Things I Miss From Holland

I was getting ready to make the dressing for our turkey and since it was just Jon and I for Thanksgiving I got a small turkey and only needed about a half a loaf of bread. We dont eat very much bread and I was thinking how nice it would be to buy one of those half loaves of bread we used to find in the Albert Hijn store. I think there would be a market here for them. Lots of singles and elderly folks who might like just a little bit of bread. It got me thinking about other things I miss from the Netherlands.

The taste of dark chocolate, called puur (pure - roll the "R") in Dutch. The Dutch process their chocolate in a unique way which removes the bitterness. It so improves the flavor and less sugar is needed. I dont eat a lot of chocolate, but I love a nibble now and then. This was so satisfying and delicious to melt and dip things in.

I would love to be able to walk or bike to stores. Loved having things close and the built-in exercise of this kind of lifestyle. Having observed the European diet, which is heavy on bread, cheese, ham and more bread, I am convinced that the integrated exercise is the reason why Europeans are generally less overweight than Americans. This theory formed in my mind, in part, because of the changes in the European waistline from the 1980's to the present time. When visiting there in 1983 I don't think I saw a single person who was overweight at all. Now more people commute and live farther from school and work. More kids have motorized scooters to get around on. It is easier to drive. So, though most folks I saw were still generally fit, I did see lots of middle-aged spread and even occasionally truly obese people. My theory has been reinforced by my own natural creeping numbers on the scale, which I am now having to actively fight.

I miss the little tea shop in Barneveld (Barn-a-felt) that was so charming. Someone had converted a farmhouse and barn into a tea shop which also sold soaps and some pretty household things and the house held a garden shop. They were both so quaint, beautiful, and uniquely Dutch.

I miss pepernoten ( pepper-note-n) and schuim (shkowm) candies at Christmas or more accurately at Sinterklaas time, December 5th. Pepernoten are tiny spice cookies and schuim which means foam is a tasty soft, sweet candy with a texture somewhat like the orange circus peanuts in the States. These two treats are put into the children's shoes by Sinter (rhymes with winter) Klaas (klaws), the Dutch version of Santa Claus. Actually Santa Claus is the Americanized version of this character. The pilgrims picked up this bit of cross-cultural Yuletide celebration during the time they were living in Holland before making their pilgrimage to the New World. The local grocery store would allow the children to leave a shoe and they would fill them with the cookies and candies for Sinter Klaas Day, which is when the Dutch exchange gifts. Christmas Day is strictly a religious celebration, for the small percentage who are Christian and a day to spend with family for all of them. Fortunately for me, my Dutch friend has sent me some chocolate and pepernoten for this year's Sinter Klaas Day. She is a really good friend and I miss her :-)

I miss having an on-demand hot water heater. In Holland, we had almost immediate hot water and could run it all day and always have piping hot water. Our hot water here must be pumped up from the center of the earth judging by the time it takes to arrive at the spigot.

I will miss Candlelight in Barneveld with the music, free horse-drawn sleigh rides (on wheels), hot cocoa and poffertjes (poffer-a-juz) ( tiny little puffy pancakes slathered with butter and heavily dusted with powdered sugar - so good and so glad I have a poffertjes pan and had the foresight to bring a couple of mixes with me.) I loved the smell of the smoke from the fires along the street held in metal baskets, places to stop and warm your hands, giving off their warmth and glow. And the singing and music along the street. Carolers, a South American musical group playing their pipes and drums (in North American Indian garb all mix and match), quartets, choirs, and instrumental musicians.

I miss the ducks on the canals and the flowers everywhere. I miss walking and biking paths. In our neighborhood the sidewalks start and stop without rhyme or reason. We are having to explore back ways to get to things when we want to leave the car at home because most roads in this area seem to have the same inconsistencies as our neighborhood. America is definitely automobile centric. We have to be. Things are just too spread out to do much practical biking or walking.No more going to a crosswalk and just walking across. The car is king and even when pedestrians have the right of way, they never take it, because they don't even know they have it. We all just assume we yield to the cars.


         In spite of all these wonderful things I miss, I do not pine for Holland. It is more wistful remembering with fondness. We are in the "bridge" stage of repatriating. It is the transition stage where w have left friends and what we know, but haven't yet fully integrated into our home. That integration will come and one look out the window at the intensely blue and often completely cloudless sky and I am so happy to be here. Being able to talk to and understand almost everybody I see makes the move back home worthwhile. Walking into a church service in English and feeling my heart soar in worship - that is priceless!