A Visit to Keukenhof Gardens: A Tulip Season Story from Amsterdam

I want to share the story of how I ended up at Keukenhof, a stunning garden just outside Amsterdam, because the way it all came together was so unexpected—and actually very magical.

Keukenhof Gardens is one of the most famous tulip gardens in the world and is only open for a few weeks each spring. Because of a work visit, I happened to be there at exactly the right time to see its magnificent blooms at their peak.

What This Experience Taught Me

I will go through all the steps in more detail, but here is a summary of the “universal lessons” I learned that afternoon as I moved through this experience of getting to the garden.

• Step in with all your attention and determine the full situation where you are at that exact place and time.
• Identify what you want to happen – whether it is a bigger goal or just next step
• When the self-doubt talk starts up, find a way to soothe it away.  This time, I used the phrase “What would it hurt to ask?”
• Stop and literally ask for help from people and your “unseen helpers”.  I do believe in angels and guides, and they can be the critical component in helping you get to where you want to go.  Your asking can either be out loud or in your mind.  They will hear you either way. 
• Listen to your intuition, and follow the advice you are given if it feels right.
• We know to say "Thank you" to people, but also, DEFINITELY say “Thank you” to your unseen helpers for their gracious and humbling assistance.

Here is the story that led to the above awareness.

Being in Amsterdam During Tulip Season

In April of 2009, I was in Amsterdam for work. One of the guys at the office suggested I visit a garden called Keukenhof (which literally means “Kitchen Garden”), created to showcase Holland’s tulips.

It is open from mid-March to mid-May—and I was there during its peak bloom time.

Everyone kept telling me it is truly something to see, and I was super excited to check it out given the timing of my visit and the fact that the weather looked good!

The plan was to go with a group from the office on Thursday afternoon. It’s about 30 minutes outside Amsterdam and takes a bit of coordination—a train to the airport, then a bus to the gardens, etc.

But as the afternoon unfolded, everyone got busy, so if I was going to do this, I was on my own.

I decided that I would still like to go, but I kept it kind of loose in my mind.  I didn’t have my “heart set on it”, but I thought it would be a really nice thing to do if it worked out.  And since I was leaving that next morning, this Thursday afternoon was really my last opportunity to get there.

A Late Start and a Small Window

Before I left, I checked out the website and printed out relevant transportation information.  Office folks gave me all kinds of advice about how to get there.

At 4:45 pm, I left the office.   The last ticket for the garden is sold at 6:00 pm.

So… not ideal timing.

Because I had the late start, I was hesitant to buy my ticket online. 

What if I didn’t make it?

That was the beginning of the quiet self-doubt.

Still, I thought… it would be a total bummer not to at least try.

Getting from the office to the Schiphol Airport

It was a short walk from the office to the transportation area where I could get a ride to the airport—but even on that walk, I considered turning back.

But I again felt it would be worse to walk back in that office without having at least tried. 

In the transportation area, there are both trains and trams.

I wasn’t even sure whether I needed a tram or a train to get to the airport. I started at the wrong booth first (the tram desk), but was then redirected to the train.

Eventually, I found the train, bought a ticket, and just as I reached the platform—a train to the airport arrived.

Yeah!

Tickets, Lines, and a Small Shift in Plan

Now at the airport, I knew I could buy a combined bus and garden ticket from a place called the “VV.”

At this point, I was giving myself big pats on the back for actually printing out the details before I left the office because had I not, it would have been more tricky.  At least I had something to aim for – let alone the fact that I was smack in the middle of a large European city airport. 

When I found the VV however, it had  a major line – turns out in addition to getting bus and garden tickets (a minor service), this center will also help you find accommodations in the city, provide other excursion info and generally is a central place for people to go when they first arrive in the city. 

I stood in line for a few minutes thinking to myself, “I am NEVER going to make it if I plan on staying in this line”.  

So my next brain spark was “hey, maybe I can buy my bus ticket separately and just get a ticket at the garden when I get there”.  Yeah, “ great idea” but then I asked how am I going to figure that out?  

So it turns out to the left of the VV was a more general information center.  Now before I walked over there, I again got a nudge from my overworking brain to say, “No, you can’t do that, it wasn’t your original plan”, but I overrode it and thought well, “what would it hurt to ask?”. 

