Holiday Dutch style

At the beginning of the year, the Dutch make holiday plans. The holiday fair is open these days and a lot of commercials are being aired announcing rebates for those who book their holiday early for the rest of the year.

Two types of holidays seem to me typical for the Dutch:

1. For many Dutch the first holiday of the year is a week of skiing. I find it amusing how eager they are, considering that one cannot ski in the Netherlands, as the country doesn’t have mountains. The Dutch fill up their cars and start on a journey of more than 1.000 km to France, Austria or Switzerland, where they ski, their children take skiing lessons and at the end of the day the main activity is the “aprés ski”, meaning parties in huts mostly accompanied by poor music (schlagers, carnival music).

For the less fortunate Dutch there are “gipsvluchten” (cast flights). I thought it was very funny that there is a dedicated word for these flights bringing the Dutch who are injured during skiing or snowboarding from the mountains back to the Netherlands. In similar cases, but then during the summer holidays, the Dutch who get ill can come home using the “parasolvluchten” (parasol flights), mostly from the popular destinations like Greece, Spain, Turkey.

2. When spring begins, the Dutch start to become recognizable on the European roads with their caravans or, the more luxury versions, the campers.

Especially for the families with small children and with a more limited budget, the camping seems to be the first option for a holiday. They either park their own caravan for 2-3 weeks on a camping or they hire one there, either way the camping loving Dutch seem not to need too much luxury. A typical image for the camping life is crossing the distance from the caravan to the toilet with a roll of toilet paper under one’s arm. Imagining a holiday with such conditions, with no bathroom of my own, with neighbors you cannot avoid or ignore, stuck in one place for the whole time… I don’t really understand the charm of the camping. The children have fun at the swimming pool or on the playgrounds and that seems very important for the parents.

A real case I have heard of and which I find unbelievable: a caravan owning family has spent a holiday on a camping just outside their town and they used to come home every now and then to do the laundry or clean the dishes.

I have also heard of Dutch who go camping with their caravan and who return every year to the same place, same camping. That is also something I cannot understand.

The year 2013 seems to be bleak as far as holidays are concerned, because of the economical crisis (a term we hear every day on the news, I don’t know about you, but I am saturated with this obsession) it seems that about 27% of the Dutch will not go on a holiday this year. Last year 22% of the Dutch were in this position.

 

Concediile olandeze

La inceput de an, multi olandezi fac planuri de concediu. In perioada asta este in desfasurare targul de turism si sunt multe reclame la televizor si radio cu oferte avantajoase daca rezervi deja o calatorie pentru anul care tocmai a inceput.

Doua tipuri de concedii mi se par tipice pentru olandezi:

1. Pentru multi olandezi primul concediu al anului este o saptamana la schi. Mi se pare amuzant cat de inversunati sunt, avand in vedere ca in Olanda nu se poate schia, fiind o tara fara munti. Isi incarca masinile si pornesc la drumuri de peste 1.000 km pana in Franta, Elvetia sau Austria, unde schiaza, isi dau si copiii la lectii de schi, iar la sfarsitul zilei activitatea de baza este “aprés ski”, adica petreceri in cabane preponderent acompaniate de muzica proasta (schlagere, muzica de carnaval).

Pentru olandezii mai putin norocosi exista “gipsvluchten” (zboruri cu ghips). Mi s-a parut foarte amuzant faptul ca exista un cuvant dedicat pentru a descrie zborurile speciale efectuate intre zonele de munte si Olanda pentru olandezii care se accidenteaza la schi sau snowboarding. Pentru situatia asemanatoare a olandezilor care se imbolnavesc in timpul concediului de vara exista “parasolvluchten” (zboruri ale umbrelelor de soare), intre cele mai frecventate destinatii de vacanta in Grecia, Spania, Turcia si Olanda.

2. Incepand de primavara, olandezii se fac remarcati pe drumurile europene prin asa numitele “caravans”, adica rulote sau, varianta mai de lux, “campers”.

Mai ales pentru familiile cu copii mici si cu buget mai limitat, campingul este prima optiune pentru un concediu. Fie cu rulota proprie pe care o parcheaza acolo timp de 2-3 saptamani, fie cu una inchiriata la fata locului, olandezii iubitori de campinguri par sa nu aiba nevoie de prea mult lux. O imagine tipica pentru campinguri este parcurgerea distantei dintre rulota si toaleta cu o rola de hartie igienica la sub brat, deci imaginandu-mi un concediu in asemenea conditii, fara baie proprie, cu vecini pe care nu ii poti evita sau ignora, intepeniti intr-un singur loc pentru atata vreme… nu pot sa inteleg prea bine farmecul campingului. Copiii se distreaza de obicei la piscina sau locuri de joaca si asta pare a fi foarte important pentru parinti.

