Keukenhof Gardens (Netherlands) ... Apr 11, 2009

I am posting a lot of pictures here for Katie and Ashley to look at, and this is not the half of what we took while spending 4 hours in the Keukenhof gardens (The Garden of Europe) in the Netherlands, the worlds largest flower garden. We got there soon after it opened, around 8:30 and had it basically to ourselves for about an hour before the tour buses arrived. 7 Million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park. It is a beautiful place, famous for the tulips and other colorful foliage. You have to time your visit right, as first, it is only open from the end of March to the end of May, but second, there are about 2 weeks during this period where you can catch the right blooming period, which is normally the middle of April. We got pretty close to this ideal period, but it probably would have been PERFECT a week or two later. That being said, it was still quite fantastic. Most people think we are crazy to go so far to visit a flower garden, but you really have to see it to believe it. And they have more than just flowers, as we enjoyed the petting zoo on the grounds as well as the windmill that overlooks the tulip fields outside the park, in their stunning red, white, yellow, oranges, pink colors, to name just a few. We also saw a cobbler widdling away the traditional Dutch wooden shoes. The girls relaxed for a few minutes on the haystacks outfitted with seats. And we saw the 2009 tribute to the US, with the Statue of Liberty made out of planted tulips. It was an amazing morning for us.