Wednesday June 2, 2010 - Amsterdam

We were up bright and early this morning so we could get to the Flower Auction in Aalsmer in time to take in the vast array of flowers that are brought by the producers for sale to the buyers from all over the world. The buyers range from large international chains of stores to the small corner flower shop. The wonderful fragrance of the flowers hit us as soon as we walked in the door. We were able to walk on a pathway above the working floor and watched the buyers in the computer rooms and the carts with flats of flowers make their way through the buying rooms. We also watched the tester check some of the flowers for quality and grade of flowers. We learned that the flower industry in The Netherlands accounts for 48 million flowers and plants and 16 million Euros per day.

By 9 AM we were on our way to the centre of Amsterdam for our Canal Cruise. The guide took us for a little over an hour on several of the canals throughout Amsterdam, all the while we were able to listen to a commentary on the sights that we were passing by. It was really interesting to see how this city has made use of the canals, but it was also interesting to make note of some of the buildings for which the wooden pilings were beginning to rot which has resulted in some of them beginning to lean over. We were also shown this tall ship the Amsterdam that is a replica of the original. It is quite fashionable to have a house boat on the canal—some are quite well decorated, We also enjoyed the view of the 7 bridges.

We then met our guide Harry who took us on a tour of the streets of Amsterdam, pointing out all the important sights, buildings, and giving us a bit of a history lesson about the city. The next stop was the Rijksmuseum which is in the centre of the city. This museum houses many works of the Dutch Master Painters including Rembrandt. Needless to say – we were not able to take any pictures in the museum, but I am sure that – thanks to Harry we will have a better understanding of the art and a greater appreciation of the artists we encountered.

By now – we had come to lunch time – a few were a little hungry, so we headed out for some free time for lunch, shopping and exploring. We learned to be careful to watch for bicycles when crossing the street—as there are many many bicyclists.

We understand that Paul took a number of our travelers to check out the Red Light District. We understand there are some interesting tales, but no buyers in our group. Everyone returned to the bus by 5 PM with their shopping bags and stories. It was obviously a very interesting afternoon.

We then returned to the hotel in time for a nice meal and preparation for tomorrow’s travels through the Netherlands and into Brugge in Belgium.