Today we had an early awakening and met outside for the bus at 6 am in order to reach Royal FloraHolland at peak flower auctioning time. We took the bus and traveled into North Holland, where we saw the Netherlands urban setting for the first time. It reminded me a lot of driving across Pennsylvania, except a whole lot greener. When we walked into the flower warehouse we were immediately greeted by the smell of every kind of flower imaginable; roses, tulips, dahlias, and any other flower type you could imagine. It was the most pungent but incredible scent I had ever smelled and I wish I could relive that moment every day.

When looking below us, we saw thousands of carts hauling millions of flowers across the warehouse to be processed and packaged for delivery. We saw the old in-person auctioning rooms with ginormous auctioning clocks hung above the walls. Now, most of their revenue comes from online auctioning where they normally sell over 50 million flowers a day. As Royal FloraHolland is the largest international floriculture marketplace for flowers and plants, they strive for an optimal price for flowers and plants, with the best quality, and at the lowest possible costs.

This was evident in their factory as it appeared almost like its own little town, with a heaping amount of carts, employees, trollies, and equipment hustle and bustling through the warehouse. With about a 500,000 square meter facility such as this, a lot of money is required for an operation so large to occur and at such a fast pace. All of the workers were so efficient in their movements, we stood in awe at how there were no crashed between carts, not to mention there were programmed tracks that automatically sorted the carts into rows for more ease. They also had air tracks to transport the flower-filled carts across the street to the packaging facilities where the orders get completed. It was fascinating to see engineering practices at work to facilitate the way the flowers were sorted and transported.

We then transitioned to De Tulperij, a family-owned business that sells tulip and flowers. The owner informed us that the majority of their market consists of making the largest tulip bulbs. He said in order to do so, they cut off the tulip head to allow all of the energy to go to the bulb, which allows it to grow. They compost the tulip heads rather than discard them which decreases unnecessary waste. He also informed us that because Amsterdam is below sea level, he does not need to use an irrigation system because the sand used to plant the flowers is constantly sucking up water from the ground, so it is always wet. This saves him money and resources, sustainably using his environment to produce the flowers. However, tulip bulbs only provide revenue for part of the year. Because of this, they plant other flowers such as hyacinths that can be grown every season of the year. They also rotate crops to minimize mutations that ruin the crops and lead in them being wasted.

After these professional tours, we had a traditional Dutch dinner from a local restaurant where we all had the opportunity to try stampot. It is mashed potato with your pick of green and a protein. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the dish, and regardless it was an amazing experience to try a piece of their culture. See you tomorrow Amsterdam!