Ok, so I am a bit late on the deli every about Sinterklaas, but it is better late than never, right?
Ok, so on November 15th Sinterklaas the Dutch version of Santa comes to the Netherlands from Spain on a boat and has a little (actually quite a large parade). This year he came to Almere, a city in the North about an hour form Utrecht by train. So, myself and maybe 6 others we took the train to Almere to see Sinterklaas arrive. At the train station all the little kids were dressed up as Swarte Piet who is Sinterklaas's helpers, they are traditionally black slaves, but now the story is that they are black because of the soot from the chimney. It is a wacky tradition, but that is just it, it is a tradition. Back to the kids, some have black painted faces, that is the weird bit, considering they have blonde hair and blue eyes, but I wouldn't mess with the tradition. And, colourful outfits and little bags to collect candies that are handed out, and lastly, letters they have written for Sinterklaas. Very festive!
When we arrived in Almere it was chaos people everywhere, signs pointing us in the direction to the buses to get to the port. So, one bus ride packed full of little Swarte Piets and parents and we are taken to the parade zone. The parade route was already packed and we were an hour early! So, we squeezed ourselves into little pockets along the railings, and managed incredibly compromising positions to see the full parade route and get a proper glimpse of Sinterklaas. To keep the crowds entertained there were kids parading about along the route with decorative outfits they made in primary school, and then..... Sinterklaas's boat arrived. This massive ship decked (no pun intended) out to the 9's. It was at least 3 levels in total totally decorated, and loaded with Zwarte Piets. Finally, they docked and the procession began, first the Piet's came and threw, yes threw, little gingerbread cookies at the crowds, avoiding them was difficult. The Piet's were dancing and doing little acrobatic things along the way, collecting the letters for Sinterklaas, while the kids yelled "Piet, Piet, Piet"! Then, came Sinterklaas, who may I add looked like the Pope (historically Sinterklaas was a patron saint) riding along on his white horse, and looking ever so real! It was definitely one of the best Santa related parades I have ever been too, and our Christmas parade back home has nothing on the Sintreklaas parade. But, Sinterklaas came and went in the flashest of flashes, and then it was over. Kind of like the build up to Christmas, and then you open all the presents and then it is just the aftermath. But, for those few seconds that we saw Sinterklaas and the Piets it was totally worth it. Afterwards we took photos with a few Piets and then took a look at the boat, very decked out. You could go on the boat but, the line up was a bit too much for me, especially because I didn't want to take away a spot from a eagerly awaiting child. We saw some dancers, drank some hot chocolate, and then decided to head home exhausted from the chaos of the crowds and the excitement. However, the crowds to get on the buses back were just as bad. It was like waiting for the doors to open to Futureshop (maybe WalMart is a better choice) on Boxing Day... out of control. After 25 minutes we had enough and wiggled our way onto the bus and only to get on an indirectly wrong bus, meaning we had to transfer, but it turned out to be worth it because we were heading away from the crowds. When we arrived back at the train station we were famished, so we stopped in for a good ol' sub at Subway! Can you believe they have Subway? Me neither, but I was stoked they did, yum veggie foot long. We ran to catch our train and settled in for our ride back home.
A few things to note about Sinterklaas:
The kids put out their shoes with carrots or hay for the horse of Sinterklaas in exchange for presents.
Typical candy for Sinterklaas is: a chocolate letter- yum a block of solid chocolate in your first initial. Pepernoten, kruidnoten (is the type gingerbread-biscuits that Piet was throwing at the parade, but you also by them by the bags to eat),chocolate coins, a figurine of Sinterklaas made out of chocolate and wrapped in painted aluminium foil, and coloured marzipan shaped into fruit or animals. (Not a fan of the marzipan).
When you exchange gifts on December 5th, the eve of Sinterklaas's birthday you have to write a poem about the person you are giving the gift to. For example, I had to write a poem for our Sinterklaas gift exchange my international committee arranged, it goes like this: (don't laugh, I am a noob at this)
It has to rhyme...
