Old Fart Expats » annual flower parade

The Flower Parade 2010 – if you missed it

CJ — Wed, 05 May 2010 09:02:13 +0000

Did you missed the Flower Parade?

Watch the compilation video of TV West. It does take 25 minutes and is spoken in Dutch. But don’t let that put you off. You can just turn the sound down or off, So press the arrow on the screen and go.

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Flowers and floats speak their own universal language – They are beautiful, interesting, the floral scent is in the air and it is overwhelming, the colours dramatic, the designs interesting with the theme of – “Travel through Europe” for this Bloemencorsodag – or the annual flower parade to Haarlem.

Come to the Netherlands or in Europe in April and May next year and be in Haarlem or on the route for the parade, and to view the floats, stay for Queens Day, be here for Remembrance Day on the 4th of May, in fact plan a holiday here – you will not be disappointed. Be here for Spring – it is the greatest time for the Keukenhof Gardens Spring season. Be brave – Just hire a bike and ride around.

Of course when I say you will have the greatest time in spring – You will; but it would not matter when you come – you will have a wonderful time.

You cannot be disappointed here in the Netherlands.

A little look in English for those who might think about Coming to Keukenhof

Flower Parade Slideshow from our photos on Flickr

CJ — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:39:59 +0000

Trip through Europe by flower parade

Big Band on Bikes in Haarlem

CJ — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:49:06 +0000

Big Band on Bikes in Haarlem – orchestra on Bikes doesn’t sound right somehow.

We had biked quietly to Hillegom in the late afternoon, and we watched the flower parade come through. We also had priviledged seats – seats that we had discovered when arrived in Hillegom – about 9.5 k’s from home in Haarlem. We had a great view, and to our seat, we had great service for food and wine which is really important when you are sitting for about 3 hours, first of all waiting, and then watching a fanatastical floral fantasy fleet flitter by. They drove by really, but there was enough floral aroma to keep the fleet floating by in the light late afternoon breeze.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO TELL YOU where these seats were but they were great and we want them next year. So there.

We watched the entire flower parade come through Hillegom and then we rode back to Haarlem, we had dinner at The Coach House Inn and waited for the parade to arrive there.

And it did.

The Big Band came by playing their instruments and they were riding their bikes.

This orchestra did not ride through Hillegom. It seems sensible that the bands and marching teams change on the journey as it is a long way to walk but we were stunned when the orchestra whizzed by on the bikes playing their instruments – WOW. And now we have the video of the band on bikes courstesy of Paul and Jenny from Australia.

Watch the wibbling wobbling drummer that caused us all to hold our breath briefly.

Photographed the Floral Floats in Hillegom but they didn’t all come to Haarlem

CJ — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:04:22 +0000

I wanted stationary photographs of the Viking Float – being a Viking, born in Denmark and because it was fantastic.

But you do not always get what you want – and probably all Dutch people know that the whole parade does not end up in Haarlem for viewing because it is just too big. It does mean of course that we will have to go back to Hillegom or somewhere else to see the floats next year. Maybe it will be necessary to go to the beginning of the parade. I wonder what we did not see last year.

Hope you enjoy what we did get. These photos may change as we consider the others we have. Do click on them to see them well.

Flower parade today – if you should need the brochure

CJ — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 09:18:40 +0000

Flower parade brochure – which has the route and some detail in English.

Bloemencorso – Flower Parade Floats will be on display Sunday 25th April

CJ — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:32:06 +0000

HAARLEM – Zondag 25 april staan de praalwagens van het Bloemencorso opgesteld op de Gedempte Oudegracht en de Nassaulaan.

On Sunday all the floats will be on display on de Gedempte Oudegracht to Nassaulaan. These are worth seeing even if you have seen the parade already, and even if flowers do not excite you that much these floats are amazing – the artistry, the arrangements, the colours, it is a fantastic event. Up close these floats are absolutely incredible – and it will be a fine day according to accuweather.

Guess who?

Saturday 24th April – the annual flower parade to Haarlem – Bloemencorsodag

CJ — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:09:18 +0000

Saturday – the Annual floral parade to Haarlem, from Noordwijk – so if you are in the Netherlands and close to Haarlem or anywhere on the route – check with your hotel concierge – because this a parade that should be missed.

The world, including New Zealand in flowers

The theme this year is “Journey through Europe”

This will be the 63rd year of this Floral parade. It is a 40km route from Noordwijk to Haarlem. It should arrive in Haarlem at around 9pm. This year the parade will also travel along the Keukenhof Parade Boulevard at around 4pm – so if you are there stay and watch. The parade will have about 20 floats, around 30 floral and fragrant luxury cars as well as bands and marching teams. All the floats and cars will be decorated with millions of flowers.

It was a great sight last year through the dreadful drizzle and rain. check the weather here – at time of writing this the weather forecast was fine – SO this year it will be an even better event.

I wonder if they also have a competition to count the flowers.

We took this photograph of the world in flowers on Saturday 17th April when we rode our bikes out to the Keukenhof Gardens. This is land art, don’t you think?

Haarlem the Flower City of the Netherlands

CJ — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:40:08 +0000

Please do not be upset if you are from the Netherlands as I fully appreciate that there are flowers everywhere here in the Netherlands. It is an enormous part of the culture and I applaud it. I love seeing people balancing huge bouquets and their shopping and their children on bicycles. (Well sometimes I don’t love that – but I am always impressed that it is done, just looks a bit scary to me). I am staggered by the number of florists, flower stands and then of course the wonderful miles and miles of rivers and ribbons of colour across the land as the flowers begin to bloom. I just love it.

But you cannot get away from Haarlem the Flower City.

We don’t read Dutch very well – so we were aware of the “flower parade” but hadn’t worked out when it would be, and we had been on holiday to Switzerland and meandered back through Germany and arrived home on the Flower Parade day. It was a wet and miserable Saturday April 25th. The parade began in Noordwijk at 9.30 and completed its 40k journey around 9pm in Haarlem. Of course we didn’t know any of that. We went for a walk to recover from a long train journey from Berlin and we saw flowers, tables & chairs & umbrellas out along the route all looking very wet and dismal. We asked at our StamCafe what it was about and were told the parade comes by here and stops. The procession would probably have about 20 large floats and lots of decorated cars, interspersed with marching bands and marching girls.

We sat outside the Coach House Inn as the rain seemed to have virtually halted and waited. Eventually a tired wet parade arrived – and there was not much to see because only a few floats went past us and then they stopped. The parade stops here. Well that is what he said and it did.

We did walk around and take a few photos and we promised a young Candian couple who were visiiting Haarlem for the parade, that we would take more in daylight and post the photos in this blog so they could see them – because the parade literally stopped there – right where we were.

And the party that should probably have occurred was rained out – it really was a fizzer.

But we can look forward to next year – this will happen again on Saturday April 24th and we will not be tired after a long train trip and it will not rain on our parade.