Haarlem Flowerfest and Keukenhof

Caroline and I went to Amsterdam to the Stedelijk Museum to see the modern stuff – enjoyed v much and recognised some of the Lichtensteins and neon pop art that I had seen in the early 70s.

After that we went to see a movie - Witness for the Prosecution, an old b/w Billy Wilder favourite. Caroline hadn't seen it before and, like everyone who sees it for the first time, she was taken in by Marlene Dietrich's "Ducky!" act. We had a good laugh.

When we got back to Haarlem on the bus in the evening, we couldn't alight at our usual stop near our house b/c the Bloemen Corso had come to town: the parade of floats for the next day's flower festival. They had blocked off some streets, including the bus route, so we had quite a long walk. It was v cold but luckily hadn't started to rain yet. We had difficulty crossing the main road to get to our own street, because the crowds were lining the sidewalks to see the floats. We finally dodged across between two floats and fought our way through.

Sun 27^th

The whole town is holding Bloemenfees (or Flower Festival.) The floats are parked all along the main street, as are various private cars all decorated with flowers. Also a police car, an ambulance and a fire truck – everyone gets in on the act. The floats are very well done – everything is one solid mass of flowers.

The stalls selling pancakes and waffles and coffee are doing good business. The streets are full of people and lots of kids: running about, being carried on shoulders and pushed in prams and strollers. It is v cold although sunny. We have our coats and gloves on, Caroline in her winter beanie and I in a headscarf like the Queen. (Or an Arab: luckily the Dutch are not trigger-happy … you wouldn't want to wear your headscarf in Chicago; better freeze to death than be shot for a terro and wheeled into the ER by paramedics yelling numbers.)

Friday 2 May 2003

Keukenhof

Flying back to Australia tomorrow … today we went to see the flowers at Keukenhof, the 32 hectare spring garden near the little town of Lisse. We caught the train to Leiden, and then the bus to Lisse: the whole journey took about an hour – it is a very small country!

Keukenhof is just an enormous park … there are formal gardens, and then again large swathes of tulips, amaryllis, freesias and hyacinths set against green lawns. Not to mention all those whose names I don't know.

Little bridges over canals, paths through woodland areas where the carpet of colour stretches away under ancient trees … Everybody wanders about with the same goofy smile and you don't have to understand the myriad languages of the visitors to know what they are saying. "How beautiful!" and "Say cheese!" would be my tip for the top two phrases. (Or "dit fromage!", as the case may be)

Strangers hand you their cameras so you can snap them posing among the tulips with their mates. At the best spots, you have to line up while the folks who got there first pose.

You will be well advised to take your own refreshments – the vendors really know how to fleece you, probably because they have cornered the market – if you don't buy from them, you can travel to Leiden. The Souvenir Shop may as well call itself The Fleecery too – I have seen a few Fleeceries in my day and know what to expect, but this lot will make your eyes water. Never mind, we had our own sarnies and we took our own snaps. (Some of which I'll post on a web page in due course – watch this space)

So that was really that, and the next day it was off to Schipol and Melbourne via Singapore. Sadly, the airline decided I am not so much a vegetarian as a vegan, and all the way they served me vile meals consisting of tofu and rocket leaves, while my neighbours had delectable dishes that smelt divine. When my fellow passengers had ice cream, I got a slab of some stuff that looked like Pears Soap and tasted like seaweed. When they got cheese and biscuits, I had the dry biscuits only. No dairy products for us Vegans! You live and learn - this is the last time I'll ask for the vegetarian meals on an aeroplane.

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