No Shortage of Cloudy Skies

After visiting a few job agencies yesterday I took a long and winding route home through the city. Overcast skies make it fun for shooting texture so I snapped a couple of the local cathedral in passing.

The scaffolding you see is just part of a much larger scaffolding monster helping restorers to revitalize the cathedral's exterior after years of acid rain. Eww.

Looking from the cathedral toward its courtyard (just beyond the trees) and the Parade (several restaurants, pubs and businesses lining the square).

And, just for fun, here is what I initially mistook for Marty McFly's DeLorean:

It wasn't. Ford Capri, probably early 80s. If I'm Dutch, I'm not really inspired to go out an buy American. In my head is the advertisement, "The New Ford Capri: The Ford that wants to be a Saab."

De Smaak Van Het Bier

"The taste of the beer."

Leffe "Brune-Dubbel." Brown Abbey Ale, Alc. 6.5%, kost. 1.01€

A wise man once told me, "a man will drink a finite, predetermined number of beers during his life. Every bad beer you drink will decrease the number of good beers you will drink by one."

Following this advice and motivated by this story a friend sent me yesterday I picked up a few "good" bieren to go with dinner last night. Above I posted a picture of one of them. Immediate lesson: camera phone inside at night does not a great picture take.

Fortunately, and as expected, the beer looked, smelled and tasted much better than the photo.

This a brown ale, called "double," some descriptions say, because if you found this beer in a pub between its siblings of varying strengths its medium alcohol strength would be notated by some distinction of "2" on the barrel (vs. 1, 3, or sometimes 4).

The Dubbel is dark, frothy and sweet in appearance, smell and taste. Its slight carbonation imparts a tingly mouth sensation that builds and lasts over the course of the drink. The taste and "finish" are rich and light, making me think simply of herbs and caramel at once, as opposed to a "blond" or "tripel" that have different yeasts and often more complex citrus-y flavors.

According to my friend, Mr. Jackson, this beer is named for Notre-Dame de Leffe abbey in Dinant, Belgium. Similar to other actual abbey brews, the Leffe crew hasn't actually produced its own beer since the first Bastille Day. They resumed production strictly in order to raise maintenance funds for the abbey itself. Not because the beer tastes great and everyone wants to buy it or anything.

Pictures on the Facebook!

As seen in previous posts I haven't yet found a way to post pictures any larger than a few inches square. The Facebook is a little more friendly with space so I'm going to continue loading images there and publish the public link here. That said, I'll make sure to keep including appropriate and necessary visual aids actually on this page.


You can find more just like this one by clicking HERE

A Few Updates

QUESTS
Earlier in this blog I announced a number of quests I was undertaking. They may not be biblical in proportion but I view them as important nonetheless.

First, I am trying to track down and pictorially capture the sister of my old BMW that I saw but failed to successfully photograph on our last visit prior to moving. Not the most beautiful of unicorns, but she still has special value and I must have her. I first spied her parked in a roundabout in front of a business building down the street from the Den Bosch train station. Beautiful snapshot location. Guessing she belongs to a woman (I later saw a female driving her off into the late Dutch sunset - swoon) that works in the building I have visited the site several times at similar times of day. No luck so far.

Second: Macaroni and Cheese, in the same box. This quest is as of yet also unsuccessful. No, I do not expect to find Kraft here. But these people enjoy pasta, obsess over cheese, and value thrifty convenience - something is not adding up! Granted, my grocery store search field is thus far fairly narrow. I'm still optimistic.

PHOTOS
Though cumbersome, I've tried to take my camera around with me on bike rides and errands. Favorite photo subjects so far are buildings, street vendors and of course, fietsen (bicycles):


This is an example of a style called omafiets (grandmabike). Not in great shape but I thought it was thoughtfully placed in front of a brick staircase leading down to a canal (not pictured). Since the fietsen here have so much character own their own I want to just capture their profiles and immediate background rather than try to make an overly artsy, complexly framed shots.


Dit is De Markt mit bloeme. A little tough to see at this resolution but this flower cart was one of the last vendors remaining in the town square yesterday evening. On the left is Town Hall, still sporting its Oeteldonk decorations. Dead center is the mouth of our street called Vughterstraat. We're about a five-minute walk from the Markt.

