Dutch DAY TRIPS - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 288

are projected on two big screens. This is a “Dutch auction,” mean-
ing that the price starts high and then ticks down, until buyers
push the button at the price they're willing to pay. Think about the
high stakes and the need for decisiveness...there's no time to think
things over as the auctioneer calls, “Going once, going twice...”
Most of the flowers are purchased by wholesalers and export-
ers. You'll see the busy beehive of the distribution process, as
workers scurry to load carts of flowers onto little tractors to zip
to awaiting buyers. Up along the ceiling, look for the suspended
orange trams. This “Aalsmeer Shuttle” zips loads of flowers over
the workers' heads to the distribution center across the street, far
more quickly and efficiently than trucks.
You'll wind up at the even more elaborate Rose Market, where
450 buyers keep their eyes peeled on three different auction clocks
as they jostle to buy the auction's most popular item. As you circle
back to the entrance, you'll see the company's testing lab, where
they actually create and test new varieties of flowers.
Cost and Hours: €5, Mon-Fri 7:00-11:00, closed Sat-Sun,
gift shop, cafeteria, tel. [phone], www.floraholland.com.
Getting There: By bus, you can reach the f lower auction
from Amsterdam (Connexxion bus #172 from Central Station, 4/
hr, 50 min) or from Haarlem (take bus #198 or #140 to the town
of Aalsmeer, where you can transfer to bus #172, 2/hr, 60 min).
Aalsmeer, which is close to the airport, makes a handy last fling
for drivers before dropping off your car at the airport and catching
a late-morning weekday flight out (but there's usually no bus con-
nection from the auction to the airport). From the A-6 expressway
south of Amsterdam, drivers take the Aalsmeer exit (#3) and fol-
low signs for Aalsmeer , then Bloemenveiling . Once you reach the
complex, carefully follow the P Tourist signs to park on top of the
garage, then take the elevator downstairs and follow Tourist signs
to the visitors center.
Zandvoort
For a quick and easy look at the windy coastline in a shell-lover's
Shangri-la, visit the beach burg of Zandvoort. This pretty, mani-
cured resort has plenty of cafés, ice-cream parlors, Vlaamse frites
stands, restaurants, and boutiques.
Just beyond the town is the vast
and sandy beach, lined with cafés
and rentable chairs. Above it all is
a pedestrian promenade and a line
of high-rise hotels. South of the
main beach, sunbathers work on
all-over tans. Come to Zandvoort
if the weather's hot and you want a