I am planning a trip to Amsterdam. My plan is to purchase Dutch products for gifts. I have an hour or two at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for a layover. I noticed in the past there were tulip bulbs for sale, which I thought would make a perfect gift for friends and families. But I’d heard that they are not of the highest quality and sometimes don’t even grow. What is the best place in Holland to purchase the bulbs?
— Linda of Vancouver, Washington

Dear Linda –

Schiphol generally tops the list for the world’s best airport shopping, in particular for chocolates, Stroopwafle, Dutch Genever Gin, Gouda and Edam cheeses, Delft Pottery – but definitely not tulip bulbs, often old and difficult to grow.

The most well-known flower bulb ‘sanctuaries’ in the Netherlands can be found in the region south of Amsterdam, in the uppermost part of the province of North Holland, and in a section of the province of Frevoland.

Linda, will you be visiting Holland in spring? If so, make sure to put Keukenhof Gardens on your list; you’ll be surrounded by a kaleidescape of blooming Dutch tulips at the most famous and largest flower park in the world. Keukenhof’s spectacle of 320,0000 square meters of flowers is a short and easy drive from Amsterdam, and it is essential to plan your visit in advance. AND YES, this is the place to purchase tulip bulbs.

Tulips grow best in maritime areas, preferably not further away than 30-50 miles from the coast. In the Netherlands the area most like this is near the North Sea. The best types of soil are the sandy-clay grounds in the provinces of South and North Holland, Flevoland and the Noordoostpolder. In particular, the maritime climate and the vicinity of water are optimum conditions for growing tulips. I noticed that you live in Vancouver, Western Washington State, which is close to the Skagit Valley. Once a year there is the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which should prove to be an easy location to access the bulbs when not visiting the Nethlerlands.

Dear Dutch-American –

Why are there so many bicyclists in the Netherlands when the nation has public transit, automobiles, trucks and buses?
— Barry of Omaha, Nebraska

Dear Barry –

The Dutch can afford automobiles, but the price of petrol is over $9/gallon. City fathers have made parking cars in town centers highly expensive, making it much more affordable to simply pedal into the cities. Plus, over 26% of the Netherlands is under sea level, and for centuries the Dutch have battled against the ocean water with a system of polders, dykes and weirs. This has created a stunning and unique flat as a pannekoeken (pancake) landscape of reclaimed land across the country, ideal for bicycling. As one of the world’s most forward thinking democracies, Dutch citizens are highly educated, aware that unregulated fossil fuel could not only damage their health, but also the life of our own planet. I’ve noticed that many Dutch people find it perplexing that ignorant far-right Americans consider monetary profiteering more important than the health of their own children. Please note: When strolling through a popular tourist destination, it is the bicyclist who have the right aways on the pathways — so keep your wits about you and be quick on your feet.

Dear Dutch-American –

My time in Amsterdam is far too limited to see all that needs to be seen. What is your pick for the city’s best museum?
— Wendy of Portland, Maine

Dear Wendy –

This is a win-win situation. You really can’t go wrong.

MUSEUM SQUARE is a brief tram ride from Amsterdam’s city center, home to the RIJKSMUSEUM, which includes the works of Rembrandt and Vermeer.

The VAN GOGH MUSEUM is short walk away, and contains the world’s largest collection of paintings and drawings by the artist.

JOODS HISTORIC MUSEUM consists of four adjoining synagogues, linked by internal walkways to form one large museum. The synagogues were central to Jewish life until WWII, and were restored in the 1980s. Most Dutch tourist who visit the museum today are not Jewish, and consider the museum a part of their own history, as well.

ZUIDERZEE MUSEUM in Enkhuizen, an hour away from Amsterdam by train, recreates local Dutch village life throughout history.

“You can always give something, even if it is only kindness.” – Anne Frank.

ANNE FRANK HOUSE & ADJOINING MUSEUM: During World War II, over 103,000 Europeans of Jewish ancestry were deported from the Netherlands to Nazi concentration camps. The most famous was a 13-year-old German girl named Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank. In 1942, the Frank and van Pels families went into hiding in the secret upstair’s annex of a canal building in Amsterdam. For two years, Anne worked on her diary, giving an account of growing up during one of the most inhumane periods of modern history. She made her last entry three days before being arrested. Anne and her older sister Margot died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before the concentration camp was liberated. The heroic Amsterdamer, Miep Gies, who had helped to hide and feed the Frank and van Pels families at the risk of her own life, found Anne’s manuscripts and gave them to Otto Frank, Anne’s father, the only family member who had survived the concentration camps. With the utmost respect for the privacy of the Frank family, Ms. Gies never once opened the manuscript. In 1947 the first Dutch edition of the diary, “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” appeared. Since then the diary has been published in more than 55 languages. Anne’s hiding place is the most visited site in the Netherlands. Today you can retrace her steps where she entered the secret annex hidden behind the bookcase.

Meet our Dutch-American: Deb Roskamp

This installment of our advice column comes to you from T-Boy photographer Deb Roskamp, a first generation Dutch-American, whose ancestral home hails from Andijk in the province of North Holland, the place of her mother’s birth

Readers, feel free to ask our staff any questions regarding their ancestral homeland of your choice at ed****@tr**********.com . T-Boy has an illustrious team of writers ranging from British-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Nigerian-Americans, Norwegian-Americans, and more, who have an acute understanding of their ancestral homeland.

