The Big City!

To Amsterdam! The city of drugs and hookers! As a fairly naïve country girl, I am certain that city life is not for me. After our two and a half hour train ride, we arrived in the big city to explore! I was not sure what to expect. I knew that going to Amsterdam was a big deal, or people acted as if it was.

It is the big city, therefore, I was imagining sky scrapers and lots of bright lights. I guess I forgot that this country is much older than America, and slightly more sophisticated. The buildings were truly beautiful and each of them seemed to hold a forgotten story from centuries past.

Brick streets took us from one crowded area to another, over bridges that all shared the same look. Every shop was filled with anxious people who seemed to only be going in circles with no real purpose. Where was everyone trying to get to in such a hurry? Everywhere you turned there was someone to run into and they never looked happy, perhaps because they were so rushed. Why would anyone want to live here?

We were hesitant to visit any of the stores. The majority of them were far too fancy. ‘Ralph Lauren’, ‘Gucci’, and ‘Michael Kors’ are labels I will never be interested in. I do not understand the fascination or the need for a $20,000 purse or a $60 tie. The one shop we did venture into was a souvenir shop. It was full of windmill, tulip, and ‘traditional’ Dutch merchandise. Typical store geared for ignorant Americans like myself. I purchased a few souvenirs, tried my best not to find myself in the wrong section of the store so people didn’t think I was a pothead, I was paranoid.

Sightseeing requires three things: good shoes, some cash, and a whole lot of patience. Everywhere we went there were lines; lines for the bathrooms, lines for food, lines for museums. We would walk somewhere just to stand for an hour or to walk somewhere else.

During our entire trip I was scared to drink. Access to restrooms is fairly easy in America when you spend a day out shopping, not here. Once you are fortunate enough to find a restroom, you wait in a dark, smelly line and then you have to pay to use the toilet. I know, water is expensive, and peeing is something individuals cannot help. This is an easy way to make money, but I was not amused.

Amsterdam is filled with beautiful canals, framed with houseboats and small vessels. One of the best ways to view the city is by boat. We took a tour boat at sunset and I was able to capture some of the detail and beauty of the buildings in Amsterdam.

Train station in Amsterdam

My little Dutch man

"The Beehive" a mall for rich people.

Palace on the dam

Busy streets

I love the unique rooftops!

Anne Frank House

Sunset in Amsterdam

Tour Boat

"The Grasshopper" restaurant

Amsterdam at night.

Shopping and Dining

We took a break from lopen, slapen, and fietsen yesterday! (walking, sleeping, and biking)

I have gone shopping in Middelburg twice now. I was able to distinguish a variety of differences between stores in the Netherlands and stores in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Middelburg clothing shoppes resemble big city stores that are well kept, fancy, with loud music, and nice architectural features. They do not simply have shelves and racks of clothing like Target or JCPenney. It is more of an experience with very stylish clothes that do not appear to be cheaply made in bulk.

I was determined to find a store that I could relate to Walmart in America, “Albert Heijn” was close to it. I remember Pieter’s first trip to Walmart when he came to the States for the first time, he looked so overwhelmed and scared by the fluorescent lights, hundreds of shelves, and wide space filled with a wide variety of American necessities. “Albert Heijn” is the super market in Middelburg. It is not nearly as large and warehouse-like as Walmart, but it did have the necessary items one would need to pick up during a shopping trip, in one place.

We also visited a restaurant “The Middelburger” to get me a burger so I could compare one of my favorite American foods, cheeseburgers, to Dutch burgers. I was not disappointed. The restaurant presented a lovely experience. Our server was very friendly and offered to take our picture. He even spoke a little English. We both ordered the classic burger with sautéed mushrooms, onions, BBQ sauce, lettuce, and Dutch bacon. On the side was a piece of lettuce with a tomato and cucumber salad and potato salad as a garnish as well as an orange slice. Everything was very fancy for a burger place. Definitely nothing like the dining experience one would get at Five Guys or Texas Roadhouse in America. There were no free refills and you had to pay for water if you wanted it. Everything was delicious though!

The train from Arnemuiden to Middelburg.

The bridge over the canal in Middelburg.

Houseboats

My first attempt at taking the above picture. Thank you Mr. Dutch man.

"The Sting" a clothing store we visited.

"The Tourist Shop" had a restaurant and a large bookstore inside.

"The Middelburger" restaurant, small and quaint.

Small glass bottles and a tiny glass, that's all you get!

Tempting glass bottle of water with fancy glasses on each table, not free.

Yummy burger!

Fries and mayonnaise

The basket turned into a tiny, awkward shopping cart at "Albert Heijn"

Culinary Differences

It may be because my tasting sense is a lot stronger due to not talking as much or hearing/understanding what I am hearing, but the food here in the Netherlands is much better than the food in America.

