The Netherlands

A few hours on the Thalys and I am in Den Haag in the Netherlands.

Aside from the odd similarity between the Dutch accent and the American accent, I have noticed a few interesting things about the Netherlands that I had not in my previous visit eight years ago, most discovered with my favorite pair of eyes, my stomach:

- Semi-prepared food is a big deal here. The supermarkets are packed with pre-marinated meats and already assembled pasta bakes, but appear to lack sizeable produce and raw-food sections. While convenient and delicious, I hate to imagine the extra waste produced from packaging.
- Cheese is also a big deal here as I find out as I am almost crushed by a cheese wheel delivery
- Mustard soup is really good
- The Dutch know how to do organic prepared food
- Stroopwafels, little wafer thin waffles filled with syrup-tasting caramel, are delicious
- I love Indonesian rijstafel

I spend more time relaxing with Nik and Ben than real sightseeing as I realize I am getting a bit tired after four straight months of travel and no breaks to go back to a "home." In Den Haag, I am finally able to spend several hours cooking up a storm with Nik as we fiddle with recreating several of the recipes I have learned during my travels and explore the capacity of their deep fryer.

Although this time away has only expanded my "must travel to" list, I'm ready to head back home for a bit and remind myself of the concept of a normal day...for the a short while, at least...