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Hello and welcome back to Oosterdam Day 4! Today was tulip today—a day I’m sure many of us were looking forward to. We departed for Asmeer, a tulip warehouse bright and early at 6:20 AM. Most of my time was spent staring out the window at the passing scenery, watching the trees go by as the world slowly came to life. The hostel packed us breakfast (which was very nice of them) and so the air filled with the aroma of citrus and followed us all the way to the warehouse. 

At first, I admit, I was a little underwhelmed when I entered the warehouse. Nothing made sense to me yet, as I didn’t understand the cultural value of the flower export, or how the flower auctions worked, or why bidders were so keen on purchasing them. Back at home I can buy a packet of tulip bulbs at Pettiti for a dollar or two, and though they likely won’t be as fragrant or as beautiful at the ones sold here, it still didn’t make sense to me that a flower, an inherently transient embellishment, would fetch such a high price. But my perspective changed radically throughout the tour. For one, the workers are incredibly efficient with what they do. The factory is a well oiled machine. I don’t know if that’s true of every warehouse, but I must say it was incredibly mesmerizing to watch the workers zoom around in their little carts, carrying boxes upon boxes of colorful tulips atop sprawling metal racks. Apparently to drive from one end of the factory to the other would take 45 minutes, I heard? Which makes it all the more impressive that these workers were making quick work delivering the tulips to their intended destinations. The transport vehicles were fairly reminiscent of the bikes used so commonly here in the Netherlands. I wonder if that’s why the employees were so confident and comfortable: because the task they’re meant to do is something they already encounter frequently in their daily life. 

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From my understanding, the warehouse was comprised of 100 separate tulip “sections”, and each section would house 70-80 tulip racks, stocked with boxes upon boxes of tulips. Select sections would go on auction at certain times; bidding would begin at 6:00 AM and last for around 90 minutes. So not only was the warehouse used for storage, transport, and processing, but it was also used for both in-person and remote auctions. They were also conducting research there, which was very cool. 

Probably the most fascinating thing I learned today was the concept of the Dutch auction (Dutch word of the day is klokuitleg, meaning auction clock), which bids not up, but down. The auctioneer sets a ceiling and then the price goes down and down until a bidder claims the product. The idea is that by claiming the item first you guarantee your chance of receiving the item, but you end up paying a higher price as a result. By waiting for the price to go down you risk losing the flowers to other bidders. It’s a foreign concept but it’s so incredibly interesting. In the States we’re used to a starting bid that compounds over time until the product is sold. The competitiveness between bidders often skyrockets the item’s price beyond its estimated value. By setting a ceiling, you can only work your way down from your initial price. So overall profits are somewhat barred because of this principle. That being said, the flower auctions here are incredibly efficient and entire bushels of tulips can go in the blink of an eye. Purchases usually happen in less than a second or two, so you can only begin to imagine just how many tulips are sold every auction. I know I said I wasn’t very interested walking into Asmeer, but I was the last one out. It was a lovely experience.

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We had some time to kill after the tulip factory, so we stopped in a nearby town to walk around and have some snacks before visiting the tulip farm. By now it was around 9:15 AM, which was insane to me—the day hadn’t even started really, and I’d already toured a massive facility. I walked around with my friend Olivia and bought a few snacks before hitting the waterfront and heading back. Next stop, the tulip farm, which was what everyone had been waiting for. Lots of us slept on the bus ride there, because we were all quite frankly, exhausted. After touring the souvenir shop we were invited out into the tulip fields to take pictures and learn how the flowers were cultivated. Only then did I realize just how labor intensive horticulture can be for flora farmers. The farmer responsible for giving the tour seemed to be familiar with the picture-taking, flower-frolicking culture of our more social girls, of which he dubbed “Instagram girls”. That was pretty amusing. But he soon dived into a fascinating (I realize I use this word a lot, but what else can I say? This country is really cool.) explanation detailing the complex process of breeding, planting, and cultivating new flowers and bringing them to market. New species are rare, and take anywhere from a few years up to a decade before they’re able to be sold commercially depending on the market. Growers have to keep a careful eye on their flowers to make sure they’re all healthy and thriving. Mechanisms like selective breeding, crop irrigation, and field rotation are all taken into consideration when cultivating any crop. It’s just a lot of trial and error, which can be difficult when the fruits of your labor only come around once a year. The tulip fields we visited were comprised of magenta and dandelion yellow flowers, and though the day was on the colder, windier side the flowers were in full bloom. The Instagram girls were able to take their pictures (I must admit, I took quite a few myself) and after watching a quick documentary on tulip farming we all piled back onto the bus and went back home.

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Oh, dear. My blog posts get longer and longer by the day. Okay. Before I run out of words, I’d like to quickly wrap up by saying that I’m really enjoying my time here. Every day I learn something new and unique that fuels my passion for the unknown. Tomorrow, we’re visiting a 3D printed bridge, and the day after we’re going to a floating farm. Every day is a reminder of how blessed I am to be here, and I thank you all for reading. See you tomorrow.