The Amsterdam floating flower market is a must-see indeed, especially if you don’t have time to travel outside of the city for the tulip fields or auctioning markets. One small detail: It’s not technically “floating.”
It’s located right next to the canal, but it’s not actually floating on the water in any sense. There are about 15-20 shops lined up on the street, and this was the first one. It’s a market so you don’t really expect it to be super neat, chic or anything, but the first shop’s ceiling won me over. We bought everything from this particular shop and I could not stop taking photos. So always a good idea to spend time and effort on the interior. If you’re a shop.
꽃시장. 우리 엄마가 제일 기대했던 꽃시장. 꽃시장은 사실 어느나라꺼를 가도 저절로 기분이 좋아지는 곳이다. 하지만 특별히 암스테르담의 꽃시장인만큼 기대도 많이 했다. 물에 둥둥 떠 있다고 소문/설명이 나와 있는데 이건 오해. 물 바로 옆에 위치하고 있긴 하지만 그 위에 떠 있는것 같지는 않았다. 15-20개의 꽃가게들이 있지만 첫 가게가 너무 예뻐 여기서 살걸 다 사버렸다. 시장이라서 특별한 인테리어를 기대하진 않았지만 결과적으로 제일 예쁜 곳에서 돈을 썼다는건 적어도 조금은 인테리어가 영향을 끼쳤다는 것.
The first tulips of the Netherlands came from Turkey during the 16th century. They’ve been so popular ever since, creating the famous Tulip Mania bubble, appearing on many famous works by numerous Dutch artists and even being sold out to almost every traveler in the world. So obviously, the main attraction of the flower market is the flowers, or bulbs to be exact, but not just tulips. They have roses, orange trees, tomatoes, lemons, lilacs, everything. I’ve never seen a real tulip bulb, and it looked like a little onion. G’s mother asked us to bring some tulip bulbs for her garden so we had a mission to find the prettiest and cheapest. But because the shops are all lined up together, the quality, prices and types of tulips are pretty much the same. We just had to decide if we wanted to buy three, six or thirty.
튤립은 사실 네덜란드 출신이 아니라 터키 출신이다. 16세기 오토만 제국에서 처음 들어왔다가 지금까지 네덜란드의 대표 꽃으로 인정되고 있는 상황. 시장에서는 튤립뿐 아니라 다양한 꽃들을 판매하고 있다. 난 튤립 알뿌리를 태어나서 처음 봤는데 양파와 비슷하게 생겼다. G의 엄마는 몇뿌리 사다달라고 부탁하셔서 각 가게를 돌아다니며 색이랑 가격을 비교해봤는데 종류도 비슷비슷 가격도 거의 같다.
It IS pretty busy, the street and also all the other streets leading up to it, so it’s important to look out for your wallet. If you don’t think you will have time to buy any souvenirs, the flower market is also a great stop for affordable and handy souvenirs. My mom collects little mini bells, so I bought one here. I looked around for other bells throughout the trip, but couldn’t really find something better. And like I said, they are much more affordable than the souvenir shops you find in the Dam area or other touristic districts.
기념품을 아직 사지 않았다면 이곳에서 사는것도 좋은 방법. 다른 기념품가게보다 가격도 저렴하고 한꺼번에 다 모여있어서 고르기도 쉬운 장점.
I know myself pretty well and I know that every living plant that comes into our house dies. Sob. But G insisted we try the Bonsai starter kit. It says it will take about four to six weeks to actually see results, so I thought well, why not. We’ll see what happens. (For tourists who want to purchase but not sure of they can bring the flowers back home, the sellers are experts in this particular department.)
우리집으로 들어오는 모든 식물들은 끝이 거의 안좋아서 우리는 특별히 튤립이나 다른 꽃 씨를 사지는 않았다. 대신 잘 죽지 않고 결과를 보려면 적어도 4주는 걸린다는 꼬마 분재를 사봤다. 어떤 결과가 나올지는 4-6주 후에. 꽃이나 씨를 사고 싶은데 다시 집으로 가져갈 수 있는지 없는지 모르겠다면 주인이나 점원한테 물어보면 된다고. 어느 씨는 어떻게 포장을 하고 어느 나라에 가져가도 되는지 모두 알려준다. 굿 서비스.
- Amsterdam floating flower market/Bloemenmarket (Single canal, 1071, AZ, Amsterdam) Open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sundays
All photos by rachelsanghee