So again, Luckily, no one was in line at this booth, and I was able to ask a woman about my plan.  She said “of course you can do that!”.  Just buy your ticket “behind me”, and then find your bus 58 on platform 3 (or something to that effect).

OK!  So I very excitedly say “Thank you” (…wishing I knew a bit of Dutch at this point) and hurry off to buy a bus ticket.

A Bookstore, a Question, and an Answer

What does “right behind me” mean?

So I go “behind” the information booth and all there is a bookstore and then beyond that is a bunch of kiosks.  I am thinking, well “that’s a bookstore”, that’s not going to work.  I was looking for some sort of ticket agent.  …and the only thing the kiosks were selling were train tickets – not bus tickets. 

So there I am standing in the middle of all this commuter “foot traffic”, trying to figure out where to buy a bus ticket!!?? 

After a few minutes of literally walking in circles and then just standing in bewilderment, my not helpful brain starts kicking in full force.   I am also at this point staring straight at a huge clock displaying a time which was strongly suggesting that there was no way I was going to make it to the garden by 6. 

At that point, I seriously was going to bail, but again I was thinking…shoot, well how would I even get back to the hotel at this point.  So again with the alternative not being entirely attractive/easy, I decide to retrace my steps back to the information booth. 

I then “carefully” looked behind the booth and again all I see is the bookstore, so at this point I walk in. 

My brain is again telling me “you can’t buy a ticket here”, but I again think “well, what does it hurt to ask?”. 

So I get in the line closest to where I walked in, and there is one person in front of me.  Now as I am standing in that line, I realize there is another line in this bookstore with a VERY LONG length of people waiting to buy things. 

And I am thinking, shoot, I wonder if I am in the wrong line... why is this line so short?  

In any event, I didn’t have long to ponder because my turn was up.  So I bravely ask the woman in English if I can buy a bus ticket here, and she say “Of course you can!” 

Hmmm.  Who knew you could buy a bus ticket at bookstore!  So she sells me my ticket and I am off to find that bus.

Finding the Right Bus—Just in Time

Now where do I find platform 3?

I find signs directing me to the bus platform.  I walk outside and stand by another sign which says Platform 3.  …and then I notice, there are no buses where I am. 

So again at this point I start to get nervous.  But at least the nervousness didn’t seem to leave any room for my brain, because I didn’t hear a peep out of its negative messages.

I ask some folks nearby if they might know where the buses actually stop however they did not know. 

So then for some reason I had the inclination to look to my left.  When I looked to my left, right then a bus about 40 yards ahead pulled away and behind that bus was MY bus with a #58 – Keukenhof Garden sign across the top.  Yeah!! 

So at that point, I cross a street and start sprinting down to my bus.  I am sure I looked very awkward waving my hands to make the driver notice just in case he felt like leaving without me. 

So at this point I enter the bus.  Yay! 

The driver very calmly asked me if I was heading to the garden.  When I said yes, he said “Good!  I have been waiting for you (he said with a smile because he could not have “known” I was coming), please sit down and we will go now.”  

…and with that we left.  Phew!

Time to take a breath

At this point it is me and 5 business men on their way to see the garden.  It is now 5:30pm.  The ride is approximately 25 minutes so really, had I not made that bus, this visit wasn’t going to happen. 

I feel very blessed at this point.  So I decided to just sit back, enjoy the ride, and not worry that we were probably going to be driving in the middle of commuter traffic.   

My favorite photograph taken from the bus ride was of an older well-dressed woman in a skirt and jacket riding her bicycle between our bus and these huge monochromatic fields of flowers.

Walking Through Keukenhof Gardens at Sunset

We arrived just before 6:00 pm.  There were still people there, and the evening light was absolutely beautiful.

The ticket booths said “Group Tours,” which gave me pause — well I certainly was not a group and it was like 5 minutes to 6 pm.  So at this point I start to panic again.   But at this point there was NO WAY I was not getting into the garden after having come this far. 

So I “again” go into the nearest information area and find someone who could help me. A woman there quickly admits that the signs on the ticket booths are very confusing, but yes, I could indeed buy a single ticket there.  So I buy my ticket and walk in.

Yeah!

Deciding where to walk

The garden is a very beautiful place, and I am so glad I got to visit it.  Since it was the end of the day, there were very few people in the garden which made the experience with the flowers more personal I think. 

