Sunday, January 30, 2011

Ten Things You Don't Know about The Netherlands and the Dutch Until You Move Here (Part 3)

The typical Dutch stereotype consists of cheese eating, clog wearing tall people talking a dialect of German with a backdrop of windmills sailing round on the flatlands. However, there is much more to this small country and the people who live in it than the rest of the world thinks. Here's the third part of a series on things you don't necessarily know about the Dutch and their country until you move here.

5. There's More to the Netherlands than Amsterdam
Sure, the capital city is quaint, interesting, unusual and a honey pot for tourists, but there are so many more places to visit when you hop over to the Netherlands. In fact, there's so much more I'm not even going to try to do a round up here. Suffice to say if you want to see the real Netherlands, venture further afield than Amsterdam. Visit www.holland.com for lots more information and ideas.

6. UFOs are Everywhere
That's 'unidentified fried objects' if you're wondering. To be honest, before I moved here I couldn't have offered any suggestions at all about what Dutch people eat (apart from cheese). Now I live here, it's an easy question to answer - anything weirdly shaped and fried! In Holland, most of these UFOs are known as snacks:

Kipcorn (chicken like sausage covered in breadcrumbs and fried)
Frikandel (indescribable contents shaped like a long sausage and fried)
Bitterballen (often seen on the menu in bars - small balls of fried things)
Picanto (thick sausage snack which is... you guessed it.. fried)
Patat (otherwise known as fries or chips and in any case certainly fried)

Traditional food at New Year, oliebollen which are in essence dough balls, are also fried.

In short, they've all seen the inside of a deep fat fryer. When you're in the Netherlands, go native and give snacks a try. Just don't ask too much about what is in them.

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