Our trip to The Netherlands was quickly accomplished. Within two weeks we had plane tickets, hotel reservations, and the bags were packed. Constantly adjusting our travel plans to accomodate an ever increasingly energetic Smalls, regrettably gone are the days of only carry-on baggage. We lumber to the airport...
Landing near Amsterdam, Smalls in a carrier, we take a train to the center city. Public transportation rocks in Europe. To be carless, is a freeing experience, and we love trains, so there is that...
Suddenly, Amsterdam is not exactly our kind of town. Perhaps it's the pot wafting through the streets, or the lovely ladies beckoning from under their red lights... It just doesn't seem uber family friendly...
However, with daylight waning, we wander across town to a destination that intrigues us all - a Mariner's museum. Where there might be pirates... and an exhibition on the West India Trading Company. This adventure does not disappoint - mainly for the tall ship we get to explore...
We find a Thai restaurant down the street from the hotel, our first "non" Italian food since we have arrived last July... and it is divine. We head out the following morning for our actual destination - The Hague.
While I had been to several locations in The Netherlands, Den Haag was not previously one of them, and I was intrigued by the history and political reputation of the city.
Since we were gifted a welcome drink at the bar to bide our time while our room was prepared, we decided to inquire as to what is a local specialty. I think we were both surprised to learn that Gin is made locally. The Major was presented with a itsy glass, filled literally to the brim, and shown to sip off the top before picking it up. A local dutch custom.
I was delighted to know that beer is also a specialty... and while I really only was aware of Heineken, previously, the beers that I tested during the week were much more flavorful and interesting. Not to mention there were many Belgium beer offerings probably due to the proximity...
While we sipped, and waited in the bar, a group gathered in front of a television, rapt attention for what looked like a queenly figure. A toast went up at the end of the announcement, and we learned later that in fact the Queen had just proclaimed her plans for abdication of the throne.
Other than that exciting news, it was a quiet week in The Hague. The Major attended training, while Smalls and I poked around the Escher museum next door...
With a bonus display of artistic chandeliers...
Sampled Flemish fries...
Compared dutch and Belgium beers...
And discovered a new favorite food for the whole family - dutch pancakes...
Crepe-like pancakes with savory ingredients - like cheese, red pepper, bacon, and mushroom...
And of course, there was Appeltaart...
And don't forget about the Herring!
We found a little street vendor that sold herring like you have never seen before. It was almost like sashimi - it tasted like it had just moments before been taken from the sea.
Finally, we ventured out to the seaside part of The Hague, called Scheveningen, where apparently, even the art is appropriately into the fish...
And we discover one of the most impressive displays of seafood we have ever encountered...
Full of herring, we return to Amsterdam with a day to spare and decide that in the misty weather a canal ride, might be a great way to see the city without getting our feet wet. We putter down several canals, and to the outskirts of the city, observing architectural wonders, houseboats, and feats of engineering.
On our way back to the hotel, we swing by a cheese shop we discovered the week before, with a mission to acquire "all the cheese we can carry". The flavors are so drastically different than Italian cheeses, we have a hard time limiting our selection. We ultimately decide that a goat gouda.
And a two-year-old Edamer, are our favorites.
On the train back to the airport, loaded with cheese, our palates cleansed and ready for our familiar Italian delicacies, we strategize on how best to create dutch pancakes at home.
