Searching for Gezellig
Like everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, I have been fighting the winter blahs as the weather has been very crummy. I almost got blown off my bike it was so windy this week!
Being so dreary outside and without a car, it's easy to just stay inside our apartment, build a fire and watch movies. We've been doing a lot of that! But, the Netherlands is also known for it's brown cafes as a good place to stay warm during winter. "Brown" referring to their dark, cozy interiors- usually dark wood paneling with stained walls and ceilings from centuries of smoking inside. (Smoking inside became illegal this June. However, there is a cafe around the corner that at midnight pulls curtains across the front windows and everyone inside lights up!)
Typical brown cafe- if you moved a picture off the wall you'd see the
original white wall color behind it, contrasting with the smoke stained wall.
These brown cafes though have a great neighborhood vibe. Amsterdammers see their local bar ('kroeg' in Dutch slang) as an extension of their own living room. Whether you read the newspapers over your daily cup of coffee or have a few beers after work, for many their local bar inevitably becomes a home away from home. We've been trying out several in our neighborhood the past few weeks. I love meeting friends there during the day for fresh mint tea!
I can't imagine hanging out in one during the summer, but they really are so cozy and convivial in the winter. The feeling of gezelligheid is key to Dutch social life. Gezellig is often defined as "cozy", but the Dutch say there is no English equivalent. It's used to define an atmosphere that is relaxed and pleasant. You kind of just know it when you see it: Watching a movie at home in a living room (with warm colors, warm ambiance, full of books, plants, knick-knacks, and with a dog or cat) is gezellig. Eating dinner at MacDonald’s is not!
We've been finding other fun things to do around town too. Last week we went kart-racing at an indoor track. We had a blast racing for the best timed heats. The karts are quite speedy, going up to 45 mph. Needless to say we were all sore the next day from the strains of the track! I ended up with a large bruise. Jeff Gordon, I tip my hat to you!
It was very exciting to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president. We gathered with other Americans and celebrated. The inauguration dominated the front pages of Dutch papers with headlines such as: ‘Good luck Obama,’ ‘Choose hope above fear,’ ‘Time for a better history’ and ‘Look, we are one people again.’
One free newspaper took a different approach. ‘Black Jesus has landed’ the paper said. ‘He is said to be able to perform miracles for all of us.’ The paper illustrates its article with a classical painting of Jesus in the heavens, with Obama’s head superimposed on top. We wouldn't go that far, but we're excited by the new leadership and the steps he has taken this first week.
Stay warm! Until next time!
Being so dreary outside and without a car, it's easy to just stay inside our apartment, build a fire and watch movies. We've been doing a lot of that! But, the Netherlands is also known for it's brown cafes as a good place to stay warm during winter. "Brown" referring to their dark, cozy interiors- usually dark wood paneling with stained walls and ceilings from centuries of smoking inside. (Smoking inside became illegal this June. However, there is a cafe around the corner that at midnight pulls curtains across the front windows and everyone inside lights up!)
Typical brown cafe- if you moved a picture off the wall you'd see theoriginal white wall color behind it, contrasting with the smoke stained wall.
I can't imagine hanging out in one during the summer, but they really are so cozy and convivial in the winter. The feeling of gezelligheid is key to Dutch social life. Gezellig is often defined as "cozy", but the Dutch say there is no English equivalent. It's used to define an atmosphere that is relaxed and pleasant. You kind of just know it when you see it: Watching a movie at home in a living room (with warm colors, warm ambiance, full of books, plants, knick-knacks, and with a dog or cat) is gezellig. Eating dinner at MacDonald’s is not!
We've been finding other fun things to do around town too. Last week we went kart-racing at an indoor track. We had a blast racing for the best timed heats. The karts are quite speedy, going up to 45 mph. Needless to say we were all sore the next day from the strains of the track! I ended up with a large bruise. Jeff Gordon, I tip my hat to you!
It was very exciting to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president. We gathered with other Americans and celebrated. The inauguration dominated the front pages of Dutch papers with headlines such as: ‘Good luck Obama,’ ‘Choose hope above fear,’ ‘Time for a better history’ and ‘Look, we are one people again.’
One free newspaper took a different approach. ‘Black Jesus has landed’ the paper said. ‘He is said to be able to perform miracles for all of us.’ The paper illustrates its article with a classical painting of Jesus in the heavens, with Obama’s head superimposed on top. We wouldn't go that far, but we're excited by the new leadership and the steps he has taken this first week.
Stay warm! Until next time!
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