Great tulip expectations

The main reason for my day trip to Keukenhof was to photograph the surrounding bulb fields. I had seen photos like this and wanted the opportunity to capture my own.

 

When my friend and I arrived, we went straight to the bike rentals just outside the entrance. The staff told us all of the fields had just been cut within the past few days.

I missed it by a few days?! That can’t be!

 

We took the bikes out anyways, mainly because I needed to be away from the crowd inside Keukenhof for a while to process this disappointment.

Yes, I expected to get some beautiful photos of the colorful bulb fields. Yes, it was disappointing to know I would not be able to do that. But I reminded myself that capturing a specific photo was not the only thing that would make this a great day.

The whole day turned out to be an unexpected adventure.

The bike ride was wonderful, and I did get some great photos that show a different perspective of the bulb fields.

 

And it made coming across this so much more exciting.

 

Perhaps a few hours later I wouldn’t have seen this at all.

The second part of the day I got to experience a huge local celebration.

The Flower Parade was the reason for the excessive crowds at Keukenhof that day. Hundreds of thousands of people gather every year to watch The Flower Parade wind through the bulb region 42 km from Noordwijk to Haarlem passing right in front of Keukenhof.

I expected it to be interesting, maybe a little quirky, but I generally shy away from events with large immobile crowds.

 

Tulip women on stilts!

A traditional Dutch band wearing wooden shoes!

How could I have possibly known there would be such awesomeness?

 

The theme of The Flower Parade this year was Energy.

The Dutch know how to make a float.

 

There is something special about experiencing a local festival in another country. On the surface, a flower parade doesn’t seem like a big deal. But seeing so many locals gather for the occasion and the amount of effort and time put into this event gets me a little closer to understanding a part of their culture.

After the parade, I expected to wait in line for hours to get a bus back Amsterdam. This photo does not even capture 1/4 of the line.  But it had been a good day, and it was still early. I could find the patience.

We finally got to the winding part of the line. Probably another 30 minutes.  And then out of nowhere, a man came over and removed the rope and motioned for us to jump on the already full bus.  I have no idea why he picked us. Maybe we just look like two people who don’t mind standing at the front of a bus if it means we get home faster.

Not having a seat meant I had a front row view on a beautiful drive.

 This day trip to the bulb region did not exactly meet my expectations.

It turned out better than anything I could have expected.