Author Archives: Andrew

A family trip to the heart of Dutch culture, Amsterdam

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One of the questions we ask ourselves in the summary posts is “Apart from family and friends, what are you missing most about life in the UK?” and while it’s a fun way to think about the differences we experience every day, it’s probably the toughest question because we dearly miss our family and friends back home. With that said, we’ve become quite the easy solution to our family’s holiday destination conundrums, as they just ask where we’ll be at a future point in time and they come out to travel with us!

Julie’s parents joined us for a tour of northern China, her sister and family met us in Istanbul, and our great friend and quick-draw commenter extraordinaire Jo explored Vietnam and then Uzbekistan with us – and raised the quality of our editorial content with a couple of guest posts too ;o)

As we were discussing our final couple of months’ travel plans with my brother and family on Skype, we said we’d planned April would be mostly in Amsterdam. They’d booked a week or so off work in the same month but didn’t have any plans and we ended our conversation with a mutually nonchalant “we’ll look into possibly meeting up and let you know“. 2 hours later we received an ecstatically enthusiastic email from Clare that read “we’ve bought the ferry tickets – see you in Hamsterjam!” Aww yeah!

Keukenhof, Holland, Netherlands

From the overnight cross-channel ferry we arranged a proper Dutch introduction to the Netherlands by meeting up at the blooming Keukenhof tulip and flower gardens! Left to right: Julie and I, Scott, Clare, Emma and Dan

Blessed with bright but occasionally brisk spring weather throughout their visit, we spent almost every day together even though our apartment was in the centre of Amsterdam and they’d booked a nice static caravan at the closest Eurocamp about an hour away. With an eye on the weekly tulip forecast, we decided to meet up at the Keukenhof gardens which was just starting to come into season..

Keukenhof – Tulips

Julie and I, Keukenhof, Holland, Netherlands

Julie and I arrived early – just enough time for a quick selfie with the tulpen! (‘tulips’ in Dutch)

The Keukenhof gardens are one of the biggest and busiest annual attractions in Holland, and we couldn’t think of a more naturally beautiful setting for a family reunion, and a typically Dutch start to their family holiday with fields of tulips, mini canals and a windmill!

Julie and I arrived a little bit early and did a quick whirlwind of the park taking far too many photographs of the tulips covered in dew glistening in the gorgeous early morning light.

Keukenhof Collage, Holland, Netherlands

It was still about a week or so too early for the tulips outside to be at their best, but there were an inexhaustible array of colours on display inside the greenhouses and outside in the other flower beds. The immaculate gardens reminded us of the manicured Japanese gardens, especially as there was an odd cherry tree in bloom here too! Clockwise from top-left: Tulips, tulips, everywhere we looked; Grape hyacinth; More tulips!; Cherry tree in beautiful full bloom; We weren’t the only ones that couldn’t stop taking photos!

We’d been eagerly anticipating our get-together as we hadn’t seen Dan, Clare and Scott for 25 months, and Emma, well, she’s 14 months old so for all we’d seen her on Skype, this was the first time we met. Scott ran to meet us with fantastic hugs but Emma took her time to decide if we were OK, and after about 10 minutes she’d made up her mind and started smiling!

Keukenhof Family Collage, Holland, Netherlands

Catching up amongst the tulips, and getting acquainted with my new niece! Clockwise from top-left: Playing with Emma and Scott; These clogs are big enough for 3! – Julie, Scott and I; Walking Emma with her Dad; Playing the (fake plastic) cheese drums with Scott!

Zaanse Schans – Windmills and old Dutch industry

The windmills of Zaanse Schans, Holland, Netherlands

The windmills of Zaanse Schans – the powerhouses of Dutch industry in the 18th and 19th centuries

Continuing our immersion in Dutch culture, we spent a day at Zaanse Schans which is a free, open-air museum showcasing the beginnings of the early industrial way of life from the 18th and 19th centuries. We especially liked the diversity of the windmills that have been saved from dereliction and destruction across the Netherlands and have been lovingly restored. I hadn’t really considered it before, but windmills can be used for all sorts of processes besides milling grain into flour, such as grinding spices, cutting trees up as a sawmill, stirring milk to make cheese and even making pigments for paint!