Sinterklaas has come, and celebration is near.
If you listen closely, the shoes of Piet you will hear.
Because you have been so good this year.
Sinterklaas wants to share the cheer.
It was a generic poem for all the participants, but usually it is a little bit longer and more in depth, relating to the gift, and poking fun at the receiver of the gift. I think it is a cool tradition.
So, that was Sinterklaas, the more traditional Christmas celebration in the Netherlands. However, people do celebrate Christmas too, sometimes both!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Netherlands - 4 months
Four months in, and this place is growing on me. Markets on Wednesday and Saturdays = cheese by the wheel, flowers by the bunches, fruits and veggies brimming from boxes, knock-off bags and wallets, kitsch watches- blinding with their 'diamonds'. Coffee Company, my new favourite hang out. Lattes in proper latte cups, big comfy chairs, and music to inspire even the coldest of hearts. It's the living room I never had. Museums galore, I am a frequent flyer at the Van Gogh Museum, I am really getting used to the European way of life.
Life has been buzzing along and the next thing I know it's already Christmas. It's insane! School is going well, I am taking Conflict Resolution (I am learning how to deal with large scale conflict negotiations between parties such as Russia and Georgia, or rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the UN- I hope this translates into more practical use in everyday life). And, my Art and Ideology class is phenomenal, I wish I got into art history much earlier in my academic career. This class is really linking so much, it's essentially examining the art produced during periods of conflict or revolution - ie) The Mexican Revolution, the Cold War, the Russian Revolution, etc- and how these periods of strife effect the art being produced such as, limitations and inspiration, so to speak. I love it, by far one of my favourite classes so far content wise. It also helps make those historical links when you are actually looking at the paintings. For example, I will be in Berlin and during Hitler's reign he considered all Modern Art degenerate art, and showed it off to the people as that trying to persuade them to dismiss it, and revert to Classicism, more traditional art forms and painting styles. So, having studied that I can look at some of the pieces that were banned during the Third Reich (the ones that survived, or others by a particular artist considered degenerate) and have that backgrounder. Love it.
About 2 weeks ago we had our floor Christmas dinner, that was a lot of fun. I decorated the kitchen, and I got a planted 'Charlie Brown' tree, and decorated him to the 9s. Then everyone made a dish or two and that was our dinner, so we had pizza from the Italians, American Mushroom Risotto, I made yams with honey and brown sugar, a tofu Parmesan loaf (sounds gross but it was actually really good!) oh and I made stuffing, with apples and walnuts as an alternative to celery, because apparently the grocers thought cilantro was celery, so when I got 2 people, 2, to go and get some celery for me, that is what they came back with. But, it was a blessing in disguise because the apples and walnuts were a flavour explosion. There was Italian desserts, Polish perogies (btw if you think you are eating perogies in Canada, nothing compares to the Polish ones)! It was a hit, we managed to drag a table from downstairs upstairs and add it to our table. Wine and beer galore, a bit of champagne I really like these huge dinner parties, I am going to host them when I get into my new place.
Other than that, I have mastered my bike manoeuvring skills, so far I have only almost been hit 3 times by a car, that is a good score card, 1 per month with the actually total being more like 2 in one month. Oh I climbed the Dom Tower in Utrecht, you can see the WHOLE city... it is unreal! 490 stairs up, I took it like a champion, nothing like the 520 in Kolon (Cologne). There is a Viktor and Rolf fashion exhibit at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, so when I get back (from xmas break) I will check that out, and go to Den Hague to see the 'Girl with the Pearl Earring' and the miniature everything in Holland, in a museum also in the Den Hague,and maybe check out the ICC (International Criminal Court).
My days are numbered here, so I have to check off my list of things to see before I go. But, this has been an amazing experience, and wouldn't trade it for anything. I am also excited to come home, I must say Christmas was really different this year. It really didn't feel like it, unless I was directly participating in a Christmas type event. I still enjoyed myself.
