On Saturday, April 17 we drove with Nana and Papa toward Amsterdam in Holland to enjoy the glorious colors, shapes and fragrances of the Dutch flowering bulbs. Keukenhof was once the royal hunting grounds and kitchen garden of Jacoba van Beieren, Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainut. And, the Netherlands has a long tulip history. The tulip bulb was actually discovered in the 17th century. Many merchants made money trading the bulbs.
On Saturday we left Brussels shortly after breakfast and arrived at Keukenhof in mid-morning. It was truly a feast for all of our senses! We strolled through several of the gardens and admired the tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils in bloom. We climbed to the top of the windmill built in 1892 to regulate the water levels in the polder. We gazed out over acres upon acres of bulbs. After climbing down from the windmill, we listened to a troop of Hungarian singers and dancers in the square.
After lunch a Dutch shoemaker, Nicole, made wooden shoes for Elisabeth and Kate. The girls picked their own designs of daisies and tulips. Nicole is the only female shoemaker in Europe. She was an impressive artist. I even had a pair of wooden shoes made for me! We'll put the shoes out for St. Nicholas in December next year.
Every year there is a different theme at Keukenhof. This year the theme at Keukenhof is "From Russia with Love". Elisabeth and Kate discovered matryoshka dolls, a mosaic of St. Basil's Cathedral, as well as the Russian ballet in the gardens. They also discovered a gardening shed from a Russian fairy tale.
Keukenhof was impressive, not only for its lovely flowers, but also for its sculpture and exhibits throughout the garden. Elisabeth and Kate liked the lily pad sculptures in a pond. We walked out into the pond on the lily pads. Kate thought she was walking on water!
Elisabeth and Kate played at the adventure playground, inside Native American tee pees, tree houses, zip lines and tunnels in Keukenhof. There was something fun for the girls around every corner! Somehow we missed the petting zoo and the animals!
My Mom enjoyed Peter's Patio Garden. Outside was a vegetable plot and inside was a display of homemade preserves built into one of the garden walls.
I'm not sure if we have time to go back to Keukenhof for the special summer flowers and the chrysanthemums. Perhaps in June. It was truly the greatest flower show I have ever seen.
