"A La Trappe Quadrupel for €1.29! A Chimay Blue for €1.47! HOT DAM, I LOVE THE NETHERLANDS. Wait, hold up, what's this extra €0,10 all about on my reciept? And what/who the hell is 'Statie Fles'? Sounds like the name one of those flapper actresses from the roaring 20s."
The above "blog-amatization" was my reaction upon one of my first beer runs at the Albert Heijn grocery store in Oss, The Netherlands. But I bet your first reaction was, "Who the hell ever looks at their receipt after a beer run?" Well my friends DannyZ does; he's all about value.
I highlighted to draw your attention to the prices
Like everything initially in the Netherlands, this €0,10 charge confused me. I later learned it's a type of surcharge or tax placed on your glass and or plastic bottle purchases. However, don't try it with wine bottles; only works with beer bottles and plastic soda/juice bottles. I was ticked at first about the surcharge; another nickel and dime scheme. However, I soon discovered these magical machines (below) that give you your money back, well, sort of.
Look for these machines; these were near the FREE coffee machine.
One Friday night, after amounting a fine collection of empty brews, my wife and I set out on a hot date to so some recycling down at the AH. Here's the video:
Your prize for caring about the environment.
I learned that once you get the slip (pictured above) all you have to do is hand it to the cashier at check out and the money comes off your purchase. This particular day I was €0,65 closer to another delicious La Trappe Quadrupel.
Hats off to the Dutch for their recycling methods...I wonder if Wegmans will ever adopt this practice?
Nederlanders, do you carry all your bottles back to the AH? Westerners, would you?
Watching karaoke performed on a stage in a town square.
Singing and swaying to "Brabant" with a group of Dutch fellas.
Seeing an ocean of orange in Amsterdam
Sipping Jenever.
Witnessing History.
April 30th. The Last Queen's Day or Koninginnedag AND the investiture of a new King of The Netherlands. And we were there, in Amsterdam, for both. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced her abdication on January 28th. [You can read about my reaction to the abdication here] She transfered her royal duties to her son Willem-Alexander on Queen's Day, April 30, 2013. Making Willem the first Dutch King since 1890. I'm not going to pretend I know much more than that, but trust me, it's a big deal.
There are plenty of other news outlets and bloggers that have reported on this historic event so I won't repeat it all here. Fellow Dutch expat @Momofthreeunder provides some great insights and questions on the royals at her blog: Take a read, good stuff.
I'll let the pictures, videos and my ramblings tell the story of what transpired for us from April 29th-May 1st. Enjoy.
As seen on TV: The Royal Family. The King is on the left.
Queen's Day Preparations in Oss
Rolling out the orange carpet in Oss. Can you sense my excitement & fear?
Mobile Heineken bars
Seriously, this town loves to set up tents and stages for parties
If you think I'm kidding about Oss loving to party; watch this video.
The Main Event: Queen's Day in Amsterdam
Since it was our first (and probably only) Queen's Day, I was a little nervous for a few reasons: 1.) They were expecting massive crowds in Amsterdam for the day. 2.) We had no idea what to expect. So, I figured our best strategy was structure.
I found a party targeted to "international visitors" at the beautiful Zuiderkerk. This old church was transformed into what was called "The Royal Cafe." I figured having an organized event to attend (with bathrooms) was clutch. However, I grew hesitant of my decision when I discovered a party targeted to international guests would not accept our US based credit card for payment.
AmsterDAN & Vicki
Technical difficulties aside, the party was a blast. We met a very nice Dutch couple who interpretted all the events around the coronation/inaguration of the new King. Plus I discovered that I love Jenever. A traditional Dutch liquor.
Hello Jenever. This bottle may or may not have ended up coming home with us.
Royal Blanket
I blame the Jenever for giving me the idea that the orange blanket behind me with a picture of the royal family was complimentary. I would LOVE to see the security camera footage of me "stealthily" trying to wrap up that bright orange blanket under my arm. The best part; once I triumphantly had my stolen article outside we felt the need to further conceal it. Where should we perform this maneuver? Why not right in front of the security for the party. A burly bald Dutch man saw the hijinks that we were conducting and swooped in and with a very polite "Thank You," in perfect English he reclaimed this commemorative trophy that I was attempting to liberate.
