Visiting the Netherlands: The Keukenhof

Ah spring, it's the breath of fresh air that comes after a long and cold winter. Except when the weather gets confused and can't decide if it wants to be sunny or snowy. Anyone else experiencing this where they live?

One place where you can enjoy almost three full months of beautiful spring weather (it's certainly not in Utah!) is in the Netherlands, especially at the Keukenhof! The Keukenhof is one of Europe's largest flower gardens, with roots back to the 15th century, and is filled with hundreds of acres of beautiful tulips (the kind you sometimes see in movies). I mean, there are literally acres and acres and acres of tulips and other flowers that you've probably never even seen or heard of in all the colors of the rainbow (Have you ever seen a black tulip? Me neither! Until I visited the Keukenhof). The Keukenhof gardens are absolutely incredible and will take your breath away! The Keukenhof is basically the epitome of spring and is the perfect place for those flower or photography enthusiasts out there.

If you plan to make the trip out to the Keukenhof, there are several routes to get there by bus or train. The Keukenhof website gives some great directions on how to get to the gardens by public transport, which is very helpful!

When you go to the gardens be prepared to pay around 16 euro a person for tickets. Bring a good pair of walking shoes, a water bottle, and of course a camera! The Keukenhof is open from the end of March to the middle of May. Personally, I would say the best time to visit the gardens would be in April, which is when the flowers are in full bloom. We went to the Keukenhof towards the end of the season, and a lot of the flowers were already being trimmed. While the garden was still beautiful, I think it would have been better earlier in the season.

Not only were there plenty of flowers lining the gardens, but there was even a windmill!  There were windmills like this all over the Netherlands. So charming! This one happened to be located at the Keukenhof, definitely a tourist thing, but hey most of the people at the garden were probably tourists! No shame, right?

As an added bonus at the Keukenhof, you could buy fresh stroopwafel there! I had always bought cold, imported stroopwafel from Walmart, so having a warm, fresh, gooey caramel waffle was amazing. It's basically like heaven filled with a warm caramel filling. If you haven't tried a stroopwafel, you need to try one. Run down to your local Walmart cookie aisle and buy one...like right now...Warm the waffle up in the microwave for a few seconds and it's not too shabby, but not quite the same as the ones you can get at the Keukenhof.

I'm pretty sure you could spend several hours at the Keukenhof and still not see everything. This place is huge! If you ever get a chance to visit the Netherlands, make a stop at the Keukenhof. I promise you won't regret the trip. Your picture happy self will thank you.