Inside the spice grinding windmill, Zaanse Schans, Holland, Netherlands

The spice grinding windmill was much bigger inside than we expected – it had space for 4 sets of crushing wheels all powered by the sails above. The ropes hanging down from the ceiling control the gears which start and stop each station – very clever. Oh, and it smelt wonderful inside!

Clog making demonstration at Zaanse Schans, Holland, Netherlands

Scott and I were fascinated by the clog making demonstration where they took a quarter chunk of tree and turned it into a shoe in about 6 or 7 minutes! We watched it twice and we took lots of photos, then Scott modelled some from the gift shop – what an adorable little poser!

While entrance to the area and the demonstrations are free, most of the space in the windmills and attached barns is given over to gift shops which usually have free samples! As we’d brought our own lunch it turned out to be quite a cheap family day out too.

Alkmaar – Cheese Market

Alkmaar wholesale cheese auction, Alkmaar, Holland, Netherlands

The start of the weekly “kaasmarkt” or cheese market in the small town of Alkmaar just north of Amsterdam. Here two members of the cheese carriers guild carry out special cheese barrows which weigh about 25kg each – later they’ll be loaded with 8 of the bright orange Gouda rounds, each weighing 13.5kg, that’s 130kg total!

Having frolicked through the tulips at Keukenhof and watched clogs being made in a windmill at Zaanse Schans, the only remaining experience on our fun-packed family friendly tour of Dutch culture was cheese – and we hit the jackpot!

The small town of Alkmaar is one of only 4 in the Netherlands that regularly reenacts the cheese auctions of yesteryear. This weekly show starts at 7am when the “kaaszetters” or cheese-setters unload the cheese from the local dairies onto pallets laid out in the Waagplein outside the Waaggebouw for inspection. “Waag” means weigh, “plein” means square and “gebouw” means house or building.

5 minutes before the cheese market opens, Alkmaar, Holland, Netherlands

Waiting for the cheese bell to toll – the guys in white with the coloured straw hats are the cheese runners, the guys in light blue to the left are cheese-setters (they handle the cheese directly), and the two men dressed in white coats to the far right are samplers who negotiate the prices

At 9:30 the “kaasvader” or cheese father calls the roll of cheese carriers and divides them up to cover the area of the market. At 10:00 on the dot the market officially opens with a toll of the bells from the Waaggebouw tower, and the traders and samplers start working their way around the orange carpet of creaminess knocking, sampling with a corkscrew-like doweling rod and finally cutting a cheese from each batch in half to check the number of eyes, or holes, present.

Cheese sampling, Alkmaar, Holland, Netherlands

Here a sampler and trader inspect a cheese chosen at random from a pallet in the market

Once each batch of cheese is inspected a ritual of hand slapping is performed – kind of like a cross between a handshake and a game of pat-a-cake, where the sampler and trader shout prices back and forth until they finally grasp hands in agreement – the wholesale price of the batch is set and must be weighed before purchase. This is where the cheese-runners come in..

Cheese runners at full pelt, Alkmaar, Holland, Netherlands

Having transported the cheese to the Waaggebouw for weighing, the cheese-runners then run it back through the market to be loaded onto the trader’s cart. Photo credit: Scott Freemantle

After all the excitement of hand slapping and running cheeses hither and thither we wandered the narrow cobbled pedestrian streets of Alkmaar, which felt like a mini Amsterdam with its narrower canals and leaning narrow houses.

We ended another lovely day together with Scott’s favourite lunch: cheese sandwiches – what else!

The Canals and Architecture of Amsterdam

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Often called the Venice of the north, a subtitle claimed by other notable European cities such as St. Petersberg, Bruges, and er, Manchester, Amsterdam is famously known for its canals – it has more than any other city in the world – 60 miles of them in total!

