Around Leiden and bus to Keukenhof: no cycling and a plethora of flowers

April 20, 2012

WEATHER: cloudy and rainy morning, sunshine in the afternoon!

Today was our day to go to the celebrated bulb garden, Keukenhof, and we hoped fervently for sunshine for photos and tulip viewing! The garden is only open for two months, from mid-March to mid-May, and about 7,000,000 spring bulbs are planted each year. We didn't want to cycle there and have to worry our bikes while in the garden, so Eva had bought convenient combination bus/garden admission tickets online. The tickets were good for any day in the two-month opening period, and four city buses per hour left the central train station in Leiden for the 20 minute trip to Keukenhof. Tour buses flock to the garden every day, and we had read that it was best to get there as close to opening time as possible to avoid the crowds. We planned to catch a bus about 8:30 to be there at 9:00, which would have been quite a rush in the morning. Janeke (who had never been to Keukenhof) suggested that we go in the afternoon instead, and that turned out to be great advice.

She had left breakfast fixings in the B&B room fridge, and she picked up fresh whole grain bread for us in the morning, including whole wheat croissants, which were delicious. Rain was pattering down on the skylight so we didn't rush.

The centre of Leiden doesn't lack for canals and bridges.

After breakfast we walked through the attractive old centre to De Valk (the falcon) windmill museum, a carefully restored grain mill built in 1743, with seven floors, all open to the public. There used to be nineteen windmills on the city walls, and this is the only one left. We toured the miller's residence on the first floor and climbed all the staircases and ladders to the working floors of the mill, marvelling at the heavy loads of grain hauled up to the top floor using windpower, and the hard work involved in turning wheat into flour, before electricity was introduced. Except for one young Japanese fellow who zipped through the museum, we were the only people there.

Large millstones in De Valk, the windmill museum.

We went on to De Burcht, the ruins of an 11th century citadel, built on an artificial hill in the centre of town. It started out as a defensive structure, but lost its protective function as the city grew up around it. Now it's a park with a 360 degree view of Leiden. We had lunch at the cafe at the bottom of the hill, and while sitting at our table in the window, a wedding party suddenly appeared outside. The bride wore a long strapless white gown and high heels, and she headed up the stone stairs into the ruins, with attendants holding up her train and the groom and photographer following. The strapless dress must have been a tad chilly for the cool weather conditions, with dark clouds threatening rain at any moment. About ten minutes later along came another wedding party with the bride wearing an equally strapless long dress and up the stairs they went. We asked the waitress what was going on and she said bridal parties often take photos there either before or after the actual wedding, because it's the highest point of land around and has a view. Just after both groups had descended the stairs and walked off, the rain came down extremely hard. Good timing.

The square near the B&B just before the rain showers.

We left the restaurant with our umbrellas to head for the Keukenhof bus. On the way to the train station, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear. More and more blue sky showed as the bus made its way to the garden, and by the time we got there, it was completely sunny!!! We were absolutely delighted. There were loads of people just inside the entrance gate, and a large street organ (like we had seen at the museum in Utrecht) boomed out frenetic music. We walked quickly away to the less crowded and quieter areas of the garden, and then ambled about enjoying the displays of colours and patterns as well as the warm sunshine and no wind. We even sat on a bench outside and ate ice cream! We walked most of the 15 kilometres of paths in the 32 hectare (80 acre) garden, which seemed very well designed to absorb the crowds of visitors. We took hundreds of photos, and here are a few of them:

Kilometers of paths through spectacular gardens.

Not just tulips -- flower beds of all different sizes and shapes.

Even a windmill at the north end of the garden.

By 6:00, pleasantly sated with spring bulbs, we hopped on the bus for the ride back to Leiden. That evening we had a duck dinner at a little brasserie near the B&B, and felt well pleased with our serendipitous day.

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