Posted by: Will – Priority Juggler on January 13th, 2009

Steve and I were in The Netherlands end of last week, visiting Ronald and catching up on the progress of Arena Bloemen and Arena Blumen, as well making more preparations for Valentine’s Day.  It was a mite chilly here in good old Blighty, but we soon learned that our European cousins hadn’t got off any more lightly.  It was absolutely freezing; so cold in fact (-20C in places) that we suspended deliveries to East Germany last week as flowers were (sometimes) arriving frozen - not ideal.

Driving through the glacial Dutch countryside we saw some beautiful sights;  the sky laden with thick claustrophobic clouds; the land and trees covered in a crisp icey sheen; and the famous canals frozen over, as hard as tarmac.  Ever resourceful, the Dutch have turned the cold weather to their advantage, with what seems like every bit of frozen water having been repurposed as an impromptu ice rink.  I figured I’d share some pictures here.  Click images to enlarge.

Ducks on ice + archetypal windmill

Steve: “I caught a fish this big…”

Might be worth avoiding the unfrozen section of the “frozen” lake, kids…

Surprised the car’s engine worked under that much ice…

Ice hockey, anyone?

Start em young…

Hope you enjoyed the pics.  I’m rubbish with my phone’s camera so sorry if these aren’t very” pro” shots!

Enjoyed this post? Read Een Voorspoedig, Gezond en Gelukkig Nieuwjaar gewenst! team’s take on weather.  Our German customer service team had a torrid time dealing with complaints for delivering frozen flowers.  Read Alle Jahre wieder - Neujahrsvorsätze for more on frozen flowers.

 

Filed under: Distribution, General, International Flowers, Operations on January 13th, 2009

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