Visitors back tiptoeing through the tulips at famous Dutch garden
Thousands of visitors have tiptoed through millions of tulips and other flowers in a famous Dutch spring garden as part of a government pilot scheme to evaluate how to reopen public venues.
The Keukenhof garden opened to let a few thousand people tiptoe through the seven million tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and myriad other flowers meticulously handplanted throughout its manicured lawns by a small army of gardeners.
A maximum of 5,000 visitors were allowed into the garden, amid the bulb fields between Amsterdam and The Hague, if they could show proof that they had just tested negative for Covid-19.
Minke Kleinen, who visited the central city of Arnhem with her friend Ilse van Egten, said it felt like their "first legal day out".
The friends took rapid tests before setting off and got their negative results by email as they drove.
"It feels strange that we can stand next to one another," said Ms Van Egten, giving Ms Kleinen a quick hug. "It's nice!"
The Keukenhof ’s scheduled March 20 opening this year never happened because of the country's strict virus lockdown.
The limited opening of six days spread over two weeks in April is welcome to the 40 gardeners who spend months preparing for the spring season.
In a normal year, the garden the size of 50 football fields can accommodate 10 times as many visitors each day.
Park director Bart Siemerink had mixed feelings. "Of course, happy today. It's the first day of Keukenhof 2021," he said, but added that the park still felt different with such a relatively small number of visitors.
"So it's a good feeling that we can open but this is not Keukenhof as it's supposed to be.”
In pre-pandemic years, Keukenhof 's paths, benches and cafes are crowded with visitors from around the world taking photos.
Yesterday, small groups of visitors were scattered around the lawns.
You could get a plate of poffertjes (tiny pancakes covered in icing sugar) without having to wait in a long queue.
The Dutch government announced this week that hundreds of public venues would be allowed to reopen under strict conditions to evaluate whether rapid testing can safely help the country ease coronavirus restrictions amid rising levels of vaccinations and warmer weather.
Under the scheme, visitors to the Keukenhof, as well as museums, zoos and other venues, are allowed in if they order a ticket online and get a negative virus test within 40 hours of their visit.
All virus tests are free and a result is emailed within an hour to the tested person. That code, in turn, can be scanned at venues.
The tests come against a backdrop of stubbornly high infections that have begun edging lower in the past week after months of lockdown.
Health minister Hugo de Jonge sees the limited openings as a way of easing back towards normal life.
Visiting the Keukenhof felt like a privilege for those who got in.
"This is a gift," said blogger Berry de Nijs.
"It feels great today. To walk through the tulips is fantastic."