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Food With Alessia 5 – Kapsalon Posted by Sten on Nov 14, 2014
This time, we tried something different. In a way traditionally Dutch, but with a lot of new cultural influences… Not old tradition, but new additions! The kapsalon. The Dutch kapsalon (barbershop) is a very rich dish. It includes veal (shawarma meat), fries, cheese, onions, and some lettuce and tomato to top it off. And all…
Campaigns in NL 2 – Even Apeldoorn bellen! Posted by Sten on Sep 28, 2014
Even Apeldoorn bellen! (just call Apeldoorn!) This slogan from the company Centraal Beheer Achmea spread through the Netherlands very quicklyafter its introduction in 1986. The campaign ads always had it in them. They were funny and memorable. One that I can remember very well was one where a family was on safari, and while they were…
Food With Alessia 4 – Uitsmijter! Posted by Sten on Sep 27, 2014
It is lunchtime! So Alessia and I decided to have an uitsmijter. It is a dish comparable to the German Strammer Max, but transformed with Dutch ingredients. There are many variations, but we chose to make it traditionally: with Dutch brood (bread), kaas (cheese), ham (ham), and spiegelei (fried egg). Sometimes ontbijtspek (bacon) is used…
Food With Alessia – Kibbeling! Posted by Sten on Sep 20, 2014
Alessia and I are back! In the beautiful city of Maastricht in the far south of the Netherlands, we had some Kibbeling! Kibbeling is a traditional dish that was for the poor back in the days – how far it reaches back is not easy to establish. In the 19th century, it must have existed already, though, because…
Prinsjesdag 2014 – instability, but also hope Posted by Sten on Sep 17, 2014
Yesterday, September 16, was Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day)! It is held every year on the third Tuesday of September. This year is special, but only in the sense that the Koninkrijk exists for 200 years, and thus all traditions of this day were held for the 200th time. Koning Willem-Alexander read out the troonrede (throne speech…
The Fietsenmarkt Posted by Sten on Sep 12, 2014
Fietsen (bikes). Yes, another post about bikes. Fietsen are after cheese, weed and tulips the main stereotype commodity of the Netherlands. There are SO many here! There is even a rumor that the country counts more fietsen than inwoners (inhabitants). Eng (scary)! When I was walking through Amsterdam last week, I saw hundreds of fietsen. Locked in front of stores, to bridges, to…
Bloemencorso Zundert 2014! Success or Failure? Posted by Sten on Sep 11, 2014
On september 7th and 8th, the annual bloemencorso (flower parade) was held in Zundert. It is the largest dahlia parade in the world. Since its first time in 1936, it has grown, and became more impressive every year. It started as an attempt to revive the Oranjefeesten (Orange celebrations) in honor of the queen. This meaning quickly lost significance, and now…