Tulips Tulips Tulips

Today is my last day of vacation.

I spent the morning at Keukenhof, one of the largest gardens in the world with over 7 million bulbs, only open for a month and a half. This equates to a tourist trap nightmare, but I’m glad I saw it. I took some hilarious photos of thousands of people looking silly with selfie sticks and pushing their way past each other to get the best pics. I also took a video of my surroundings to show the massive crowds and accidentally caught a guy picking his nose amidst a see of selfie-takers.

I mean, I took selfies too.

Now, what is really worth it...renting a bike from Rent-a-Bike van Dam across the street for €10 and following the easily marked paths to view the flower fields. It is magic. Sure, still plenty of people, but no bus tours and less dummies. I enjoyed riding through the wind and some of the most picturesque painted fields I’ve ever seen. There were countless fields like this one that invited you to pull over and take a photo - very carefully, so as not to harm the perfect flowers.

I’ve gotten decent at the tiny tripod and remote selfie. This isn’t the perfect picture, but I’m proud to accomplish my own photos almost as much as I am proud to travel on my own. I always learn a lot about myself when I spend even a few days mostly disconnected. Surely there are things I missed out on at home, and the thought of opening my work email on Tuesday is already causing me anxiety, but I wouldn’t trade anything for these opportunities.

Okay, sappy post done. I haven’t seen the Red Light district yet, so I’ma go check dat out.