Amsterdam canal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

As I’m sure we’ve written about before, one of the first things we like to do when we arrive in a new place is to wander the streets nearby to get our bearings, scope out the local amenities and to get a feel for the neighbourhood. Even better if there are self-guided walks, which for European cities are easier to find, and we’ve particularly enjoyed Rick Steve’s audio tours.

Amsterdam canal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

We started with his guided walk through the city which includes a nice overview of Dutch history and took us to some of the quieter areas just off the main canals and streets. In our apartment we also found a canals walk in the DK Eyewitness Travel book that starts in the central Dam Square, takes a counterclockwise route through the main circular rings of canals: the Singel, Keizersgracht, Herengracht, Reguliersgracht and ends where Prinsengracht meets the Amstel.

Dam Square, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The centre of the city, Dam Square. The white sculpture is the National Monument – dedicated to the memory of the casualties of World War II and subsequent armed conflicts. Thankfully there weren’t any casualties of the armed conflict taking place here on the 4th of April, as it was International Pillow Fight Day!

After a couple of years of bad floods at the start of the 12th century, the locals built a dam across the Amstel river, and the area became known as “Aemstelredamme” – literally “Dam on the Amstel” – which over time and use was shortened to “Amsterdam”. The Dam Square is the location of this original dam and remains to this day the centre of the city.

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The start of the Canals walk in the DK Eyewitness Travel guide.

Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Keizersgracht means “emperor’s canal”, the white building in the middle (no. 319) was constructed in 1639 and has a beautifully ornate façade of scrolls, vases and garlands. The building to the left of it is reportedly where Russian Czar Peter the Great stopped on his first trip to Amsterdam and got drunk with friends, while the mayor waited at a civic reception further down the canal!

345a Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam’s tall, narrow houses are part necessity, part practicality and part financial, some of which are really narrow – like 345a Keizersgracht.. it even has two front doors so it’s actually 2 separate apartments!

As the city is built on reclaimed marshland, the topsoil is pretty unstable which limits the weight of the buildings. This means they’re all pretty uniform in height and generally constructed of lighter materials (sandstone and brick) and feature large windows to keep the overall weight down.

Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Houses were taxed on their width, with canal-facing ones attracting the highest rents. It was said that the richest were those that lived on the inside of the canal bend – they’d pay the highest taxes but have the least amount of living space!

The majority date from the Dutch Golden Age of trading and were built by merchants who also wanted to use some of the space for storage, so the roofline includes a beam and pulley for hoisting goods and furniture. To prevent damaging the expensive façade as they were moved up and down, the buildings also lean into the street.

Roof pulleys, Amsterdam, Netherlands

It was rare to find a house without the pulley and wheel in the roof, and we passed a few houses being renovated that had ropes attached so they’re very much still in use

39 Reguliersgracht, Amsterdam, Netherlands

39 Reguliersgracht looks like it’s preparing to dive head-first into the canal!

No two houses are the same, even neighbouring ones built at the same time differ in features or decoration as the owners sought to display their individuality. We especially liked the different shaped gables, and marvelled that some of the really crooked corner buildings were still standing!

Canal boats, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Certain designated wider canals are lined with an equally diverse collection of semi-permanent house boats. Ranging from canal-boats to modified commercial vessels, simple floating boxes to elaborate two-storey houses, they all have addresses and most are hooked up to the city’s water and electricity supplies

Jenever tasting in Amsterdam

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Jenever is the national liquor of The Netherlands and Belgium, and while we’re quite partial to a gin and tonic, we’d never heard of Jenever, which happens to be gin’s ancestor.. time to get acquainted..

Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

The Wynand Fockink distillery is on Pijlsteeg, a narrow backstreet just off the main Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam

We booked ourselves on a 1 hour tasting session at the Wynand Fockink distillery which was established in 1679, but Jenever is known to be much older. We’re glad we reserved a place by email as there was quite a crowd waiting outside before the start of the weekly tastings.

Jenever tasting, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

After a short introduction about the history of the drink, the company, and how it’s made it was time to start tasting!

Jenever tasting, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

The alcohol in Jenever comes from fermented sprouting grains, which is then triple-distilled before being flavoured with spices and juniper berries – or ‘jeneverbes’ in Dutch – which is where the name comes from. (In Dutch the ‘J’ is pronounced like a ‘Y’ in English, so now you know how to ask for it!)

