Amsterdam 2016

Flower Auction in Aalsmeer

7/3/2016

Today, we traveled to the suburb of Amsterdam, Aalsmeer via bus to see the largest flower auction in the world.

Every week day, between 7AM and 11AM, millions of Euros worth of flower are sold in Aalsmeer. The Royal FloraHolland auction house provides the computer systems, the internal logistics, and the auctioning platform, while the individual auction participants stage the cargo for worldwide distribution. The plants are sold in a countdown auction style, but the auction is likely one of the least impressive parts of the overall process.

Thousands of carts of flowers are scurried about in a variety of methods, some by automated rails, others by small tractors, and the remaining carts picked up to be delivered to the distributor by an overhead track that carries the flowers to another processing area 15 kilometers away.

Viewing the processing and sale of a massive number of plants was impressive, as was the variety of flowers that were available.

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Family in the Dutch Countryside

6/30/2016

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I have had the incredible opportunity on this visit to The Netherlands to meet several members of my extended family. I met a few of my mom's aunts and uncles and quite a few of her cousins. To do this, Derek and the boys and I went on an adventure through the south of the Netherlands.

We started in a town called "Den Bosch" whose church dates back to the 1100's. There, we toured the town a little and took a tour of the canals that go under the buildings and streets of the town.

After the boat tour, my mom's cousin took us to Heeswijk Castle. The castle dates back to 1080, recently being restored. I loved that it had a mote around it complete with swans.

We also learned that the castle was the landing site of the first attempt by the American Allied Forces to liberated The Netherlands toward the end of World War II. The first attempt did not end well, as told in "A Bridge Too Far." All of this happened so close to where my grandparents grew up.

After a lovely dinner, we were able to meet one of my mother's aunts and another of her cousins in Escharen, the town where my grandfather and is siblings were born. After getting to know my family for a while, we were able to drive through Zeeland, the town where my grandmother was born, and see the church where my grandparents where married.

The following day we set out on a another adventure trying to navigate the busses and trains of the Dutch country side. We found our way to Uden to meet my mother's godfather (and uncle). We were able to stay for a few hours while the boys plucked every edible raspberry from the bushes in their gardens.

After a lovely visit, we attempted to navigate the trains to another town to visit with another of my mother's cousins, an aunt, and an uncle. We got a little mixed up with our trains, but we ended up only 10 minutes later than we had expected. The boys had a great time playing with their second cousins and enjoyed riding a pony named Madame.

It was a very busy couple of days, but I am so fortunate to have met so many wonderful people and seen the places where my family is from.

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Dutch Resistance Museum

6/30/2016

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There are dozens of museums in Amsterdam, but the one that I really wanted to see this summer was the Verzets Museum. My grandparents were children during the Nazi occupations during World War II in the Dutch country side, and my grandfather played a role in the resistance. The museum offered an incredible opportunity to see what life was like for Dutch people during that time in history.

The museum is incredibly well done and one of the best World War II museums I have ever seen. It was informative without being graphic, so it was appropriate for children even as young as Oliver. Most of the exhibits have English audio to accompany them, and the boys had fun running around finding all the audio locations to hear the different stories. They learned a lot and are asking a lot of questions about war. I am so glad we made the time to go.

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Amsterdam Zoo

6/28/2016

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On our first morning in Amsterdam, we joined our hosts on a trip to the city zoo. We loaded four kids on bikes and pedaled our way through the city. The zoo was lovely, and it was interesting to have a private tour of the city as we rode to and from the location. There is so much history here!

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Boat Tour of the Canals

6/28/2016

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Something that has been on my bucket list for quite a while is seeing the picturesque windmills of The Netherlands. Thanks again to our incredible hosts, consider it done!

We got to hop on a boat and speed through the canals to view some historic windmills from the water. Such an incredible experience that I will carry with me for quite some time. I think Owen will remember it too as he got to drive the boat nearly half way back from the windmill site.

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Hanging out in Amsterdam

6/27/2016

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We had the incredible opportunity to stay with family members while we were in Amsterdam. My mom's cousin and his family opened their home to us while we were in the city and made us feel incredibly welcomed. They live within walking distance of the main train station, so needless to say, we got to spend a lot of time wandering around the streets of downtown Amsterdam feeling quite local.

The boys were particularly fond of Dam Square where they got to feed the pigeons and were engulfed by a giant bubble.

They also got to have a Dutch snack of French fries and mayonnaise. Oliver couldn't get enough of it, but I think Owen still prefers his fries with ketchup.

I loved looking at the incredible architecture.