DannyZ: International Man of Orange
Thievery aside, "Partying with the Dutch" at the Royal Cafe was a great time. One of the highlights of the event was trying to set the world record for the biggest portrait of former Queen Beatrix made entirely from bitterballen. Dutch, you crazy.
Participating in the events to celebrate Queen's Day was fun and a bit confusing all at the same time. No, the Jenever was not the root cause of this confusion. We could totally feel (and see) that the Dutch had a great sense of national pride, but as outsiders, it felt very strange. I guess it's similar to visitors to the United States on the Fourth of July. Whatever their view of the royal family was, it seemed the entire country (or at least all of Amsterdam) rallyed around their monarchy for this day to celebrate; Dutch Style.
The People of Amsterdam on Queen's Day 2013
Even the Irish Pub was closed to celebrate Queen's Day and the New King.
Picture yourself for a moment, in a outdoor cafe in Europe, sipping a cappuccino, watching the world go by..then you hear it. You recognize it immediately but at the same time you try to close your ears to it because it's like nails on a chalk board. It's English, and no, not the Queen's English (and definitely not Irish English)...it's American English. Whether it's in that cafe, on public transport, or in a restaurant, hearing "American English" in Europe has made me ponder this question:
Do Americans hate other Americans while traveling through Europe?
Okay, let me first say that having the very fortunate opportunity to live and travel through Europe for the past year has NOT made me anti-American. I love the red, white & blue through and through but this past year has really opened my eyes to how freggin' big this world is and why Americans are sometimes negatively perceived by Europeans. But wait, am I allowed to negatively perceive Americans while I'm in Europe?
It also seems, other Americans don't want to be bothered with Americans while they are in Europe? There have been multiple times where Vicki and I have been talking in our non broken American English in ear shot of other Americans and not even so much of a hello, head nod or fist bump? What gives? But then, I'm guilty of the same. Instead of striking up a conversation, I've found myself eyerolling and shaking my head when I hear the boisterous almost obnoxious tones of my fellow Americans.
Before you begin to think, great, Dan's gone all European on us, let's not let him back in the country. I'll have you know, I stayed true to my "American roots" by sporting running pants, a t-shirt and bright white Adidas sneakers; all while rolling a refrigerator sized suitcase through the town of Como. I did want to punch myself for my American tourist ensemble, but I figured, so what I am and always will be 'Merican.
I'm hoping this is my most controversial post yet. I've been blogging for almost 5 months and am yet to see any "hater" comments after a post. I'm counting on you "US Americans" and non "US Americans" to let me hear it.
What are your perceptions of Americans traveling in Europe?
Can't believe I've gone 3 months without talking about stroopwafels. At first glance they look like a regular waffle but they are much thinner. They are made from two thin layers of baked batter with a carmel syrup filling. To read about the full history of the stroopwafel see wikipedia's entry on them here.
Sounds delicious doesn't it? The good news, there is no shortage of stroopwafels in the Netherlands. You can even buy prepackaged ones from the train station vending machines for €1. The bad news, the first bites are delicious, but then there is this indescribable taste that holds your mouth hostage immediately, then sticks around on for hours more. Best solution, wash that taste away with coffee.
Actually, placing a stroopwafel on top of your coffee is a preferred method for eating. The carmel filling melts in the center then proceeds out to the outer rim. After you let it sit for a bit you have a gooey carmel treat.
I tried it this way this morning and I'll admit the aftertaste wasn't as severe as eating them dry right out of the package. Lesson Learned.
Let the stroopwafel sit for a bit to warm and melt, then enjoy.
Word association game time. When I say "Holland" what's the first thing that comes to your mind. I'm assuming 99% of you thought of tulips, maybe the other 1% of you thought of clogs. Well this post is about the 99%. If you want to read about our clog experiences click here.