LANGUAGE
Finally I wanted to give an update on my Dutch-learning. At numerous suggestions I purchased level 1 of Dutch Rosetta Stone (Thanks, Mom & Dad! Seriously). So far I have found it both easy to use and very helpful. If you aren't familiar it employs a refreshing mix of vocabulary, listening, reading and speaking exercises based on picture-voice association. The narrators are supposedly native speakers, and compared with television and people on the street I can safely vouch for that authenticity claim.

The repetition, review, and building block style are nothing new to me after studying Spanish and Russian in high school and college. The program has brought back memories of the logical layout and progression of lessons, grammar worksheets, partner speaking exercises, etc. The amazing part is I feel like I've covered more ground in just a week than I would have in a quarter of classes (Honestly RS is not paying me).

My first "milestone" was a conversation situation where slides of two people in a campsite moved across the screen. The people looked at the camera and addressed Me using a mix of questions and answers I've learned up to this point. Without any other prompt besides timing, I was supposed to ask and answer appropriate questions with appropriate pronunciation. It was fairly short exercise but after making it through successfully I was a little surprised to feel a genuine proud sense of accomplishment. I still have a long way to go before even having a basic conversation with a live person, but this was just Milestone 1.

ExBeerience Één

Trying to avoid falling down the slippery slope to Barney Gumble Town.

I'd be lying if I said I don't love beer. Don't get me wrong; there are some piss-poor, mass-produced excuses out there you'd have to pay me to choke down. Good beer can be delicious, thought-provoking, satisfying. Good beer can connect you to your fellow man as you appreciate the time, care, creativity and craftsmanship that went into brewing it. Good beer can be sublime.

Water is still my favorite thing to drink in the whole wide world, but beer is right up there. In a recent conversation with my mother concerning my drinking habits I confirmed what I already knew is a pretty moderate habit: 3-5 per week aside from slightly elevated consumption on weekends or nights out of the house. Feel free to disagree with me on how I'm judging that.

The Dutch and their neighbors also love bier. They have for quite some time. Our little corner of Europe with The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium is the cradle of some of the oldest and best-tasting brews in the world. I find extremely interesting the breadth of styles, brewing methods, geographies, cultures and histories of these "cradle" bieren. So in this space from time to time I would like to offer an an ExBeerience - just a few thoughts about what I had, what I liked or didn't like, etc. Don't worry, Mom, you won't see these too often.


1. Amstel "Gold Zwaar Bier": ALC - 7%, Kost - € .71 (bought as a single), name means "Heavy."
Amstel, if you haven't seen the commercials, is locally produced in Amsterdam, right alongside the river for which the brewery and the city are named. It is not really known for fine beverages, especially after the larger rival Heineken purchased it years ago. For some strange reason I thought this "Gold" version might be better than the "Light" that we see in the US. It was a letdown. Yes, its color was slightly more amber-y than the US sibling and it did exhibit a few simple notes of caramel down the stretch with a short, bittersweet aftertaste (as you can see I of course finished it). But to be fair I had simultaneously eaten some delicious Jong Goudekaas (soft Gouda) and brie along the way that may have prettied things up.

Drinkable? Yes. Got what I paid for? Probably. Like? Nee.

After one sip Katie summed this one up best: "Better than piss."

Still, my new companion Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide mentions an Amstel "Bock" style as being the most worthwhile and actually flavorful of the line. I'll have to hunt that one down.


2. Westmalle Trappist "Tripel": ALC - 9.5%, Kost - €1.25 (bought as a single)
It probably wasn't fair to drink these two bock-to-bock (dit is een beer joke!). Complete 180. Remember when I mentioned beer can be sublime? Pure spiritual creaminess. Naturally, it comes from an abbey in the village of West Malle in the Antwerp region of Belgium. You know what else comes from Antwerp? Diamonds. Yes, this is the diamond of bieren. Michael Jackson agrees. According to the late "Beer Hunter" this particular bier is a benchmark for the stronger, paler "Triple" style of Abbey beers that started becoming popular in Belgium after WWII.
Just to open this bier is a little like getting a cool spritz of orange rolled in sage. A full sip only intensifies that sensation with a sparkling fruity fullness. The bright mix of citrus and herbal flavors make your mouth come alive, while the creamy texture lets you wash it all down with a easy calm. Most beers I taste. This beer I can feel.