Un caz real de care am auzit mi s-a parut incredibil: o familie posesoare de rulota si-a petrecut concediul pe un camping imediat in afara localitatii, de unde veneau acasa pentru a spala haine si vase.

Am auzit mai multi olandezi care pleaca in concediu cu rulota spunand ca merg in fiecare an in acelasi loc, acelasi camping. Si asta e ceva ce nu pot sa inteleg.

Anul 2013 pare sobru in privinta concediilor, din cauza crizei economice (despre care auzim zilnic la televizor, nu stiu pe la voi cum e, eu sunt cam suprasaturata de aceasta obsesie) se pare ca 27% dintre olandezi nu vor pleca in concediu din lipsa de bani. Anul trecut au fost 22% de olandezi in aceasta situatie.

 

Dutch New Year’s Eve donuts

New Year’s Eve has passed, together with a typical Dutch phenomenon.

In the Netherlands, the Dutch donuts called oliebollen (oil balls) are on the menu on New Year’s Eve.

These oliebollen are being eaten also on other occasions, like when there are fairs or other street happenings, there is always also an oliebollen booth.

Maybe you are wondering what oliebollen are exactly, I will quote the Dutch writer Hanna Bervoets who wrote on twitter:
“Yes, we call them oilballs; they’re like donuts without a hole! And more grease. And no taste…Want one?”

The truth is that they are greasy, as they are imbued with oil, but they are not completely without taste, especially those with raisins or small apple pieces. And the simple ones are saved by the powdered sugar sifted on them. Their shape is undefined, as opposed to other donuts I know, this is due to the fact that the dough is dosed with the aid of a kind of soup ladle.

Every year the fryer of the best oliebollen is being designated, who, after receiving this title, can expect huge queues especially on the last day of the year. This is the way it happened also this time in Maarssen, where the first customers showed up already at 5 a.m. to wait for the oliebollen store to open at 6 a.m. The queue was several hundred meters long and the baker was prepared to work hard.

Other Dutch people make their own oliebollen at home, but I cannot judge which of them are tastier: the self-made ones or the award winning ones. We received some from friends and they were really good, crunchy.

Do you have a typical New Year’s Eve food?

 

Gogosile olandeze de revelion

Revelionul a trecut, impreuna cu un fenomen tipic olandez.

In Olanda, de revelion se mananca gogosile olandeze numite oliebollen, adica bile de/cu ulei.

Aceste oliebollen se mananca si cu alte ocazii, de ex. cand sunt balciuri sau alte activitati stradale, intotdeauna se gaseste si o ghereta ambulanta cu oliebollen.

Poate va intrebati ce sunt oliebollen mai exact, am sa citez o scriitoare olandeza, Hanna Bervoets, care a scris pe twitter:
“Da, le numim bile de ulei. Sunt un fel de donuts (gogosi americane), numai ca fara gaura in mijloc, mai grase si fara gust. Vrei una?”

Adevarul e ca sunt grase, asa imbibate in ulei, dar nu sunt chiar total lipsite de gust, mai ales cele cu stafide sau cubulete de mar. Iar cele simple sunt salvate de zaharul pudra presarat pe ele. Forma lor este nedefinita, spre deosebire de alte gogosi pe care le cunosc eu, asta se datoreaza faptului ca aluatul este dozat cu ajutorul unui fel de polonic.

In fiecare an se desemneaza prajitorul celor mai bune oliebollen, care, dupa ce obtine titlul, se poate astepta la cozi enorme mai ales in ultima zi a anului. Asa s-a intamplat si acum in localitatea Maarssen, unde doritorii s-au postat deja de la ora 5 in fata magazinului care a inceput sa vanda oliebollen de la ora 6. Coada a fost de sute de metri, iar brutarul s-a pregatit sa lucreze din greu.

Alti olandezi fac oliebollen acasa, dar nu ma pot pronunta daca sunt mai bune decat cele premiate. Noi am primit de la prieteni si au fost chiar bune, crocante.

Voi aveti o mancare tipica de revelion?