Relaxation in The Netherlands

Most of our time spent thus far in Holland has had the goal of being lazy and relaxing. When I arrived here from the ferry on Tuesday we spent the day sitting outside just chatting. As I still wasn't feeling 100% and had a fear of getting sick if I ate anything, I was happy just to be in beautiful weather with great company.

Ringo and Sandra's home, my family I am staying with here, is located right in the middle of a village that never sleeps. We sit out front of their house where there is a very narrow road that cars do actually drive down. Sometimes when we have the whole family sitting out there, our circle gets bigger and extends into the street, where we could get run over. It's quite entertaining, especially because it is often the kids who are sitting in the dangerous spot, and definitely not me! We sit outside until late hours of the night watching people walk by or ride by on their scooters. There is always something happening on this road, even after we go to bed.

The beginning of the week we spent a couple days at the beach. Only about a 5 minute walk from Ringo and Sandra's home it's very easy to take multiple trips to the beach in just one day. The weather has been great for going to the beach and it seemed as though all of Holland knew it. I have never see such a crowed beach before in my life. I was able to excitedly enjoy some Krokets on the beach. One of my favorite foods to eat while I'm here, I think I've managed to eat on average 2 per day. The best way to explain this amazing snack is a fried roll that has Ragout (flower, milk and herbs mixed) and beef in them. By far the best food I've ever eaten. My carnivore of a cousin, Ringo, always finds great meat to eat. One day after the beach we stopped at a restaurant where he ordered a very interesting looking meal. This was called Veil Sateh. This meat has a peanut butter sauce on it, that I am actually not too fond of, but it is very popular here.

Last night we had a BBQ with some neighbors. Ringo and the neighbor woke up early to do the shopping and came home with more meat than a butcher shop! We had burgers, chicken, spare ribs, some thickly cut bacon looking stuff, bread with garlic butter and a fantastic "salad" that Sandra made. I guess when she bought the head of lettuce it wasn't really lettuce. We tried to Google what the vegetable was that she bought in English, but I'm pretty sure that we don't have it in America. Either way, it was still very tasty. The burger meat that I ate was by far the best hamburger I've ever eaten in all my life, without a doubt. It seems as though the food I've eaten in Holland, and even England, is much better and has a lot more flavor than typical American food. American meat is so processed and sold in such large quantities it seems like the Dutch take more pride in their food. You haven't tried a real hamburger, until you've had the Dutch burger I had last night.


I guess this post turned more into a food post than anything else. But food and relaxation for me typically go hand in hand. In the coming days we will be taking a few trips to do some sightseeing. I have a feeling my last week here will be gone in the blink of an eye, so I am trying to soak up as much vacation as I possibly can. And in the mean time, more laziness, more relaxing, more Krokets please!