Top Ten Reasons I Like the Netherlands

1)    Birthdays- I think birthdays are magical and special. They are the celebration of your existence on this earth. It is a time for you to feel special, adored, and loved. My personal experiences never quite end up like this but I wish the best for everyone. The Dutch seem to revel in birthdays. Instead of Happy Birthday, you’re told Gefelicieteerd- or congratulations. They not only congratulate you but also your family and friends. Gearoid heard more happy well wishes on my birthday than I did.  Recently, the university Gearoid works with celebrated it’s 86^th birthday and threw a party for students and staff to celebrate. I love a place that loves birthdays.

Getting drinks at Radboud's Birthday Celebration

2)    Stroopwafels- While living in DC in 2006, I experienced my first stroopwafel from a hippy who had just returned from Amsterdam. I was delighted when I experienced them again in Sierra Leone when some Dutch people we knew shared them with us after a dinner at our place. Then I moved to the Netherlands and the love affair continues. They are delicious and are only allowed in the house when Gearoid can supervise my interactions with them. Ok, I’m being dramatic.  However, they are so good that they’re not safe in the house. They only last one afternoon. Stroopwafels are like a cookie. It is a thin wafer that is sliced in two and filled with a sweet caramel like syrup. You can get them big, small, covered in chocolate, made with honey, and the best way- warm off the griddle at the market.  Family and Friends- expect them as Christmas gifts.

3)     Flowers- I love tulips and they’re here in big colorful fields. But even more than tulips are all of the other types of flowers I’ve experienced here.  I never knew such types of flowers and plants existed. Just walking home from the gym or cycling past a field I get to experience flowers that I’ve only experienced from watching the animated Alice in Wonderland.  They grow everywhere. Behind our house is a pile of rubble and there are random poppies growing out of it. In a strip of grass next to the sidewalk children play with each other while one single red tulip tries to survive. Bushes and trees blossom even when you least expect it. People ride home on their bikes with bouquets in hand or strapped on the back. The world smelled like honeysuckle today.  Not everyone has a green thumb but you’re more likely to see manicured gardens than overgrown yards. 

Lily on our terrace

Tulips at Keukenhof

Flower blooming at a construction site

4)Beer- I ‘m not a beer drinker. Friends will tell you that I’m more likely to drink a margarita than a beer any day of the week- ok mostly on a random Friday with Rock Band playing in the background.  However, I have discovered two beers that I really enjoy here. A pink beer and a banana beer. They are refreshing, sweet, and lack the disgusting aftertaste of other beers. Also, Gearoid gets to enjoy nice Belgium beer for cheap. 

Getting a banana beer at a World Music Meeting in Nijmegen.

5) Borrel Nuts- Seasoned cracker over a peanut. Salty and Crunchy- enough said.

6)The Pharmacy- I had the most wonderful experience at the pharmacy here. It’s a block from my house and a bike ride from my doctor’s office. I dropped off my prescription thinking I wouldn’t see it until the next day. I was surprised when 15 minutes later I had more than my prescription. My doctor wrote a script for 2 months but the pharmacist asked if I wouldn’t mind taking 3 months because that’s how they’re packaged. She even told me that if I run out of one medicine I didn’t need a prescription I could just come in and buy it. I didn’t have to show ID or sign my life away. Without insurance, I got 3 months worth of two types of medicine for less than dinner and drinks and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. This might be a once in a lifetime experience but it totally overshadows all of the experiences I had back at home at my local Target pharmacy.

7)The Market- We don’t go every week because it can be a hassle but I love the Saturday markets. I can get lots of fresh veggies, fruit, bread, cheese, and more for reasonable prices. Plus, many of the stalls are local farmers so it’s better for the environment. Oh, and they sell warm stroopwafels there;)

8)History- There is so much history here! I love the States but compared to Europe, America is a baby. WWII definitely still has some influence on the way things are here and even on how the country looks. We’ve visited and seen building and remains that are hundreds if not thousands of years old. The house we live in is actually 100 years old. It’s mind boggling how much life has been lived here. Living in DC, I was exposed to more history than other parts of the States, but I am currently living in a city that is celebrating it’s 2000^th birthday!

9)Cafes- This is totally European and what everyone imagined we would be doing all of the time, but I love sitting at a café with a book or to people watch.  I honestly am too cheap to do it every day- drinks aren’t too expensive but they add up, even coffee and tea. However, on the weekend or a random weekday when we’re in the center of town, it’s nice to have a coffee or a beer and enjoy the surroundings.