The meals I have had so far have been better quality than that in America. The products are rich and the ingredients lists are shorter, therefore the food is healthier. Cheese is not pumped with chemicals and it is so much tastier! Peanut butter actually tastes like crushed up peanuts and the bread does not have that hint of plastic taste like the store bought bread I get in America.

Meals are very enjoyable here. It is a time when everyone comes together to catch up about the day and joke around a little bit. They are also more simple here. While I might make shrimp, cole slaw, and fries for a meal at home, they usually only have one main dish. I have noticed that this saves time on dishes and saves room for dessert which we have after dinner. Lunch and breakfast are similar in the way that bread or rolls are provided with butter, margarine, honey, peanut butter, Nutella, meats, cheese, and other spreads to create the sandwich of your choice. My favorites so far are cervelaat and cheese or peanut butter and honey.

Along with these three scheduled meals there are designated times for tea and coffee (koffie) during the afternoon and evening. At first I thought this was strange, but now I kind of like it. It emphasizes a time to take a minute to relax from whatever you’re doing that day. I wish I could keep this habit when I get home to America, but my busy life doesn’t allow it. I am fortunate to like both tea and coffee, but Pieter and his brothers usually have juice, milk (melk), or soda during this time. Cakes or other tasty treats are served with tea of coffee.

I will probably right more about the kind hospitality of the Dutch in another post on another day, but while mentioning food I do have to say that when one visits a neighbor or a friend here in the Netherlands they always offer tea or coffee and bring out refreshments. It’s very welcoming.

This is cervelaat, similar to pepperoni or salami, just better.

This is an oliebol. We got this in Middelburg when we were shopping. They are very tasty with a fried oreo taste and texture with raisins in them. 

I showed Pieter's family a picture of macaroni and cheese in America and they were surprised. This is Dutch macaroni with vegetables and hamburger in it, similar to Hamburger Helper in America, but so much better.

This is a McKroket. Hard to describe or compare to something in America. It looks like a chicken sandwich, but it is a fried patty with a gravy texture inside that contains chunks of beef. It also has a spicy mustard on it.

"Word famous in the Netherlands" ... does not make any sense.

A bolus. This is what I had for breakfast the first day I was here. It is similar to a cinnamon roll, but much sweeter and not fresh out of the oven.

These are frikandellen, like breaded sausages. They're similar to hotdogs or corn dogs in looks, but taste nothing like them.

Kerststol was the first Dutch food I had in the car on the way to Arnemuiden from Brussels. Pieter's Oma was kind enough to pack us some snacks for the ride back after our day of traveling. This is a tasty raisin bread that has a sugary filling that has a hint of butter and lemon taste to it.

SOUP! When Pieter and I were dating he would tell me that they had soup after church every Sunday. I normally only eat soup when I am sick. Campbell's soup, from a can, and I never drank the broth. Soup here is delicious!

The Boulevard

Traveling to the boulevard seemed like a big deal. Going through town to get there wasn’t much different from towns in Harrisonburg or Winchester in Virginia, except that I couldn't read the road signs and there were more bikes than cars. Having not seen much of the world, I have very little to compare the boulevard to. I'd say that the Virginia beach strip is similar to it, but a lot less busy. There was no humidity or salt water in the air, because we were by the sea... even though it looked just like an ocean. The view was beautiful, but the wind took away from the experience. I imagine that the boulevard would be the place to be on a hot summer day in the Netherlands. For my visit, I learned a little Dutch history and got some beautiful pictures of the North Sea.

Tallest building in the province

Houses at the boulevard

A statue in honor of the wives of the fishermen.

Wind organ by the sea

Frans Naerebout, a lifeguard that saved 87 lives at one time.

Famous admiral in Vlissingen 

My Opinion of the Netherlands

I’ve never really been much of the tourist type, but I feel a duty to my fellow Americans that will never visit the Netherlands, to capture the beauty and obscurity of this lovely town. This town, Arnemuiden, is more of a village. Sort of like a Christmas village you would see in a movie, like the inside of a snow globe. I would compare it to Jamestown or Williamsburg to describe it to someone in America. Brick sidewalks, small homes, picturesque landscapes, and old signs and buildings_ it has a fancy rustic, cookie cutter charm. Walking down the street you can see right in to people’s living rooms, it’s like they are on display, I found that to be odd and intrusive. People also have displays in their window sills, as if walking down the street was a little museum in itself. Everything feels safe, clear, compact, and simple here. 

The windmill outside of Pieter's house.

Me standing on the dike.

Boats on the canal.

Village houses side by side.

Tiny cars and more houses.

Dutch homes

Beautiful house next door to the Trampers.