The post Dear Dutch-American by Deb Roskamp appeared first on Traveling Archive.

First some background. The Parfumerie itself is a study in sensory overload; a cologne colony. There are over 300 individual oils to choose from. Of course, a little history is imparted before you’re let loose to create your own personal perfume. As an amateur “nose” — someone who uses oils to create new fragrances — you learn that heat, humidity and sunlight are the enemies of perfumes. There are natural essential oils and man-made fragrances. You must combine top notes, middle notes and base notes to fashion “an accord” that will constitute a pleasing perfume.

Becoming a chemist is no easy task. There are a whole series of intricate steps to follow in the search for perfection. First, you choose three bottles from a series of 12 pre-mixed oils sporting such descriptions as “warm, exotic, rich earthy base,” tropical, citrus blend,” or a “soft, floral base.” Then you select nine other oils — for three perfume creations — from a selection of a mere 300. I randomly — because really, how else can you do it? — chose Beach, Cashmere, Grass, April Rain, Vanilla Oak, Sunflower, Amber Musk, Aqua Spa and Rose. After a while, I didn’t know whether to eat the flavors, bathe in them or plant them in a garden…

And then using beakers and droppers — because yes, this IS a lab experiment — you yourself choose how to combine the different options of all the fragrances into three potential bottles of perfume. Once you determine which of the final prospects you like the best, you add a number of other chemical properties to solidify the perfume-making process so that your own personal perfume came be beautifully bottled and placed in a classy cloth carrying case. And of course, it all ends with a champagne toast because, remember, you’re still in France. Voila! You are a perfume-maker. And every time you use the perfume — which by the way, you have also named so that it is intrinsically yours — you will remember St. Martin.

But will you remember St. Maarten? Of course, thanks to the Amsterdam Cheese and Liquor Store, a very fine representative of all things Netherlands where the number of cheeses almost rivals the variety of fragrances.

Souvenirs from Dutch shoe key rings to windmill earrings; Dutch cookies and candies to soft clog slippers; tulip candle holders to Delph Christmas ornaments, and wooden shoes, large and small, in every iteration! And we haven’t even gotten to the cheese, yet. Fifty varieties of cheese, all imported from the Netherlands — as well as every kind of cheese-related item from slicers and skewers to cutting boards and serving dishes.

According to owner Etienne Rogers, the Dutch cheese market is huge and little known outside the Netherlands — and now St. Maarten, which boasts little of Dutch origin despite its heritage. Etienne is happy to offer not only tastings but pairings with its select liquors as well. He also offers knowledge — which cheeses with which rums with which crackers.

I am in Amsterdam, immersed in Dutch memorabilia. There is so much diversity but everything says Netherlands. And as startling as the vast varieties of perfumes at the Parfumerie , so it is with these cheeses. Forget about your cheddar and your Camembert — there’s coconut, pepper, pumpkin, truffle, jalapeño, cumin and asparagus — to name a few. Even the colors are surprising. Green, black, brown, orange for starters. Still Etienne defends the Gouda. He says that people come in and say they don’t like Gouda. His response: “You don’t like American Gouda; Dutch Gouda you will love.”

So there’s French culture and Dutch culture but the island itself is Caribbean and what better way to celebrate that than with rum (or rhum, as it is locally known).

And since I wasn’t yet sufficiently intimidated by an over-dose of oils or cheeses, it was on to the family-owned Topper’s Rhum Distillery where there are as many different flavors of rum as there had been fragrances and wooden shoes. And then there’s the rum cake! But before we got to that, there was a lot to learn about the craft itself. A small price to pay.

Topper’s has been winning medals in international rum tasting competitions for years — quite a testament to a liquor whose origins began in Melanie Daboul’s own kitchen. She went from serving family and friends to making over 100 flavors of rum in a few short years. And a tour of the factory takes you on a rum adventure spanning more than 20 different samples ranging from the recognizable to the exotic — all from natural ingredients. From your basic coconut and spiced to white chocolate raspberry and banana vanilla cinnamon. And oh yes, of course, there’s also your bacon maple syrup and buttered popcorn varieties.

You can drink as much or as little as you want — no judgment. Eventually I just stopped taking notes so just know that the 17 rums I tasted were really, really good. Okay, maybe a little judgment…  But admittedly, at this point, my eyes were glazing over on the history of rum-making.

And if you need some diversion in between tastes, there are always the t-shirts: “Girls Just Want to Have Rum,” “All for Rum, Rum for All.” “I’m on a rum diet — I’ve already lost 3 days.” This is a very hands-on operation from brewing to bottling. Nothing is automated. And did I mention the rum cake?

So two chemists: John at the Parfumerie, a cultural product of the French side of the island, and Melanie at the rum factory, a very Caribbean creation — both inventing hundreds of products from scratch. Plus the hundreds of products directly imported from the Netherlands. Cultural overload. But the island has even more to offer.

Its claim to be The Friendliest Island deserves a truth-in-advertising award. Literally three times when we stopped to ask directions (a common occurrence as road signs are basically non-existent), the guy got into the car and took us to our destination. And not once did we get robbed or even asked for a tip, a de rigueur practice in many other Caribbean islands.

Indeed the island abounds in distinctive cultures — and oh yes, there are also beautiful beaches! For more information, visit St. Martin and Vacation St. Maarten.

The post St. Martin/St. Maarten – A Captivating Concoction of Caribbean Cultures appeared first on Traveling Archive.