Magical Photos of Spring in the Netherlands

Albert Dros

As a full-time landscape photographer, I normally travel the world a lot. But because of COVID-19, last year I was obviously mainly at home in the Netherlands. We’re currently in spring again and more than 1 year has passed. But spring is a magical season, especially here in the Netherlands.

There is so much beauty to see (and to photograph): our tulip season, the lush greens everywhere, the cute animals, the windmills, and our beautiful forests, some covered with many flowers.

This collection of many images will hopefully transfer that spring feeling from me to you.

Please note that most of these images were taken on (very) early morning with great conditions. As a professional photographer, I love these conditions and will wake up for them every single time. Because yes, it’s the Netherlands. We’re not known for our ‘beautiful’ weather. Because you’ll also often have grey days with quite a lot of rain. But when you’re out there in the early morning and the first sunlight shows itself with a layer of fog covering the landscape, you forget all the previous rainy days.

Please enjoy this series of spring photos taken over two seasons of spring (2020-2021) in the Netherlands.

The Tulips

You’ll find lots of tulip fields around the country from April to May. They’re always beautiful to see (and to smell).

Sometimes you’ll find interesting flowers in between the tulip fields, like this Checkered Lily, which is very rare.
‘Different’ tulips will later be removed by the tulip growers. But I find them the most beautiful to
photograph.
The full moon above a red tulip field.
A goose spreading its wings on an extremely foggy and magical morning in the North East of the country.
A spectacular thunderstorm above a red tulip field. I had always wanted to take a shot like this and this year (2021) I finally succeeded.
Right after the bloom of the tulips you’ll find many poppies on the Dutch countryside. This one was photographed right aft sunset. You can see the (out of focus) sun in the background.

The Animals

Spring is the time when you will see all the animals playing outside, especially in the early mornings. Horses, cows, sheep, and many birds with their little chicks. The sounds of them in the early morning when they are the first to wake up always puts a smile on my face.

Young horses running and jumping with the first light of the day in the Betuwe area of the Netherlands.
Cows looking at me on an early spring sunrise with the landscape covered in fog. Notice how the cows have a similar pattern. They’re the same family!
A Swan spreading its wings on a dreamy morning.

Our Trees and Forests

In spring all our trees and forests start to explode with colors. Lush green forests, blossoming trees, rapeseed, wild garlic, or even forests full of wild hyacinths. It’s really worth it to get up early and spend a morning in the fresh air of the forest and soak up all the smells and wait for the first sunlight.

A blossoming tree surrounded by rapeseed.
In spring, forests and tree lanes turn to lush green. And when the first sun rays hit through, it’s simply magical.

Some forests have completely white floors full of white garlic. And yes, it really does smell like garlic, but I like it.
Some forest parts look like a jungle with all the greens. An interesting combination with the wild garlic forest floor.

And some of our forests have many rhododendron flowers. Theys start to bloom at the end of may. When they’re at their peak, the colour is beautiful and they smell extremely nice.
The early sunlight combined with the greens and bright red and pink colours, makes it look like a fairytale.

There are even some tiny forests full of wild hyacinth flowers.

Our Windmills

Do windmills look different in spring? Maybe not, but their surroundings in spring make them come to life. When they’re surrounded by spring flowers, green grass, and beautiful morning fog, they’re at their best.

And last but not least: One of my favorite places in the Netherlands: the famous house and Cheese factory at the ‘Zaanse Schans’ windmill park. That looks at its best during spring, with the beautiful greens and sometimes even a (rare) flower!

About the author: Albert Dros is an award-winning Dutch photographer. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. His work has been published by some of the world’s biggest media channels, including TIME, The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, and National Geographic. You can find more of his work on his website, or by following him on Facebook and Instagram. This article was also published here.

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