March 8, 2009

Dutch expat misses typical food in Germany

Filed under: Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 12:07 pm
antje

This week I came to work in Munich and stayed at 24oranges’ third blogger, Eric. Eric is Dutch and has been happily living in Munich for four years. Germans keep asking him what he misses about his native country and it usually boils down to food.

What did I pack in my suitcase as a gift? Conimex Indonesian products from the supermarket. Dutch food is quite bland, which explains the Dutch’s prediliction for Indonesian food. (Indonesia is a former Dutch colony.)

Eric also misses the junk food ‘friet speciaal’, French fries with mayonnaise, ketchup and onions and ‘dropjes’ (black, sweet or salty liquorice sweets), the latter I also brought.

Also, the chunks of Dutch cheese sold at the store are way too small and the major brand is called ‘Pikantje van Antje’ (seen above retro version), the German symbol for Dutch cheese in Germany, served with German beer of course.

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December 28, 2008

Holiday stress and some story telling relief

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 12:48 pm

First, a very simple yet stressful film of how a cute little shopping street (Haarlemmerdijk) in Amsterdam can turn into a holiday nightmare for trucks, cars (big Volvo station wagons), bikes and pedestrians. Hook yourself up to a stress machine, and I am sure you will score higher that usual. And remember that everybody always does their last food Christmas shopping at the last minute, which this film captures.

Second, to avoid all that stress and having been invited to an exclusive birthday party, I ran off to Munich where 24orange’s third lesser known blogger lives, beautifully situated across from the Olympic stadium of 1972. The morning has so far been spent fixing a washing machine because a small, plastic “sombrero” broke off.

The German machine, which was bought in the Netherlands and moved to Germany, broke down in Germany. The part could not be ordered in Germany (!) and was ordered in the Netherlands. The part was picked up in the Netherlands, on holiday from Germany. Hopefully, it can be fixed today.

UPDATEThe washing machine was fixed the next day.

washing machine

Tomorow get ready for Branko’s annual picks of fav 24o postings. Prosit!

(Link: amsterdamcentraal.nl)

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September 25, 2007

24oranges visit Oktoberfest

Filed under: Food & Drink,General,Music by Orangemaster @ 10:02 am

Sometimes, no news is good news. Actually, two days of Oktoberfest is just that: good news! Clear blue skies (see first picture), beautiful autumn sun, beer, dirndls (see beer-drinking woman) and lederhosen.

As a tourist in Munich at Oktoberfest – still going strong – I’d like to share the best tip I got: Go to the Wiesn (huuuuge fairground where Oktoberfest is held – it’s free, right downtown, easy access) BEFORE noon or earlier, especially with children. The lines to the rides are short and you can still walk around normally and get a seat in a beer tent (see other picture). No seat means no beer and no Oom-pa-pa music. And you need both!

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(Photos: Orangemaster and Eric)

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