I will write about the individual trips and such, in another blog.
Life has been buzzing along and the next thing I know it's already Christmas. It's insane! School is going well, I am taking Conflict Resolution (I am learning how to deal with large scale conflict negotiations between parties such as Russia and Georgia, or rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the UN- I hope this translates into more practical use in everyday life). And, my Art and Ideology class is phenomenal, I wish I got into art history much earlier in my academic career. This class is really linking so much, it's essentially examining the art produced during periods of conflict or revolution - ie) The Mexican Revolution, the Cold War, the Russian Revolution, etc- and how these periods of strife effect the art being produced such as, limitations and inspiration, so to speak. I love it, by far one of my favourite classes so far content wise. It also helps make those historical links when you are actually looking at the paintings. For example, I will be in Berlin and during Hitler's reign he considered all Modern Art degenerate art, and showed it off to the people as that trying to persuade them to dismiss it, and revert to Classicism, more traditional art forms and painting styles. So, having studied that I can look at some of the pieces that were banned during the Third Reich (the ones that survived, or others by a particular artist considered degenerate) and have that backgrounder. Love it.
About 2 weeks ago we had our floor Christmas dinner, that was a lot of fun. I decorated the kitchen, and I got a planted 'Charlie Brown' tree, and decorated him to the 9s. Then everyone made a dish or two and that was our dinner, so we had pizza from the Italians, American Mushroom Risotto, I made yams with honey and brown sugar, a tofu Parmesan loaf (sounds gross but it was actually really good!) oh and I made stuffing, with apples and walnuts as an alternative to celery, because apparently the grocers thought cilantro was celery, so when I got 2 people, 2, to go and get some celery for me, that is what they came back with. But, it was a blessing in disguise because the apples and walnuts were a flavour explosion. There was Italian desserts, Polish perogies (btw if you think you are eating perogies in Canada, nothing compares to the Polish ones)! It was a hit, we managed to drag a table from downstairs upstairs and add it to our table. Wine and beer galore, a bit of champagne I really like these huge dinner parties, I am going to host them when I get into my new place.
Other than that, I have mastered my bike manoeuvring skills, so far I have only almost been hit 3 times by a car, that is a good score card, 1 per month with the actually total being more like 2 in one month. Oh I climbed the Dom Tower in Utrecht, you can see the WHOLE city... it is unreal! 490 stairs up, I took it like a champion, nothing like the 520 in Kolon (Cologne). There is a Viktor and Rolf fashion exhibit at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, so when I get back (from xmas break) I will check that out, and go to Den Hague to see the 'Girl with the Pearl Earring' and the miniature everything in Holland, in a museum also in the Den Hague,and maybe check out the ICC (International Criminal Court).
My days are numbered here, so I have to check off my list of things to see before I go. But, this has been an amazing experience, and wouldn't trade it for anything. I am also excited to come home, I must say Christmas was really different this year. It really didn't feel like it, unless I was directly participating in a Christmas type event. I still enjoyed myself.
I will write about the individual trips and such, in another blog.
Christmas in Poland
What a trip... I left for Poland Decemeber 22, at 8:15pm the bus was estimated at 16 hours, route -->the Netherlands to Germany north into Poland. To start, the bus was 25 minutes late, and it was literally on the verge of freezing. The bus ride was ok for the most part until we arrived in Poland. At about 8am we arrived at our transfer point, except the the bus from London had its engine break down, and delayed the other busses for 3 hours. 3 hours! Don't ask why they couldn't send another bus, it was pretty shady and hardly anyone spoke English. So, I had to wait it out, and finally we were able to leave and I was on my way to Lodz, my roommate's city. I arrived in one piece happy to be off the bus, and met Ania and we headed to her city 20 minutes from Lodz. It was an interesting situation, because Ania's mother spoke very little English, she spent 1 year in Canada 30 years ago, and her father spoke only Russian and Polish, so we had quite the language barrier. However, Ania was able to translate quite well for me, and I was able to pick up bare essentials in Polish, and used sign language to communicate with her dad when Ania was not available to translate. It all worked out quite well.
