk home and pick a bunch up for anywhere from 2 - 12 euros. One of the few things that actually are cheaper here than at home in the States.

Last year in April, Derek and I visited the tulip fields while on my spring visit. This year we went to the tulip wonderland, Keukenhof Park. The park has over 7 million bulbs planted and is visited by approximately 700,000 people in less than 2 months (the park opens annually when the flowers are open, then closes for the rest of the year). We had a great time walking around and looking at the flowers, climbing in a windmill, and sharing a fresh hot waffle dipped in powdered sugar. After visiting the park, we drove into the fields and followed the route we traveled last year ending on the North Sea beach in Noordwijk, Holland. We had a great day.