Flower auction

The first thing that we noticed was that the auction was very big. There were many halls with different kinds of flowers. There were also lorries which went to the auction hall with flowers on it. We found the clock al little difficult to understand but they explained how it worked. At the end they put the flowers which the buyers had bought in one lorry. There was water in the buckets so the flowers wouldn’t die. There were some minerals in the water which is better for the flowers. It was a very interesting experience.

Schiphol

On Tuesday we went to the airport Schiphol. From far we saw a the tower from Schiphol. It’s used for controlling all the planes. There were a lot of planes and also many firms of Cargo. Schiphol was founded in 1919. In the years after they grew, and now it is the biggest airport in Holland. And the fourth biggest in Europe. Schiphol offer a lot of work for many people. There is also a world trade centre, so Schiphol is very important to import and export products, which is good for the economics. In a year there are round 45 million passengers who will take a flight. They have 13.499 employees. They also have 1.306.155 tons of freight a board in one year.

The windmill of Nootdorp

We found Nootdorp was very small. But there was a great windmill, called “The Windlust”. It was built in the 1781 in Delft. The windmill was a part of the wall. A rich man bought and moved it to Nootdorp. The molen is a “stellingmolen”. They used it to meal core with it. In former times it was used to make flour. So people could buy it which was good for the economics. But today the windmill is a monument that people can visit. The windmill has four parts, which you need to make the product. The windmill is 4,67 meters long and the wings are 23, 6 meters. The windmill is in Nootdorp because the wind comes from a good direction.

Greenhouse

The greenhouse we visited wasn’t very big compared to other companies. When you enter the building you see a machine which select the flowers on lengths. There are growing red roses in the greenhouse we visited. They cut 5 till 6 thousands roses a day, with only 9 employees. They transport there flowers all over the world, also to Germany.

The beach of Scheveningen

Scheveningen is a coast place. We are below the sea level so we need sort of hills to protect our country from the sea. In sealand we are vulnerable for the sea so we have deltaworks. They can close if the sea is getting rough so it can’t go and put our land under water, like what happened in 1953.

Amsterdam

In the 17^th century Amsterdam was important for trade, especially with boats. We have founded the VOC in 1602, which is a trade company with the East (Asia). The original function of the canals in Amsterdam were for transport. Nowadays the canals are used for boat trips. Adults can make a trip for 8,50 or more. There are also many houseboats so you can live on the water.

The shipping-museum

The VOC was a trade company with the East. They had establishments in Africa (Kaapstad) and in the East (Asia) too. We’ve seen “the Amsterdam”, it’s a ship. On the front it’s decorated with 2 gods, Mercury and Neptune.

ISW-Naaldwijk

Water and air were the subjects of this week. We’ve seen many things which had to do with water and air.

Bettina Brunner and Marieke Ligthart