Holidays

Time to “gourmetten” (Or: Fun in the Netherlands for New Year’s Eve)

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Niki

This year we are celebrating New Year’s Eve at Roger’s. One of the most important parts of that (besides hanging out with friends, of course!) is “gourmetten”. Below is a picture of all of the gourmetten foods Roger purchased for the evening, although we already know we won’t be able to eat everything.

preparing-for-gourmetten-and-new-years-eve-in-the-netherlands

“Gourmetten” is a Dutch tradition of frying meats and (to a lesser extent) vegetables on a small grill on the dinner table. You can see pictures of the gourmet grill in the 2015 New Year’s Eve blog post I made. Roger purchased a new grill for 2016, so I will try and take some photos of that in action. I can’t wait!

Categories: Culture, Food, Holidays | Tags: Gourmetten, New Year's Eve | 1 Comment

Second day of Christmas (Or: Christmas tree in Bijenkorf)

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Niki

To celebrate the second day of Christmas in the Netherlands…

I was in Bijenkorf last week and noticed they put in their Christmas tree for the holidays. It’s so large (four floors high) that it is difficult to get a complete photograph of. But to give you an idea:

2016-christmas-tree-bijenkorf-the-hague-from-below

A look at the tree from below, standing on the ground floor

I love the blue theme!

2016-christmas-tree-bijenkorf-the-hague-from-above

And a look at the tree from above

Last year’s Christmas tree was a red and gold theme.

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Bijenkorf, Christmas | Leave a comment

First day of Christmas (Or: Christmas tree in De Passage)

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Niki

To celebrate the first day of Christmas here in the Netherlands, here is a look at the Christmas tree within De Passage:

christmas-tree-de-passage-the-hague-2016

The fun story being this tree – in 2013 there were rumours that the Christmas tree would no longer come back because it ruined the view of the incoming Apple Store, but it was still present in 2013 (the Apple Store wasn’t open yet) and luckily present in 2014 and 2015.

And here we are in 2016! (This year I heard from someone that it wasn’t that Apple wanted to ban the Christmas tree so it didn’t ruin the store view, but that they wanted to decorate it themselves but the other stores were against that. Makes sense, but probably just another rumor.)

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Apple, Christmas, De Passage | Leave a comment

Bailey’s chocolate mousse (Or: A Christmas dessert by Roger)

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Niki

Roger made a chocolate mousse with Bailey’s liquor for Marco and I last week. It was actually a trial run for this weekend, when he will be making the dessert for his family:

baileys-chocolate-mousse-with-chocolate-shavings

Yum!

Last year’s Christmas dessert was a tiramisu dessert in a wine glass.

Categories: Food, Holidays | Tags: Desserts | Leave a comment

Photos from a work Christmas party (Or: Oh – THOSE are crackers?)

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Niki

A few weeks back Marco and I attended a Christmas party for my work.

A look at the table we were sitting at

The red and white tubes are actually Christmas “crackers”, although all of these are broken open already. It’s basically a tube which two people pull apart to make a noise like a firecracker (“cracker”), apparently with a witty saying inside. Mine was something like “The things you dream about can’t keep you awake at night” or similar.

Ever since I moved to the Netherlands I thought these items were actually crackers – that is, food. Imagine my surprise when a coworker said we should take turns pulling them apart. Haha!

Continue reading →

Categories: Holidays, Working & Volunteering | Tags: Christmas | Leave a comment

Four year in the Netherlands! (Or: Another oliebollen photo)

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Niki

Much like my 3 years in the Netherlands anniversary post last year, I will post another oliebol themed photo:

oliebollen-pop-up-store-the-hague-2016

This is a photo of a pop-up store near the Grote Markt. Here’s an article about it in Dutch – Pop-up oliebollenfabriek opent deuren in Den Haag. I confess I hadn’t quite understood the concept until reading the article. Alongside the traditional oliebollen and appelbeignets, they also sell champagne oliebollen. Except that it’s just in the name – there’s no actual champagne inside. The difference is in the sugar that they use. Some examples of the types of sugar they use include limoncello, salted caramel and chocolate sugar. In total there are 10 different types of sugar you can choose from and some samples for you to taste.

I can’t believe it – four years in the Netherlands already!

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Christmas, Oliebollen | 2 Comments

Coca-cola truck (Or: Christmas time in The Hague)

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Niki

A few days ago a coworker of mine showed me a few pictures she had taken around The Hague. As she comes from a warmer climate, she loves to see how Christmas is celebrated here — not that The Hague is that cold. Her favourite pastime seems to be visiting Christmas markets, which is pretty cool.

The first picture she took was of the holidays Coca-cola truck in the city centre:

coca-cola-christmas-trunk-in-the-hague-2016

And the other one she took was an awesome picture of the holiday lights at the Plein. I just love the hazy moon:

plein-in-the-hague-christmas-2016

In the middle, to the left of the Christmas tree, you can just make out the statue of Willem the Silent, which I previously blogged about.

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Christmas, Statues | Leave a comment

Sinterklaas! (Or: 5 December)

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Niki

Today is Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (Wikipedia: Dutch | English). Mostly celebrated by kids who receive small trinkets in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Everything culminates in tonight – Pakjesavond, or “Evening of presents” as a loose translation. It’s no secret that Sinterklaas is bigger than Christmas for kids, but it’s still weird to realise this coming from the US.

But – one tradition that you’re supposed to adhere to is not putting up the Christmas tree until the day after Sinterklaas leaves.

Erhm.

christmas-ornament-gold-ball

No comment.

Categories: Holidays | Tags: Christmas | Leave a comment

Gevulde speculaas (Or: Another dessert by Roger)

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Niki

Yesterday Marco and I visited Roger and were treated to gevulde speculaas. This translates to “filled speculaas” – the speculaas is filled with almond paste and the speculaas cookie is softer. I liked the homemade version Roger made – it was a lot less sweet than what you find in the stores. It’s mostly made around the the time St. Nicholas visits the Netherlands (5 December, Sinterklaas in Dutch).

Here is a look at the entire piece, before it was cut:

Almond paste inside, almonds on top…

And a look at a slice of it, where you can more clearly see the almond paste inside:

slice-of-gevulde-speculaas

Delicious!

Categories: Food, Holidays | Tags: Desserts, Sinterklaas | Leave a comment

Bijenkorf (Or: A look at Bijenkorf’s 2016 Christmas selection)

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Niki

I am officially posting on my brand new computer! I picked it up on Wednesday night and it looks gorgeous. I have missed being able to easily make blog posts, and now it is even easier – turn on Bluetooth between my iPhone and MacBook, and I can transfer photos without any extra cables! Of course, the move to a Mac has been an interesting one, but that’s what I have Siri for, right? At least she knows where to find various settings…

(Speaking of which, it was very disconcerting to hear a male Siri! That was one of the first things I switched…)

I recently went into Bijenkorf (rather than just staring at their pretty Christmas trees outside) to have a look at their holiday section.

Very contemplative…

Below is a look at some of the Christmas trees on offer. This year (maybe for the first time since I moved here?, they did not have the large Christmas tree near the front of the store). In its place was a Piet hanging from the ceiling. I was not able to get a picture of it, unfortunately.

Say hello to the party tree!

Bijenkorf does like to colour-coordinate their Christmas trees!

A bit too pastel for my tastes, but I can see how others would like it.

Christmas items for purchase at Bijenkorf, The Hague

Until next time!

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Bijenkorf, Christmas | 1 Comment