Rectification: World Daffodil Tour Programme

A small change of plans in the programme of the World Daffodil Tour that will be held in April. I sent out a programme in last week’s newsletter, and we have received many lovely responses from people all over the world who would like to join us on this event. We’re nearing a hundred attendees, but don’t worry: there are still spaces left if you want to join! 

The Burgervlotbrug City Centre

The rectification is regarding Day 3 and Day 4 of the programme. Those have been switched around. Wednesday is going to be on Thursday and Thursday on Wednesday. I just wrote them down wrong, of course, the planning has always been this way. 

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to read about it, the programme will be as follows: 

Day 1, Monday April 15

Arrival at Van der Valk Hotel Schiphol A4. You can drive directly to the hotel or travel into Schiphol and then use the Van der Valk shuttle bus to the hotel (this is part of your package, too). 

Day 2, Tuesday April 16: North Holland

We’ll be visiting our own Daffodil Nursery in Burgervlotbrug and two other flower bulb growers in my hometown area. Lunch will be served at our own theme park, Land van Fluwel. 

Day 3, Wednesday, April 17: The Flower Bulb Area Lisse

We visit the substantial collection of my fellow tour organiser Eric Breed. Then, we’ll go on to Hein Meeuwissen and to the one thing no one should miss out on when visiting The Netherlands in this time of year: Keukenhof! 

Day 4, Thursday, April 18: Egmonden 

This is another area in North Holland, where we will be visiting Hortus Bulborum, which is a garden with all types of flower bulbs from the past, and growers Michiel de Waard and Jos Kuiper. 

Day 5, Friday April 19 

We’ll have breakfast together for the last time. After this, you can either go on to the secondl eg of the Daffodil Tour in Northern Ireland, or travel back home. 

This is a very short summary of all we’ll be seeing during this trip. If you would like to join us on this tour, you can send an email to my daughter Pien at pien@fluwel.nl. She will send you an extensive description of the programme and practical information about this trip. 

When we’re talking about events, I always think of the Burgerbrug Kermis. A Kermis is the dutch version of a fair or a carnaval, where there is a village party with things like a carousel and candy shops in those little food trucks. I used to go all the time when I was young, one of my fondest memories is a cigar-smoking competition in which everyone was allowed to participate no matter the age of the contestant. The winner was the person who was able to keep the longest stick of ash at the end of their cigar without dropping it. I didn’t win, unfortunately: that honor was for my neighbour Johan Vries. 

Now that we’re talking about parties and food, I also want to tell you about how I wrote this particular newsletter. It was at the local fish shop, where I always have a Dutch herring and another local cultural classic: Broodje Makreel, soft white bread with mackerel fish on it. The shop was out of wine during this particular visit, so the lady behind the counter offered me a special beer, called the Zeezuiper (literally: sea drinker? I think?) and though I’m not much of a beer person myself, I recommend it if you ever come across it. Nice beer, with a bit of a heavy taste.  

Dahlia After Dusk 

Another time this week I was at that one fish truck in Schoorl, the one at the little parking lot at the edge of town. Our new team member Vlad was visiting from Berlin and I just had to show him this local delicacy. We were standing in line behind a fantastically old man, pushing a walker, and he was just asking the salesman if they would still be there next week. I couldn’t help myself, I answered him: “Will YOU be here next week?!” He was laughing so hard, he told me he was 92 years old, of course we ended up talking for a bit. He left when he had to go home to prevent his fish from going cold. As I watched him shuffle away with his walker, I could only hope I was going to grow old in this way, eating fish at my favourite truck every week. 

I’ll have to finish up this letter again, be sure to note that the programe of our trip has switched a bit, and that you can email Pien if you want to participate. We would be very happy to have you. 

Be nice to your garden and your plants, and…

Leave room in the garden for the angels to dance. 

Kind regards, 

Carlos van der Veek