December 23rd, I arrived and got to decorate the Christmas tree~! Christmas eve I was tasked with food prep for the dinner, and misc things. In Poland they are very Catholic and very traditional, this meant that for dinner we had to 'break' the bread with everyone and make Christmas wishes. After, we start the first of 12 dishes, yes 12. The first was traditional warm drink made with dried fruits (apricots, plums and prunes, with cinnamon and nutmeg and lovely Christmas smells) 2nd was soup with perogies inside, very tasty. 3d was a different type of perogy with mushrooms and onions inside, 4th was fish dish 5th and 6th were traditional Polish salads, 7th and 8th was a fish dish with vegetables and potatoes, 9th was an additional salad and 10th, 11th and 12th were cakes. I thought Canadian Christmas dinners were too much food, this was a lot! It was a very cool experience to eat traditional Polish food. Afterwards, came the tea always the tea, very typical of eastern European culture. Then came the presents, the family was very nice to me, and gave me gifts, I got a book about Poland, typical Polish chocolates and a bracelet. I gave them a wine decanter in the shape of an old bottle, and a candle decoration from the Christmas market in Cologne. It all went very well!
On Christmas morning we had a big breakfast, and just spent the day hanging about the house and eating. In Poland, their biggest meal is our lunch around 3-4, and then a small meal at 7-8. Another big meal was the Christmas 'dinner' and then we had to eat later on as well. It must be noted, that I am not used to eating this much food, and well it's a good thing I didn't have anywhere special to go because I just wanted to wear stretchy pants, even though I secretly wanted to eat granola and go to the gym. But, hey when in Rome.
The following day we went into Krakow in the south and Auschwitz, about a 2 hour drive. Auschwitz was an interesting experience, it was something to see if you want to grasp the gravity of the situation, but it is hard to see. Going into the camp and seeing the displays was pretty hard, it's hard to comprehend how one individual was capable of creating an ideology that inflicted so much cruelty and harm, and that people actually believed in and supported such an idea. I saw both camps, but the smaller one with the buildings where the torture and killings happened had the biggest affect. A lot of strange things, like a display of hair that was collected from victims and shows, and bowls and luggage. Hundreds of pictures showing victims lined the walls, and it was hard to see them after awhile. But, if you have an opportunity and you have the will to see it, it is something that should be seen.
It is a beautiful city, with a massive castle and a wonderful old city centre. We walked around the castle, and then headed over to the centre. I saw an old market set, where they were sealing touristy things, and loads of jewelry and some Christmasy things. We went into a Christmas market and bought traditional Polish candy, the fudge like stuff, so full of melty goodness. Afterwards, we went to the gate of the city that was from the Roman times. All this in the what I felt was freezing cold, and darkening of night. Finally, we went to restaurant and I had some hot rum with cinnamon, and then a giant pancake concoction with zucchini and cheese. A wonderful dinner of sorts. Then it was time to go home.
The last day Ania took me shopping to one of the largest markets in Europe, and then to one of the biggest shopping malls in Europe. A bit excessive, but interesting to see. In the evening we went to several parties in the centre, and I got to party Polish style. I must say, even though the Dutch don't dance, I prefer the non-dancing blunt Dutch to the electro ravers of the 80s in Poland. Overall, it was fun, the first club not so much, but further through the night it got much better. My stay in Poland was very nice and on the 28th I was on a bus to Berlin.
Poland is an interesting country, it is still recovering from the war and has a mixed tier of poverty and wealth. The buildings are quite old, and shambled and will become revitalized but in time. Being a new member of the EU means revitalization is occurring but it will take time. I would recommend Poland, but in 10 years. It is a tough country to be in as a back-packer, but I had the luxury of being with a family and well-off family too. I am glad I went, it is one country I am glad to have had company and someone showing me around, and maybe I will go back.
