After the gloomy winter months of a coronavirus confinement, a lot of hope arose in the spring when restrictions were relaxed in a Dutch flower garden and other public locations.
Under a government-approved pilot project, the world-famous Keukenhof garden opened its gates to allow a few thousand people to tiptoe through the 7 million tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and countless other flowers carefully hand-planted on the manicured lawns by a small army of gardeners.
A maximum of 5,000 visitors were allowed into the garden, nestled between the pancake bulb fields between Amsterdam and The Hague, if they could prove that they had just tested negative for COVID-19.
Minke Kleinen, who visited Arnhem city center with her friend Ilse van Egten, said it felt like their ‘first legal day out’. The friends took quick tests before taking off and received their negative results by email while driving.
Limited opening
“It feels strange that we can stand next to each other,” said Van Egten, while giving Kleinen a quick hug.
Keukenhof lost a whole season to the pandemic last year when the first deadly wave of infections spread across the Netherlands. Scheduled to open March 20 this year never happened due to the country’s strict virus lockdown.
The limited opening – six days spread over two weeks in April – is welcome for the 40 gardeners preparing for the annual spring season for months at a time. In a normal year, the garden, the size of 50 football fields, can accommodate 10 times as many visitors per day.
Park director Bart Siemerink had mixed feelings.
“Of course happy today. It’s the first day of Keukenhof 2021, ”he said, adding that the park still felt different with such a relatively small number of visitors.
“So it is a good feeling that we can open, but this is not Keukenhof as it should be,” he said.
In pre-pandemic years, Keukenhof’s paths, park benches and cafes are packed with visitors from all over the world taking photos and selfies with one of the Netherlands’ most iconic products: the tulip.
On Friday, small groups of visitors were scattered across the lawns. You could get a plate of poffertjes – a Dutch treat of tiny pancakes covered in powdered sugar – without waiting in a long line.
The Dutch government announced this week that hundreds of public locations would be allowed to reopen under strict conditions to evaluate whether rapid tests could safely help the country ease coronavirus restrictions amid increasing vaccinations and warmer weather.
Under the scheme, visitors to Keukenhof – as well as museums, zoos and other locations – have access if they order a ticket online and receive a negative virus test within 40 hours of their visit. All virus tests are free and a result will be emailed to the person being tested within an hour. That code, in turn, can be scanned for locations.
The tests are taking place against the backdrop of stubbornly high infections that have started lower in the past week after months of lockdown.
Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge sees the limited possibilities as a way to return to normal life, now that vaccinations are reaching more and more people.
Visiting Keukenhof felt like a privilege for those who entered.
“This is a gift,” says blogger Berry de Nijs. “It feels great today. The weather is beautiful anyway … but walking through the tulips is fantastic! “