Katie, fighting back sleep, allowed me finish hers. That's love, folks.

The Sun and the End of Oeteldonk

I don't know how these people do it. For the fourth straight day the costumes, marching bands, bier and polka-esque party anthems have carried on. These are marathoners, I tell you.

Today I ventured out for some light groceries and witnessed the glorious emergence of the sun. Here are some of the fruits:

On the Markt with of the Patch bands. Oem-pa!


Some Oeteldonk decorations


If you look closely, the Den Bosch Dragon is sporting a Carnaval scarf!


Serenity now.


A view down our street Vughterstraat from the Markt.


My nieuw (actually fairly old) herenfiets in front of our place.

Carnaval in Oeteldonk!

I did not take this picture - swiped it from the interwebs - But I think it does a fair job of illustrating the fantastic weirdness that is "Carnaval in Oeteldonk" ("Oo"). You can find a better brief description on Den Bosch's Wikipedia page but essentially this holiday is a roughly four day celebration of time running out before Lent. Mardi Gras is analogous, though having not experienced it in New Orleans firsthand I can't make a direct comparison.

Interestingly the Netherlands as a whole does not celebrate Carnaval. It is mostly confined to the North Brabant region (of which Den Bosch is the provincial capital). The story is not clearly defined in any of the resources I checked but this region has a more heavy Catholic history than the rest of the kingdom. That probably explains these people putting more weight on Lent and thus the bigger pre-Lent stress release. Den Bosch is reported to be one of the biggest celebrations in the low countries.

If you didn't read it in the aforementioned Wiki page the city of Den Bosch actually magically transforms into the Carnaval city of "Oeteldonk" for the duration of the holiday. In fact, the Mayor officially abdicates in favor of the Carnaval Prince in a ceremony that I probably slept through because we had no idea when it was happening. There isn't a direct translation for Oeteldonk. I just think the whole transformation helps with the everyone living in a suspension of reality during these few February days.

To finally address the picture above, I decided a list of 'Carnaval in Oeteldonk' rules (as I experienced them) is appropriate:

• You must wear a costume. There are several major categories to choose from:

1. Animal, vegetable or mineral (or cake) - several shops in Den Bosch sell full-body, one-size-fits-all coverings made of various synthetics. Katie was een kat (a cat) while I was een hond (a poochie). Some of our friends dressed as a mouse, cow and penguin. I saw everything else from human cigarettes to refrigerators to a pack of sheep. These costumes were both simple and effective. And made us feel like dancing all the time. And were a smart pick for warmth as we trolled the streets in the still-cold Dutch winter.
2. Vintage America, circa 1950s-1970s - Elvis is still alive in Holland; I spotted him and his pompadour-and-gold sunglasses-sporting disciples of all shapes and sizes at almost every turn. There were additionally afropuff wigs all over the place, pinup wannabes and hordes of fake fluorescent wigs. Viva la disco!
3. Patch Adamses - I'll draw your attention back to the photo. On the left-hand side is a man in a blue blazer wearing a scarf with the official Carnaval colors red, yellow and white. Scads of people had (and still have) on some variation of this theme. The patches all represent certain bars or events with unique Oeteldank logos. Many jackets are riddled with them, as well as little stuffed frogs. The frog is another major Oeteldonk symbol, so pervasive it looks like there is a plague.
   

• You must make noise. One popular method is to play an instrument in a bad. I'm sorry - meant to say band. There are probably dozens of groups (comprised of the Patch Adamses) ranging in size from a handful to multiple ranks that troll around the city. Made up of trumpets, euphoniums, trombones, saxophones, sousaphones and various batteries of percussion, these units make their way from bar to bar spreading good cheer and terrible renditions of American pop classics and traditional Oeteldonk songs.

Every bar would also play these songs on loop, with the occasional "Sweet Caroline" or "Dancing Queen" thrown into the mix. They were another major contribution to the noise rule. It was hard not to feel like you already knew the words to these repetitive yet catchy party anthems. I can only think to describe them as some kind of strange offspring of polka, klezmer, and the standard march. At some point years ago the Carnaval Prince must have recorded all these himself because the same dark and somewhat creepy baritone features in most of the tracks.

