44 www.timeoutamsterdam.nl  May 2011

Around Tow

n

May 2011  www.timeoutamsterdam.nl 45

path (indicated on a street sign pole by one of the Van Dam small, round orange stickers that dot the path) that followed a pretty canal – and then the flowers started appearing. The landscape remained semi-industrial, with large farming constructions that were utterly forgettable. Not much to write home about yet. After riding along a busy highway, the route took us to the Oosterduinse Meer, a large lake surrounded by a park replete with families, children playing ball and the occasional necking couple. This was a good time to whip out the picnic, because the trip continued somewhat endlessly and it was difficult to stop for anything other than pictures – unless we took a detour through Noord-wijkerhout, a picturesque village that has a fair share of cafés and restaurants.

The detour was worth it; this is where we found the first vast expanses of colourful fields: rows of flowers in striking bold hues as far as we could see. The geometry was unnatural but added to the kaleidoscopic effect, only made stronger by the heady scent of hyacinths. What would be ridiculously ugly on a sweater, these stripes of contrasted

and mismatched colours were simply gorgeous in nature; the vivid green of the stems enhancing the myriad of reds, purples and yellows that bathed the landscape.

In the opposite direction (if you don’t go to Noordwijkerhout), the tour map, which offers several routes, gave us the option to either turn towards more fields or head straight for a few miles towards the seashore of Langevelderslag, where the flowers disappeared, but where we were left with breathtaking views along the sandy, undulating dunes. The bike paths were sur-rounded by high grass and wild shrubs, without landscaping or the apparent pres-ence of man – except for a few fellow cyclists. We stopped at the beachfront café to refuel with hot chocolate and bitterballen.

Energised by our stack of kaassten-gels, we backtracked to the fork in

the road and headed to the fields. This was where the real spectacle began: rows and rows of vibrant hues, from the bold pinks and purples of fragrant hyacinths to the blinding yellows of daffodils and, of course, multi-coloured tulips, some of which were so intricate, they almost seemed hand-painted. It was just kilometres of

incredible vistas making us want to strip naked, pop a Zyrtec and do cartwheels among the blooms.

A lot of the trip was spent on roads that are too wide, too busy and too far from the flowers to really get a feeling we were lost in a sea of colour. There are few side paths to stroll around and most

grounds are protected by polders or fences. But parts of the journey were a real treat: suddenly veering off the beaten track, leaving vehicles behind and making for sensational photo op-portunities. We crossed small hamlets

such as Tespelduyn and Ruigenhoek, where bags of bulbs and bouquets were left unattended by residents, accompanied by tin cans to deposit money. It’s a shame we spent all our change on those kaasstengels, be-cause even if our terrace can’t hold kilometres of flowers, it would’ve been nice to bring some of the Bulb District home.

Route ‘number three’ was flexible enough to fill a two-hour ride or a whole day exploration with an incredible variety of landscapes, seasoned by welcoming cafés, roman-tic canals, side-street bulb shops and multitudes of sightings of peacocks, blue herons, horses and sheep. That highly covetable Van Dam map, which was really a barely legible, hard to decipher photocopy, held the key to many treasures.

the Keukenhof to the meaty 40km route through the whole region, which includes a visit to the Black Tulip Museum in Lisse. According to Van Dam’s attendants, ‘route three’, which covers a respectable 20km along flower fields, through the dunes and all the way to the sea, is one of the prettiest and most varied.

The first couple of kilometres of the trip were a tad dull, with little more to see than road, trees and cars. After passing the railroad tracks, though, the route veered on to a small bicycle

village and along a lovely country road surrounded by flower fields, however invaded by the smell of exhaust fumes from the endless lines of cars. Luckily, right across the street from the Keuke-nhof, at the entrance of the parking lot and to the side of the tourist shops, there was a very helpful 12-year-old red-headed boy renting bikes (for €8.50 a day) and selling perfectly decent €1.50 tour maps for Rent-A-Bike van Dam (06 1208 9858/rent-a-bikevandam.nl).

Van Dam offered six different tour maps, from the appetiser 5km around

Before we headed out for a spring cycle among the infinite tulip fields that radiate in rainbow colours from the legendary Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, we did a bit of Internet research, repeatedly generating the same curi-ous tip: ‘The guy with the good maps is in the parking lot.’

When we got to the Keukenhof, though, the parking lot was like a family vacation horror movie: hordes of visitors zigzagging among throngs of cars whose drivers seemed to be suffering from road rage, being directed by park-ing attendants who didn’t speak English and directed us everywhere but towards the guy with the good maps.

We’d already biked the 4.5km from the Hillegom train station, through the

Bloomin’ marvellous

Around TownThis month’s hottest attractions, plus daytrips...