Gearoid enjoying a beer at the oldest cafe in Nijmegen

10) Experiences- Of course living in a foreign country Gearoid and I want to experience as much as possible. While living here, we do more than we did at home. Of course we miss our friends and families and the milestones and moments we can’t share with them, but at the same time Gearoid and I are going out and living more life. For example, when we lived in DC there were always exhibitions, events, concerts, etc. going on. However, we were comfortable with our Netflix and catching up on sleep from a busy work week. Although we do hunker down with streamed television shows or a good book more days than not we attempt to make more of an effort to see and experience what’s happening around us. Since being here we have cycled to Germany, watched a Carnival parade, attended a world music festival, saw an American comedian, joined clubs, attempted other languages, and more. We still behave in a manner that suggests we’re middle aged instead of our early 30s but we are making active attempts to live a fuller life.

Gearoid with Lego Man at Carnival in Nijmegen

Pancake float at Carnival

Car Cafe at Music Meeting

Music Meeting

Enjoying Banana and Mango Beer at Music Meeting

Adventures in Baking Part II

I don’t know if I’m determined or stubborn or just dumb. As stated before, we don’t have an oven. We have a tiny contraption that “grills”, “bakes”, and microwaves (it actually does microwave ok).  However, when bummed, inspired, or hungry I get ambitious and want to try and bake. I completely forget my disappointment from the last adventure and eagerly start an inevitably disheartening experience.

You think I would have learned after making crumbly peanut butter cookies, half raw/half burned apple crisp, and a “friendship” cake that I ended up microwaving so that it would finally be cooked in the middle. But then one day I sort of succeeded. The summer heat and the gorgeous lemons at the market inspired me to make a lemon pound cake. Yes, instead of one hour it had to bake for three and half of it was not quite as moist as the other half but the slightly overdone top gave it a cookie-like crunch that was overall appealing. I was inspired.

1)      Bagels- why not? I found a basic recipe that only required me to pick up some yeast and I was intrigued by the boiling before baking.  The dough was perfect- light and elastic. The boiling was easy enough. The baking screwed me over. The first batch took double the time to bake and then were raw on the underside. The second batch I tried the combination dial of baking and microwaving at the same time. They came out rock hard. The third batch was the best but took 90 minutes to cook. Gearoid came home that day and asked what I did. I showed him my efforts- 8 misshapen raw or rock hard bagels. It wasn’t good.

Before Bagels

Boiling Bagels

After Bagels

2)      Cupcakes- Two days later after the bagel debacle I tried cupcakes. I considered it a dry run for Gearoid’s birthday. I had to send in something and cupcakes are traditional birthday fare in the States. Because I already had most of the ingredients I decided on simple vanilla cupcakes with butter cream frosting. I was a little more hopeful because recently I had found individual silicone cupcake pans that I could use in my tiny “oven.”  I still had to do two batches but was more optimistic about the outcome. I don’t know where this optimism comes from. When I tested the cupcakes after the additional baking time they were completely done in the middle. When I peeled off the silicone liners, they were raw around the outside. How does something bake and end up done in the middle but raw on the outside? I swallowed my disappointment, baked them longer, covered them with frosting, and then tried to cover up their not quite cupcakeness with some hagelslag (the chocolate sprinkles people eat on bread here).

Undesirable Cupcakes- didn't stop us from eating them though

3)      Birthday Cake- I bake for people. On their birthdays, when they have a baby, when they move into a house, because I like them. I bake and it was absurd to me that my failures with this “oven” would prevent me from baking a cake for Gearoid’s birthday. I knew it had to be simple so I wouldn’t waste too much time, ingredients, effort, and heartache. I found a chocolate bundt cake recipe and planned to bake it in my loaf pan because it fit in my “oven” and because all of my other pans are missing in one of the many places I have lived.  The loaf pan fits but it is too big to rotate so I had to rotate every 30 minutes. I did this for 2 hours but it was still raw in the middle. However, the top was browning past chocolate color to something darker. I covered it was foil and baked for another hour. After cooling the cake, I flipped it over, hoping the bottom wouldn’t have the same darker tint as on top and only 2/3 of the cake came out of the pan. There was no salvaging it in a way to share with others so it sits in our freezer as frozen crumbles.

Failed Birthday Cake

I leave each experience feeling defeated and at the same time considering alternatives. We plan to eventually invest in a proper oven but now doesn’t seem the time for a big purchase. Gearoid has lost sympathy for my failed attempts and instead of consoling me just makes sure that I clean up my mess and eats the failures hoping he doesn’t acquire salmonella from something that might not be baked completely.