December 23rd, I arrived and got to decorate the Christmas tree~! Christmas eve I was tasked with food prep for the dinner, and misc things. In Poland they are very Catholic and very traditional, this meant that for dinner we had to 'break' the bread with everyone and make Christmas wishes. After, we start the first of 12 dishes, yes 12. The first was traditional warm drink made with dried fruits (apricots, plums and prunes, with cinnamon and nutmeg and lovely Christmas smells) 2nd was soup with perogies inside, very tasty. 3d was a different type of perogy with mushrooms and onions inside, 4th was fish dish 5th and 6th were traditional Polish salads, 7th and 8th was a fish dish with vegetables and potatoes, 9th was an additional salad and 10th, 11th and 12th were cakes. I thought Canadian Christmas dinners were too much food, this was a lot! It was a very cool experience to eat traditional Polish food. Afterwards, came the tea always the tea, very typical of eastern European culture. Then came the presents, the family was very nice to me, and gave me gifts, I got a book about Poland, typical Polish chocolates and a bracelet. I gave them a wine decanter in the shape of an old bottle, and a candle decoration from the Christmas market in Cologne. It all went very well!
On Christmas morning we had a big breakfast, and just spent the day hanging about the house and eating. In Poland, their biggest meal is our lunch around 3-4, and then a small meal at 7-8. Another big meal was the Christmas 'dinner' and then we had to eat later on as well. It must be noted, that I am not used to eating this much food, and well it's a good thing I didn't have anywhere special to go because I just wanted to wear stretchy pants, even though I secretly wanted to eat granola and go to the gym. But, hey when in Rome.
The following day we went into Krakow in the south and Auschwitz, about a 2 hour drive. Auschwitz was an interesting experience, it was something to see if you want to grasp the gravity of the situation, but it is hard to see. Going into the camp and seeing the displays was pretty hard, it's hard to comprehend how one individual was capable of creating an ideology that inflicted so much cruelty and harm, and that people actually believed in and supported such an idea. I saw both camps, but the smaller one with the buildings where the torture and killings happened had the biggest affect. A lot of strange things, like a display of hair that was collected from victims and shows, and bowls and luggage. Hundreds of pictures showing victims lined the walls, and it was hard to see them after awhile. But, if you have an opportunity and you have the will to see it, it is something that should be seen.
It is a beautiful city, with a massive castle and a wonderful old city centre. We walked around the castle, and then headed over to the centre. I saw an old market set, where they were sealing touristy things, and loads of jewelry and some Christmasy things. We went into a Christmas market and bought traditional Polish candy, the fudge like stuff, so full of melty goodness. Afterwards, we went to the gate of the city that was from the Roman times. All this in the what I felt was freezing cold, and darkening of night. Finally, we went to restaurant and I had some hot rum with cinnamon, and then a giant pancake concoction with zucchini and cheese. A wonderful dinner of sorts. Then it was time to go home.
The last day Ania took me shopping to one of the largest markets in Europe, and then to one of the biggest shopping malls in Europe. A bit excessive, but interesting to see. In the evening we went to several parties in the centre, and I got to party Polish style. I must say, even though the Dutch don't dance, I prefer the non-dancing blunt Dutch to the electro ravers of the 80s in Poland. Overall, it was fun, the first club not so much, but further through the night it got much better. My stay in Poland was very nice and on the 28th I was on a bus to Berlin.
Poland is an interesting country, it is still recovering from the war and has a mixed tier of poverty and wealth. The buildings are quite old, and shambled and will become revitalized but in time. Being a new member of the EU means revitalization is occurring but it will take time. I would recommend Poland, but in 10 years. It is a tough country to be in as a back-packer, but I had the luxury of being with a family and well-off family too. I am glad I went, it is one country I am glad to have had company and someone showing me around, and maybe I will go back.
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