Tulip touring season lasts a maximum of two months each spring. Marie-Charlotte Pezé caught the beginning and guides us through the best routes so we can catch it before the end

Field of dreams: the Keukenhof’s floral expanse

This is where we found the first vast expanses of colourful fields: rows of flowers in striking bold hues as far as we could see

Hello petal: tulips as far as the eye can see Pony tales: birds, bees and horses galore

Buy and sell: pick up a posy en route

44 www.timeoutamsterdam.nl  May 2011

Around Tow

n

May 2011  www.timeoutamsterdam.nl 45

path (indicated on a street sign pole by one of the Van Dam small, round orange stickers that dot the path) that followed a pretty canal – and then the flowers started appearing. The landscape remained semi-industrial, with large farming constructions that were utterly forgettable. Not much to write home about yet. After riding along a busy highway, the route took us to the Oosterduinse Meer, a large lake surrounded by a park replete with families, children playing ball and the occasional necking couple. This was a good time to whip out the picnic, because the trip continued somewhat endlessly and it was difficult to stop for anything other than pictures – unless we took a detour through Noord-wijkerhout, a picturesque village that has a fair share of cafés and restaurants.

The detour was worth it; this is where we found the first vast expanses of colourful fields: rows of flowers in striking bold hues as far as we could see. The geometry was unnatural but added to the kaleidoscopic effect, only made stronger by the heady scent of hyacinths. What would be ridiculously ugly on a sweater, these stripes of contrasted

and mismatched colours were simply gorgeous in nature; the vivid green of the stems enhancing the myriad of reds, purples and yellows that bathed the landscape.

In the opposite direction (if you don’t go to Noordwijkerhout), the tour map, which offers several routes, gave us the option to either turn towards more fields or head straight for a few miles towards the seashore of Langevelderslag, where the flowers disappeared, but where we were left with breathtaking views along the sandy, undulating dunes. The bike paths were sur-rounded by high grass and wild shrubs, without landscaping or the apparent pres-ence of man – except for a few fellow cyclists. We stopped at the beachfront café to refuel with hot chocolate and bitterballen.

Energised by our stack of kaassten-gels, we backtracked to the fork in

the road and headed to the fields. This was where the real spectacle began: rows and rows of vibrant hues, from the bold pinks and purples of fragrant hyacinths to the blinding yellows of daffodils and, of course, multi-coloured tulips, some of which were so intricate, they almost seemed hand-painted. It was just kilometres of

incredible vistas making us want to strip naked, pop a Zyrtec and do cartwheels among the blooms.

A lot of the trip was spent on roads that are too wide, too busy and too far from the flowers to really get a feeling we were lost in a sea of colour. There are few side paths to stroll around and most

grounds are protected by polders or fences. But parts of the journey were a real treat: suddenly veering off the beaten track, leaving vehicles behind and making for sensational photo op-portunities. We crossed small hamlets

such as Tespelduyn and Ruigenhoek, where bags of bulbs and bouquets were left unattended by residents, accompanied by tin cans to deposit money. It’s a shame we spent all our change on those kaasstengels, be-cause even if our terrace can’t hold kilometres of flowers, it would’ve been nice to bring some of the Bulb District home.

Route ‘number three’ was flexible enough to fill a two-hour ride or a whole day exploration with an incredible variety of landscapes, seasoned by welcoming cafés, roman-tic canals, side-street bulb shops and multitudes of sightings of peacocks, blue herons, horses and sheep. That highly covetable Van Dam map, which was really a barely legible, hard to decipher photocopy, held the key to many treasures.

the Keukenhof to the meaty 40km route through the whole region, which includes a visit to the Black Tulip Museum in Lisse. According to Van Dam’s attendants, ‘route three’, which covers a respectable 20km along flower fields, through the dunes and all the way to the sea, is one of the prettiest and most varied.

The first couple of kilometres of the trip were a tad dull, with little more to see than road, trees and cars. After passing the railroad tracks, though, the route veered on to a small bicycle

village and along a lovely country road surrounded by flower fields, however invaded by the smell of exhaust fumes from the endless lines of cars. Luckily, right across the street from the Keuke-nhof, at the entrance of the parking lot and to the side of the tourist shops, there was a very helpful 12-year-old red-headed boy renting bikes (for €8.50 a day) and selling perfectly decent €1.50 tour maps for Rent-A-Bike van Dam (06 1208 9858/rent-a-bikevandam.nl).

Van Dam offered six different tour maps, from the appetiser 5km around

Before we headed out for a spring cycle among the infinite tulip fields that radiate in rainbow colours from the legendary Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, we did a bit of Internet research, repeatedly generating the same curi-ous tip: ‘The guy with the good maps is in the parking lot.’

When we got to the Keukenhof, though, the parking lot was like a family vacation horror movie: hordes of visitors zigzagging among throngs of cars whose drivers seemed to be suffering from road rage, being directed by park-ing attendants who didn’t speak English and directed us everywhere but towards the guy with the good maps.

We’d already biked the 4.5km from the Hillegom train station, through the

Bloomin’ marvellous

Around TownThis month’s hottest attractions, plus daytrips...

Tulip touring season lasts a maximum of two months each spring. Marie-Charlotte Pezé caught the beginning and guides us through the best routes so we can catch it before the end

Field of dreams: the Keukenhof’s floral expanse

This is where we found the first vast expanses of colourful fields: rows of flowers in striking bold hues as far as we could see

Hello petal: tulips as far as the eye can see Pony tales: birds, bees and horses galore

Buy and sell: pick up a posy en route