Eating in The Netherlands

It’s been quite a day. We woke early and began with a story. Bill Bryson’s At Home  was a book we’d picked up at Auckland airport and hadn’t got around to reading until this morning. In a way it was very appropriate as it set us well and truly in this hemisphere. It also made us think a bit more about where we have come from and who has gone before us. We are back in a part of the world that is steeped in thousands of years of history.

This photo is for Emma

Our morning began with a trip to the town of Delft. I knew about Delft pottery but didn’t know about the town. It’s a lot like I remember Amsterdam with its canals, arched bridges, narrow streets and three storey semi-detached houses with those very typical Dutch-shaped roofs. The market was stacked with beautifully arranged summer fruits and vegetables, large rounds of cheese, fish and even a special stall for dogs with large pigs’ ears and other chewy treats. Around the corner we came in to large open square where a grind organ was playing and families were seated around tables under a shelter of large leafy trees. Tineke found us a table, and we ordered a coffee and a typical Dutch apple cake. Mmmm. Delicious. A sweet light pastry filled with lightly cooked slices of apple, sultanas, cinnamon and sugar topped with lashings of whipped cream.

Mmmmm

Next stop was the impressive Dutch Reform Cathedral and I guess where the memory of what we’d read in the morning came to my mind. Like any church there are those that have been buried beneath. This church houses the tombs of the very rich including the first Dutch king, William 1 (otherwise known as William of Orange). The pamphlet tells us that it was first build in 1050 as a tuff stone church measuring just 10 by 30 meters.  Two centuries later a prominent aristocrat named Bartholomeus van der Made began the first rebuilding and expansion works. When he died, be became the patron saint of the church known as St Bartholemew.  When the Dutch Reformists between 1566 and 1572 stormed the building and demolished anything which appeared Catholic the church became, like thousands of churches around that time, a protestant church of worship. Interestingly, Tineke explained, the churches in Medieval times were places of trade as well as worship.

Look one way...

....then the other.

I got a little waylaid in the shops, and found a top which I couldn’t resist. We also realised that the plan to visit a fish market to taste fresh new raw herring was not going to be realised so we opted for a market herring which was just as tasty. Yum yum. I never knew raw fish could be as nice as this.

Next stop was the impressive Architecture Museum in Rotterdam. It covers both the past and explores the future of architecture. The building covers three floors including a basement. Both Tineke and I kept to the basement and the top floor, then opted for a cool drink on the terrace. I was feeling tired and ready for a sleep. Selwyn continued for a short while exploring the complexities of town planning in cities like Delhi, Paris and New York. It would have been interesting for me as well but my body wasn’t going to let me do this.

Back at Tineke’s we gave ourselves a bit of time to rest, refresh and dress up a bit and then head out to a restaurant owned by an old friend of Tineke’s- Azi . Azi greeted us warmly at the door, and even knew our names (Tineke was parking the car at the time) and she showed us our table. We deliberated over the menu for a while and came up with what we thought we’d like. “No” said the waitress, “we have designed a special menu just for you.” How could we argue?

First course was a thin slice of salmon, with a pile of mashed herring and fennel mixed in a yoghurt based sauce. There were unusual greens on the plate which I’d never seen- a type of edible seaweed rich in iodine. Second course was a fish fin from a fish we weren’t able to identify, or lost in translation, more like. Later I learned it was skate.  A bit like a very large flounder, it had a flounder-type flavour, if you could get past the strong curry sauce covering it. Azi runs a delicatessen beside the restaurant which specialises in sauces, jams and curries, so I guess it was important she showcased these in her menus.

The third course was a melon soup with a drizzle of the most tasty raspberry sauce I have ever tasted. It was a highly refreshing way to serve melon and raspberries I thought.

The final course was a lovely lemon tart. A recipe Azi had picked up from Portugal. The pastry and filling just melted in our mouths. By the end of this we were quite tired so we headed back and straight to bed. What a great day.