• Two words: Kerrie Saus. This tangy curry has just a hint of BBQ and is on pretty much everything from frites (fries) to wurst (sausage) to hamburgers to balls of hot dough (ex. "oliebollen"). I could probably drink it straight from the bottle. The delicious condiment has been flowing nonstop this weekend, primarily from the numerous street vendors conveniently located in streets and squares across from the pubs. Friday night we had a dinner plate-size tray of frites with kerrie, fritesaus (effectively mayo) and diced onions. The Dutch call this "frites special." Saturday night we actually strayed from the kerrie and feasted upon a pair of "doner" wraps with lamb and yogurt saus. Sunday we ventured back with a footlong "currywurst" inside a mini baguette paired with a paper cone full of frites with fritesaus. These were offerings from giant mobile food rigs (a la county fair) set up next to some massive beer tents (a la the circus) all contained in a cobblestone square directly adjacent to one of Den Bosch's main cathedral. Hot food, cold weather, lots of costumed drunk people and their families. Glorious.
  
• You must also endeavor to cram into as many crowded bars as possible. Beginning late Friday afternoon most pubs in the city (there are many, and most are long, single rooms) are packed with revelers. Literally. We've been to several on each of the nights so far and they pretty much follow the same formula. You wait in line for a handful of people to come out of the bar before being admitted. Once inside you're confronted with a wall of drunk humanity. Moving to the bar or across the floor to meet friends requires you to become very friendly with your fellow Dutchmen. Fortunately it is cold out so despite being face to face with dozens of disguised lowlanders things never get too hot for comfort.
  

• You do not have to drink alcohol, though its inhibition-lowing effects do make most situations in the pubs and streets like I just described much more palpable. Cheap beer is the lifeblood of this holiday it was pretty much flooding the streets (Heineken is based in Holland and has a major operations center in Den Bosch) in the hands of young and old. Interestingly I did not see the effects of binge drinking I've become accustomed to in the US. People have been drunk, loud and overly celebratory for the better part of the last 96 hours but hardly have I seen any violence, vomit or other substance abuse-induced indecency. Sure, remnants of massive public partying are littered all over the streets, but that seems to be the worst of the damage.
  

I know I could not in mere words and stolen photos capture the entire essence of Carnaval in Oeteldonk. But you get the gist. What I still find most striking about this festival is that every segment of the population is included. I've seen representatives from every living generation, each face-painted, costumed, and holding a bier. Everyone is included and everyone is out to enjoy themselves. There is no distinct message besides having a good time. With frogs. There is no bigger agenda. Besides frogs. It is a simple holiday, really. Frogs.

Hertog-podge

A couple of things:

1. I am undertaking a quest to find the closest Dutch equivalent to Kraft "Blue Box" macaroni and cheese.
2. I am also undertaking a quest to find and photograph the sister vehicle of my 1980 BMW 320i that I spotted on the last trip here. I spent several minutes photographing for familial posterity, only to later realize I had no memory card. She will be mine again, oh yes, she will be mine again.
3. Tonight is the beginning of CARNAVAL, an epic festival of costumes, booze and frogs that is similar to Mardi Gras. Much more to come on the local specifics of this phenomenon in the near future.
   

Finally Underway!

After several months of planning, preliminary visits, a perilous caravan with my mom from Chicago to Virginia and finally, a blizzard-beating sequence of flights, trains and taxis, I have arrived in De Nederland!

To give this statement and blog context: I am an American expat that came upon the unique opportunity to retain legal residence in the Netherlands. My also expat girlfriend works for a US company with a base of operations in the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch, or just Den Bosch. They allow her residence, she sponsors me and...Voila! I get to stay too!

My goal in this space is simply to comment on everything that I have the chance to see, do, eat, drink, hear, read and experience while living on this side of the pond. This will not be any kind of objective study of the exotic; I won't point a finger and say, "Oh! Look how different it is here!" Rather, I just want to tell an annotated story of our little adventure.

If you find yourself reading and have a question or comment I would absolutely appreciate hearing from you.