Tulip time

Some especially welcome harbingers of Spring are colorful tulips.  While most people I know generally associate tulips with Holland, tulips actually were first cultivated commercially in Iran and Turkey during the days of the Ottoman Empire and were only introduced into Western Europe in the mid-16th century.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in Switzerland do not have to travel to Holland to see beautiful tulips.  For one thing, the welcome blooms first begin appearing in local flower shops in January.  One can buy whole bouquets of them for a reasonable price.  Their lively and colorful blossoms are a much-appreciated antidote to the lengthy gloom of winter days.  But more than that, we actually have a Tulip Festival in the nearby city of Morges.  The annual festival begins early in April and continues until mid-May.  Here is a shot of the Grande Rue, a pedestrian walkway in Morges where only authorized service vehicles may travel, festooned with banners advertising the festival.

Morges is on the outskirts of Lausanne and is about a 25-minute drive from here.  It has several museums.  This one may resemble a castle, but is actually the Military Museum located near the port.

Nearby is Independence Park where, once the tulips begin blooming in earnest, crowds will gather and musicians and vendors will be found everywhere.  So far, a few brave tulips have bloomed, but most are still keeping their leaves tightly gathered around their blossoms for warmth.  We need a few more warm and sunny days like today to turn this ...

into this.

In the meantime, what flowers there were attracted attention from budding artists.

Others provided colorful borders to canals even though the ducks passing through seemed oblivious.

And it was a lovely way to pass a lovely afternoon.