Keukenhof Collage
Main Entrance
With our Netherlands days windmilling down, we knew it was now or never time if we wanted to try to see some tulips. So on Saturday, April 27th we embarked on a journey from Oss to Keukenhof, THE PLACE to see tulips in the Netherlands. The park is "32 hectares" big? wide? long? (what the heck is a hectare?) Anyway, it's big, and you can totally get lost if you don't have a map. Speaking of maps! KEUKENHOF PROTIP: Save yourself €4. Visit the Keukenhof website and print (or download to your phone) a park map before you go. There are no free maps in the park.
I broke down and shelled out the €4 for the 2013 Park Guide. But not without having some fun and creating some quality footage for this DannyZ clip.
Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the small change.
Keukenhof map...for free
Photo Credit: John "Throat Puncher" Fay Can you spot the trespassers?
You may be wondering what all those colored lines surround the park represented. Well, my friends, they are the tulip fields. We noticed hords of people meandering through the fields from our windy perch on the windmill. Our immediate reaction was obviously "We want to go to there." But how? We were looking for access when we found ourselves at the "Entrance Extra" gate and overheard a pair of tourists asking a park worker how to get to the fields. Her response was something like it's not encouraged; people shouldn't go; it's disrespectful to the farmer; and people can damage the crop. So we did what any other upstanding tourist would do; we went to the fields.
It was worth not heeding the advice of the park worker; the fields were amazing, and only parts were in full bloom. We stayed and respectfully took pictures for about 15 minutes before the farmer appeared shouting in Dutch with a pitch fork, stabbing our friend. Well, that's how I pictured it going down. The farmer actually just appeared out of nowhere and quietly ushered us off his land.
So freakin' Dutch #SFD. See the windmill behind the trespassers?
Keepin' it classy
We left the fields and returned to the park's "Entrance Extra," and panicked for a moment Did we need to get a hand stamp or something? Rut Ro. We played it cool and handed our ticket to the gate worker. Confused, she says that our tickets were already scanned. Not wanting to reveal our delinquent behavior, Vicki quickly responded "Oh, we just went out to look at the..... road?" This gem got us back in the park and hours of laughs. Feel free to use that line if you decide to trespass through the tulips and want to get back into the park.
KEUKENHOF PROTIP: Access the actual tulip fields from LOOSTERWEG NOORD. The access point is about a 5 minute walk from the "Entrance Extra" of Keukenhof. It's technically trespassing on a farmers private land, so be respectful and DON'T TRAMPLE THE CROP.
Trespassing with pram
Testing the farmer's fence for an electrical charge.
Speaking of tickets, here's a short confused rant. We bought a "Combiticket" online. Still questioning the benefit of this ticket. It did allow us direct access into the park without having to queue to buy tickets. However, the price included a roundtrip bus ride, the "Keukenhof Express" from Schiphol. According to 9292.nl(a great journey planning site for the Netherlands BTW) A one way bus trip to Keukenhof from Schiphol costs €3.68 (€7.36 RT). The price of the combiticket is €22.50 for adults (€12.50 kids 4-11). A regular adult ticket without transport is €15. So if you do the math the "Keukenhof Express" costs €7.50. They say the combiticket is the best "deal," but I'm not sure. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I'm just a cheapskate.
Whichever ticket you get, Keukenhof is totally worth it. You could spend hours traversing the 15 kilometers of foothpaths snapping pictures. Be sure to have plenty of space on your camera's memory card too because every part of the park is like a postcard picture. You can also check in on facebook using the park's free WiFi.
KEUKENHOF PROTIP: Don't rely on the park's WiFi to arrange a meeting place for your friend who is coming from Hoofddorp. It's spotty.
We really enjoyed our day and would absolutely recommend a visit to Keukenhof. Thanks for reading.
You're welcome.
Have you visited Keukenhof? Did you trespass in the fields? Did you get pitchforked?
Keeping up with my fascination for the public urinals of the Netherlands (click link & read #10); here are some pictures of a "URILIFT" van parked out front of our apartment the other day.
