Holland is famous for its historic relationship with plants—from tulips to coffee to cannabis. Every ten years comes the mother of all plant-related festivals: Floridae, a six-month World Horticultural Expo. Featuring live music and theater, fashion shows and art exhibits, the true stars of the show are the exhibits of the world’s best flowers, plants, trees, fruits and vegetables. Floridae is the flagship event of the Holland Naturally campaign, which highlights the Netherland’s national parks and sustainability initiatives.

An estimated two million visitors will flock to city of Venlo, where the expo is held, near the borders of Germany and Belgium. It’s about a two-hour train ride or drive through the scenic Dutch countryside from Amsterdam, with express buses available to shuttle visitors to the show grounds*. The easiest way to get there is to join a guided tour from Amsterdam. For a single fee, you get transportation, entrance fees, maps and information, and direct access to the show.

If you miss your chance to attend Floriade this year, you can go to Keukenhof, which is open to the public from March to May every year and makes a great day trip from Amsterdam. It’s a smaller—but still amazing— flower festival in the bulb region, located between Amsterdam and the Hague.

READ ON THE PLANE:
The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato.

The Cow Who Fell into the Canal, Phyllis Krasilovsky
Hendrika the Dutch cow is bored living on the farm. She longs to see the wondrous sites in the city, a place she has heard about from Pieter the horse. Quite by accident, her wish comes true one day when she falls into the canal and floats downstream on a raft.

*FROSCH’s GSM counterpart in the Netherlands, Munckhof, is the official transport and travel partner of Floridae.