I do remember consciously activating a technique for using the intuitive part of my brain and asking "where should I go in this garden".  I did come to some areas and take some pictures which I now really enjoy.  It was very fun to just “follow the energy”.  I did feel the impulses to explore stronger in some places and less in others.

Finding that New York City was that Year's Garden Theme

Another joyful irony is that the "theme" for this particular year's garden was New York City.

I lived in New York City for 3 years in my late 20s and it is absolutely one of my favorite cities ever.  

To see how they interpreted things like the Hudson River using Grape Hyacinths was so much fun...

... as well as running across the NY Yankees logo in progress.

The Lighting was Perfect

The other amazing part was, because of the time of day, the lighting was absolutely perfect.  The warm setting sunlight led to many, many beautiful moments that I was able to capture with my camera as well as in my head.

It was all truly magical!

A Small Moment on the Way Back

After my visit, on the bus ride back to the airport, I sat next to a lovely Dutch woman and we talked about our adventures. 

When we finally got up to leave, a single U.S. penny dropped from my wallet onto my lap – and at that point I knew I had spirits smiling and helping with me on this adventure. 

I always think of my grandfather when I see the pennies, and it gave me a wonderful feeling.

So What Did I Learn…

So now I am trying to figure out the lessons from this adventure, for it was a lot packed into a few hours and seems quite significant for me.

It was most amazing to me how at each critical departure point, the timing was absolutely perfect.  Those things were just waiting for me – even though I did need some time to get some information (or even go to the wrong information booth, etc.), and even some time to waffle on what I should do, it still worked out OK.  I think because I wholeheartedly followed through at each step.  I did have a sense of curiosity and willingness to try which I think was honored.  In this circumstance, that was the lesson – just give it a try and follow through.   Things will work out just fine – even if the path there wasn’t perfect.

Things will also work out fine If you just take each step – one at a time.  During this whole process of getting to the garden, I did have the ultimate goal in mind, but I was definitely focused on what I needed to do at that moment for the step in front of me at that time.   I think that was key for me in this process.  I wasn’t stressing about all the future, subsequent steps, just the one right in front of me.  I think that helped a lot.

One way to keep the unhelpful part of my brain at bay was to ask myself aloud in my head “what would it hurt to ask?”  or “what would it hurt to try?”  I guess it also helped to be in a situation where the alternative action was not so attractive itself.  Have to think more on that one, because my tendency is to take risks but always have a strong backup plan…but maybe that’s not always a great thing.  May have to look at this risk thing in stages.

I also honored the ideas as they came in.  like…maybe I could buy the tickets separately.    Even that wasn’t part of my original plan, that deviation made sense to me.  Taking a tram instead of the train to the airport, did not make sense to me.  So getting a sense / consciously checking in to see when it is OK to deviate, and when you want to keep to your plan is important.

I do remember asking myself out loud (or at least in my head) when I did have something I needed to figure out.  Like where am I going to find this bus?  Or where can I buy this ticket?  I think this may be an important way to solicit help – to literally ask a question, and then expect an answer.  But then you have to follow through on the answer – whether it is to look in a particular direction, or follow through on the notion of “maybe I can ask this person”.

People will be there to help you when you need it.  I recently read that somewhere about when you get ready to face your fears.  As you make steps to overcome them, the universe will help and support you.  You aren’t there by yourself.  Again, it is the willingness to recognize and use the help.

Time can be a motivator – like I need to figure this out now, but it doesn’t have to stifle you.  During the journey, just because someone said I was going to miss a particular train didn’t mean that I was actually going to miss the train.  It wasn’t true – even though all sense of logic would lead you to that conclusion.  So don’t give up until you absolutely can’t take the next step – or figure out how to go around it.

It was amazing how your senses are sharpened when you are focused. 

Things don’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable.  At the end of the day, I thought I should catch the earlier bus so I would have had about another 10 minutes to look in the gift shop.  I was attracted to the gift shop, but instead I went to the bus line.  Well it turns out I never would have made that earlier bus and ended up waiting extra time to catch that last bus.  So I really would have had some time in the gift shop.  But in the end, I ended up sitting next to a lovely woman on the ride home, so who knows if that would have happened or not. 

Thank you for hanging in there...

If you have made this far - or even skipped to the end - thank you for sharing this with me.  I just felt like I had to write it down.

Big Hugs, Gina