I had the opportunity to explore South Holland with 2 friends last easter holidays on April 23rd. From Amsterdam I caught a train down to Rotterdam and stayed in a friend’s dormitory in Erasmus University.
The next day, we took a train from Rotterdam central station to Leiden, then got on a bus to Lisse, where the Keukenhof garden, also called Garden of Europe, is situated.
In this area of South Holland, flowers bloom exquisitely thanks to its perfect sandy soil and ideal climate. It is home to the biggest flower industry in the world which makes the Netherlands the number one flower exporter.
The Keukenhof garden itself exhibits an approximately 7 million flower buds in a year. The garden is open to visitors in spring every year from late March to mid-May. It is one of the most visited garden. There are claims that this particular garden is the most photographed attraction in the world!
Who can resist photographing these beauties anyway?
This beauty is named after the great painter Vincent van Goh.
Another beauty up close.
The fields of flowers appear like a rich colorful carpet on a vast floor. I wish I could see this from the air!
And I wish I have a wide-enough vocabulary to describe all these shades of colors.
This is a uniquely patterned rose. Almost looked like a dragon fruit. 
At the end of the day, S, G and I were very tired and have sore feet from hours and hours of walking around the garden. We then headed to a final stop in Den Haag beach for a more relaxed time.
On the beach, the wind was chilly and the water ice-cold! Although it was a bit cold, we sat on the sand and chatted away while waiting to set the sun. It was a golden afternoon until the sunset at around 20:25.
With the setting sun as a backdrop, we played volleyball and had some fun on the beach with the children!
Although I started alone (but not lonely), it was great to have some friends and friendly strangers alike for a company even just on the last days of my trip.
It was a blast of a holiday! And it was the perfect catalyst to get me going through a tough work back on the bench. Right now, I have to finish all those experiments quickly piling up. But not for so long…..
Because the next trip is coming soon just in time for a birthday!
Read Full Post »
Captured 