A story of gnomes, secret doors and snowdrops

Today is a beautiful day. It's almost as if the world outside is holding its breath: could that be spring lurking? We've had a few beautiful days so far and the birds have begun marking their territory and I've already seen a few bushes that had the beginnings of leaves on them. So far it's been a lousy winter, but I'm not complaining: let's skip winter altogether and go straight on to spring. The snowdrops seem to agree with me:

A great opportunity to visit Paleis Soestdijk, the palace where queen Juliana of the Netherlands used to live. After the passing of Juliana the palace had no new destination, but after a few years the doors were opened and the public was welcomed inside for a glimpse of what royal life in the 20th century had looked like. I'd already done the guided tour twice before, but inside the palace is currently an exposition of the work of one of my favorite artists: Rien Poortvliet.

Not only did this man paint the most beautiful portraits of animals you've ever seen, but he was also very much into gnomes. So I guess the attraction is mutual! I found this little fella hiding in the corner of a painting:

And here's proof that I'm not the only gnome that has a special relationship with bunnies:

During the guided tour I also found a secret door in one of the walls. I'll happily admit I was soooooo tempted, but I was inside a palace, so I was probably expected to act a little bit more ladylike. Still curious as to where it led, though!