Today was an amazing day to see some flowers in The Netherlands. We got to visit Royal Flora Holland, which holds some of the largest flower auctions in the world. They have the name “Royal” because they’ve kept amazing standards over many years. Their warehouse was huge, and can fit over 200 football fields. There were workers scattered throughout the warehouse and the flowers were transported on automatic carts. The whole system was very methodical and everyone was always busy. The efficiency of the company is what allows it to be so successful. It can keep up production 24/7 and has digital auctions for ease of access for their customers. The dedication from the growers also keeps members and customers coming back.

After seeing the ins and outs of Royal Flora Holland (and taking some pictures with their green screen), we headed out to spend some time in a small town before heading to De Tulperij farm. The town had tasty baked good and they were significantly cheaper than any sort of food I would find at a chain such as Starbucks. Once we arrived at De Tulperij, we got to go outside to see all of the flowers and learn about the tulip business. The farmer we talked to is specifically a bulb farmer, and he explained how a simply tulip bulb is turned into profit. For some flowers, he carves out the bottom of the bulb to produce even more bulbs and therefore more flowers. Since we talked to a bulb farmer, he explained that he usually cuts off the petals of the flower to focus all of the flower’s nutrients into creating a healthy bulb. However, he first examines the flower market, and if the tulip price is good, then he will sell the tulips at the sacrifice of a healthier bulb. This business takes a lot of dedication, since each flower must be examined to make sure that the sick ones are separated. The entire bloom of a new plot of flowers can take up to 20 years once the new mutation of flower is discovered. This means that if I go to buy a tulip or a bulb of a new color, I will be the end of a 20+ year process. It really is interesting when you can understand the amount of work and dedication that is put into a simple, pretty flower bouquet.

I finished off the day with a little bit of shopping and lunch at a burger spot with a few friends. The burgers here are definitely different than US burgers. I never would have thought to eat a burger will pancetta and truffle eggs, but it was delicious!