Last week was another beautiful week. Sunshine at daytime and some rain at night. Perfect for the flowers and perfect for the visitors. Yesterday it was flower craziness in Lisse and surrounding areas. It was Flower parade day and it seems that almost every tourist bus was heading to the Keukenhof. I even saw busses travelling from Finland (that is pretty long ride by bus!)
Parade Day is always very busy but this busy I haven’t seen for a long time. From 10 am there were long traffic jams, people waiting for very long times to get to an in the Keukenhof. Even the roads the local people normally take to avoid all the tourist traffic were completely stuck. Luckily we have our bikes.
Some tips for people who are planning to travel on parade day next year! Be early (before 9 AM in Lisse. yes also for the people travelling by bus). The town of Lisse was one big festive market. Shops were selling their goods outside, lots of snack stand, music playing, etc. very nice to stroll around. From noon people were already taking their places along the roads and from 15.45 the parade travelled by.
I walked into the Keukenhof but it was way too crowded for me. If you are not interested in the parade don’t travel to the Keukenhof on that day. Just travel one day earlier or later and you will enjoy the Keukenhof much better.
Today I took a nice bike ride to see the status of the flower fields. It is gorgeous out here. The nice warm and sunny weather works very well for the flowers. The fields are getting more color each day and yes some of the fields are growing near their end. Luckily for the people travelling in the upcoming weeks there are still some green flower fields left (specially tulips). The hyacinths are in full bloom right now, it is wonderful to see those fields with the significant scent.
The keukenhof is getting more color every day as well. Some of the mixed fields inside the keukenhof are looking very pretty and people are making notes to remember what flower combinations are the best for using at home.
One tip for the people travelling next weekend. Be early! Easter weekend is traditionally a very busy weekend and with the keukenhof and flower fields in (almost) full bloom it means big traffic jams in the area. For the people who are planning to take a bike ride, today all bikes were rented out at noon already.
Photo’s of this weekend can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nring23/sets/72157626391638259/ and here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nring23/sets/72157626516299670/
to see the collection photos of this season: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nring23/collections/72157626309553072/