Julie and I at the Jenever tasting, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

Julie and I sampling the limoncello course.. Mmmm!

Andre our guide went on to explain Wynand Fockink produce essentially 2 types of Jenever and a host of different flavoured liqueurs:

  • Jonge Jenever – Young Jenever. In this case young refers to the age of the recipe not the ageing of the spirit!
  • Oude Jenever – Old Jenever. The original (and best!) recipe.
  • .. and Flavoured Liqueurs – For these the alcohol base is bought in and infused with pretty much any flavour you can imagine!

The tasting started with the Jonge Jenever which we thought akin to vodka. We found it quite harsh but not unpleasant – certainly nicer than drinking neat gin. Next up was the Oude Jenever which we thought had more flavour – the spices and juniper came through more and and it was easier to drink. Both of these are aged in metal drums for about 6 months, but Wynand Fockink’s Superior Jenever is matured for about 3 years in old wooden Jack Daniels barrels and the Tennessee sour-mash easily dominates the subtlety of the spices.

3 stills, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

The 3 recently renewed stills of the Wynand Fockink distillery where the alcohol for their triple-distilled Jenever is produced

Andre then started talking about the many flavoured alcohols that the small distillery produces, and offered a taste of one of our favourite liqueurs – limoncello! After two different varieties, he said they have a flavour for every occasion or event in a person’s life, some with cheeky names like “Hansje in de Kelder” which translates as “Hansel in the cellar”, and is a Dutch saying similar to the English “a bun in the oven” – although they no longer recommend it for pregnant ladies!

The final round, Jenever tasting, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

We also got to sample a few of the many flavoured spirits or liqueurs they make. Left to right they are: “Half and Half” – a blend of orange liqueur and spice infused liqueur (cloves and cinnamon); “Hansje in de Kelder” – “Hansel in the cellar” which tastes of orange, apricot and lemons; “Volmaakt Geluk” – which means “Perfect Bliss” and tastes of violets and roses; and “Drop” – salted liquorice, our favourite along with their limoncello!

Next was his personal favourite flavour: “Drop” – which is liquorice in Dutch, and one of my favourite flavours too! While I was sipping away he said the sweet, salty taste is great for alleviating sore throats. Of the flavoured ones we tried, this and their limoncello were our favourites.

Flavours, Wynand Fockink, Amsterdam

The back wall is full of giant glass jars where they steep the ingredients for flavoured the liqueurs

In the end we sampled 3 Jenevers and 6 different liqueurs in about an hour. After the tasting session finished they opened up the bar next door to the public, but not until we’d had chance to visit their extensive gift shop and get another round in!

Luxembourg Round Up

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From France we thought we’d add another country to our tally by heading north through Luxembourg. It’s a new country for Julie as I’ve been here before albeit briefly, and as it was for work I didn’t really get to any of the sights.

View of the Grund, Casemates Bock and the pont du château, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

The compact but vertical city of Luxembourg. The red arched bridge ‘pont du château’ just left of the the middle joins the Casemates Bock (right) to the city (left), and the picturesque valley in the foreground is The Grund

The central old town of Luxembourg City is contained within the boundaries of an ancient fortress, even though most of the defences no longer exist. As a result it’s quite a compact place to visit, and it was straightforward to see the main sights – notice I said straightforward and not easy.. the area’s soft limestone means the river Alzette has cut a gorge through the landscape so walking around Luxembourg City means climbing up some steep streets!

Inside the Casemates Bock, Luxembourg

Inside the Casemates Bock, the passages get narrower the further you go and some are quite claustrophobic!

The first sight on our short itinerary was the impressive natural defences of the Casemates Bock. In 963 Count Siegfried bought an existing castle atop the cliffs above the Alzette and started enlarging and fortifying the area against attacks, but it was the Spanish (in 1644) and then the Austrians (in 1737) that created the elaborate complex of underground tunnels and cannon slots that survive today.

