This was a big weekend for us! Not only was it the first time that we left Amsterdam in over seven months, but it was also our first trip with our friends Adam and Jeff. I also proposed this weekend to Stéphane – and he said yes! =)
Anyway, our main destination from Amsterdam was a little town called Noordwijkerhout, which sits just between the North Sea and Lisse, where the famed Keukenhof flower gardens are. We had been planning this trip for several weeks and were all looking forward to getting out of Amsterdam and on the road, if at least a little bit. There were still many lockdown measures in place, so we were very careful with everything. We figured the worst that could happen is that we drive to a little house in Noordwijkerhout and just stay there, eat, drink, and play games.
Luckily, there were TWO weekends that Keukenhof was doing a test event weekend for guests, where individuals who tested negative for COVID-19 could enter. While the weekend before was wet and hailing, the weekend we went was great weather – almost even warm! I got my first corona test with the long Q-tip stuck up my brain – ugh! But, thankfully, we all tested negative.
Keukenhof was really beautiful – very well manicured and just some stunning flowers on display. We strolled around for a couple of hours, taking lots of pictures and goofting around, before grabbing biertjes en frites on the the lawn near the windmill.
On the way back, we stopped in a very (very!) special tulip field. <3
The next day, we did some more biking around Noordwijkerhout, explored some more fields of tulips and hyacinths, and even went into Noordwijk and walked along het strand. I even went into the North Sea (with my feet). It really was the perfect weekend away and a great start to the rest of what this year will (hopefully) bring!
