Out of the big city, into the tulips

Trip Start Apr 08, 2007
1
21
144
Trip End Oct 01, 2007


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Netherlands  ,
Friday, April 27, 2007

For a change from A'dam today, Mayu and I got up early to hop a train out to neighboring Haarlem. At only about 15 minutes away by train, it's practically like a suburb of the capital, but in fact there's even a wee bit of countryside in between. The outskirts are bland and fairly industrialized, but Haarlem itself is very charming. Architecturally it's not a tremendous departure from Amsterdam - largely dark brick with arched or gabled facades. The difference is the slower pace of life, the cleaner streets and the much smaller crowds. Mayu's first impression was that it was much more in line with how she envisioned the Netherlands.

We spent a good few hours exploring the town today, catching lunch at a deli somewhere in between. The map provided by the tourist office (for €2, that is, so it wasn't all that generous) pointed out several historic courtyards worth visiting across the town Canal scene in Haarlem
Canal scene in Haarlem
 . Oddly enough, we only found two open out of some seven or eight we tried to visit. It was nice being able to visit a windmill though, classic visions of Holland and all.

For the afternoon then, we caught a bus southwards to Lisse upon finishing our walking tour. On the outskirts of this rather unexceptional town is one of the Netherlands most acclaimed sightseeing spots: the exquisitely-kept gardens of Keukenhof. Anybody wanting to see Dutch tulips in all their glory knows to head straight here. The park was only abuot ten minutes walk from the bus stop, so all in all it was a quick trip down. Most other visitors come by tour bus, car or even bike though, and it was fairly swarming when we arrived. Loads of French tourists for some reason (perhaps they have vacation time now?). Even so, the teeming crowds didn't detract from the beauty of the place in the slightest.

With such a warm spring this year and a practically non-existent winter, the surrounding area is unfortunately already past its prime. Part of the attraction of Keukenhof is the countryside all around it, which normally would be covered in tulips as far as the eye can see at this time. Since temperatures have been so high though, probably 90% of the flowers have already been clipped. So that was kind of a bummer to see, although we were able to get some idea since a few fields still had flowers A famed Haarlem hof (enclosed garden)
A famed Haarlem hof (enclosed garden)
 . The garden itself is probably also a little beyond the best time as well - quite a few flowers were starting to wither - but fortunately they seem to be well cared for and refreshed regularly. I can't think of when I've ever seen so many varieties of tulips, hyacinths, azaleas and other flowers. In actuality, it borders on sensory overload at times; after walking through the vast garden, it began to get confusing which sections we'd seen and which we hadn't.

It's been a nice change from Amsterdam though, which for me was already getting a little long in the tooth. At least this way we get to see a little more of the Netherlands than the overblown capital - something not many people do. It'd be nice to look around a little more - Rotterdam, den Haag, Utrecht or someplace else - but it's time to move on again. From tomorrow we're starting a long haul trek down to Madrid via Brussels and Paris. Can't say we aren't staying busy!
Slideshow Print this entry Haarlem hotels