Going Dutch

Travelled by Craig and Linda Martin on 24 August 2010 | 1 Comments

Travelled By

Craig and Linda Martin Craig and Linda Martin

Craig and Linda Martin are world-travelling Kiwis, blogging and podcasting at the award-winning Indie Travel Podcasts. ...Find out more!

Going Dutch

"We have to go cycling, it's very Dutch." It seemed like everything we did that day was "very Dutch". Luckily, that was what I wanted, given that we were in the Netherlands, hoping to experience as much Dutch culture as possible.

An arial view of Utrecht

Craig and I were staying with friends of ours in Utrecht, a smaller city about half an hour by train from Amsterdam. It has the canals and culture of its better-known sister but a lot fewer tourists and a lot less congestion.

We'd arrived the afternoon before and been given a guided gastronomic tour of the city, tasting the streetfood and local beers. So we were already acclimatised and ready to really go Dutch.

The morning started with a "very Dutch" breakfast - sprinkles. Yes, sprinkles, like you put on cakes. The Dutch have dozens of types, from milk or dark chocolate to aniseed-flavoured and everything in between. We had a choice of five different boxes, though I was warned that "it just wasn't Dutch" to mix flavours. You can have them on bread, toast, or melba toast as you like, just be prepared for the sugar rush that follows.

Never have I seen or eaten so many sprinkles!

Next up was the cycle ride out in the country. Floor and Bregje had a bike each of course - if you're Dutch you have a bike, that's non-negotiable. It's okay to be temporarily bikeless if yours has been stolen (a common occurrence) but I'm pretty sure you lose your citizenship if you don't replace it within the month. But they didn't have two spares for us. No problem - Floor begged one off her neighbour and borrowed the other from her grandmother.

The Netherlands is a wonderful place to cycle because it's incredibly flat. No-one wears helmets and there are remarkably few accidents, perhaps because the infrastructure is set up in favour of cyclists. Every road has a cycle lane and cars give bikes precedence.

On the way we met whole families out for their Sunday bike ride. Some small children had their own bikes, others rode on their parents’ bikes, either in front or behind. We saw a couple of wheelbarrow-like contraptions, bikes with a wooden box in the front for toddlers - Floor said it was the bike equivalent of a picket fence "and very Dutch".

Time to taste the local fare

We stopped to listen to an outdoor concert in a park that was being given by a high-school orchestra, then continued on to our destination - a pancake house about two hours' cycle away from Utrecht, our starting point. It was a very popular place for families (who had mostly arrived on bikes, like us) but was the source of some contention between Floor and Bregje - were pancakes very Dutch? It was decided that these ones were, and that we could enjoy our meal.

The pancake options were extensive, but I couldn't choose between ordering a savoury one or a sweet option. Luckily, I could get both in one pancake - bacon and cheese on one side, and apple and raisin on the other. Craig went for the one with the most stuffing - bacon, onion, capsicum, mushroom and about four other ingredients vied for precedence. They were large and filling - getting back on the bike after the meal was a bit of a mission.

We accompanied our meal with a couple of Dutch drinks - ranja, which was basically just red cordial, and karne melk - a milk drink that tastes like watered-down Greek yogurt.

Local 'Dutch food' on our 'Dutch day'

The way home was a little faster, we took the direct route past the university instead of the scenic route along the canals. There were fewer people around because it was raining - but luckily cycling in the rain is also "very Dutch".

We finished up our Dutch day with a relaxing dinner at home, and settled in to watch Black Book, a movie made in the Netherlands. It's set there too, during the Second World War, and it was interesting to see the war from a Dutch perspective. Floor said it was strange to watch a movie in Dutch with English subtitles, instead of the reverse.

It was an awesome day - when you're next in the Netherlands, I highly recommend you get out of the tourist mecca of Amsterdam, and go Dutch in Utrecht instead.

Click here for more photos of our Going Dutch experience!

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Comments

  • Pole chain saw Pole chain saw says:

    Great story!
    I am Dutch myself (living in China) and I find it very interesting to read people's experiences in the Netherlands. As locals we take everything for granted, so reading this makes me appreciate it more.
    MMMmmmMM I miss sprinkles. Good stuff!

    6 months ago

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