We were surprised how extensive they are, with space for 50 cannon, a garrison of 1,200 soldiers, workshops, a kitchen and it even has its own 47m deep well!

The Grund, Luxembourg

A famous area of Luxembourg is the peaceful riverside area called The Grund. There are amazing views of it from the cliff-tops

From the city end of the Casemates we took the panoramic Wenzel walking path, and found a convenient free lift that went down the cliff – but the ‘G’ in this lift doesn’t stand for the ground floor, it stands for Grund! The Grund is a small district that lies at the eastern end of the city on the banks of the river. Its tall, picturesque houses are hemmed in by the river in the middle and the cliffs at their back, criss-crossed by narrow streets. Although the area is full of cafes and restaurants, it was a quiet area to stroll through.

Luxembourg City Sights - Gëlle Fra, Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Grand Ducal Palace

Our highlights of wandering the small Luxembourg City centre were the Gëlle Fra (Golden Woman) monument, the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Grand Ducal Palace where we watched the guard marching outside

After a walking loop and spot of lunch in The Grund we took the lift back up the cliff to wander through the narrow streets of Luxembourg City proper. It’s compact, dense, and home to international brands, boutique shops, and artisan pubs, cafes and restaurants. Three of the sights that stood out for us were the Notre-Dame Cathedral with its lovely curved stained glass apse, the Gëlle Fra or statue of the Golden Woman which commemorates the Luxembourgers who fought against Germany in the 2nd World War, and the beautiful Grand Ducal Palace, official residence of the Grand Duke and his family, with a guard stationed outside.

What photo takes you right back to Luxembourg?

Us in the Casemates Bock, Luxembourg City

Us in the amazing UNESCO Casemates Bock, as you can see we almost have the place to ourselves!

Summarise Luxembourg in three words.

  • Hilly – from our hostel next to the river we climbed up to the Casemates, took the lift down to the Grund then back up and finally descended back to the hostel, not to mention all the stairs inside the Casemates!
  • Multilingual – we read that Luxembourgers are taught Luxembourgish, German, French and English at school, and can elect a further ‘foreign’ language!
  • Quiet – we visited near the end of March and while the wind was chilly it was otherwise pleasant and almost completely devoid of other tourists.

You really know you’re in Luxembourg when…

.. you’re standing underground, but have views to your left and right down the river valley that surrounds you on 3 sides.. where are you? In the Casemates Bock of course – we’ve not seen another place like it!

What one item should you definitely pack when going to Luxembourg?

Your lunch! If you bring a packed lunch or pick up something healthy from the many shops in the centre, you can stop pretty much anywhere on the many self-guided walks around the city and take in the amazing views while fortifying yourself for the next climb.

France Round Up

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What photo takes you right back to France?

Us with wine, cheese and meat at the Salon Vin in Toulouse, France

Us with wine, cheese and meat at the Salon Vins et Terroirs (wine fair) in Toulouse. Heaven! (Photo credit: Thomas :o)

Summarise France in three words.

  • Friendly – We’ll fondly remember our time in France for the amazing hospitality of our friends, but also for the general kindness of everyone we met.
  • Food – Maxime’s father Serge summarised this nicely.. he said the French think food is very important and will often start a few days before to prepare a special meal for family or friends which would last 4, 6 or even 8 hours. We enjoyed some lovely home cooked food with great wine and delicious conversation about travels, politics, and families. Merci!
  • Wine – It seems, to us at least, that every French household has a cave of wine stashed away somewhere! They will often buy young wines and keep them for up to 10 or 15 years, until they’re deemed to be at their best.

You really know you’re in France when…

.. there’s at least one person in the street carrying a baguette. Yes, it’s a cliché, but deservedly so – the country runs on beautiful, crispy, fresh bread!

What one item should you definitely pack when going to France?

Your childhood French. We were only in France for a couple of weeks but were surprised how much of the French we learnt at school started coming back to us. I’m not saying we were fluent by any stretch and we couldn’t compete with the English skills and vocabulary of our friends, but by the end we could hold a basic conversation without embarrassing ourselves.