Promoting Bus Use in Maastricht

I always get nervous when I see something in the mail from the Gemeente. I can’t read it right away, so I’m never sure if it could be something important (like an eviction notice or a gas explosion or aliens; my imagination gets away from me). Today’s mystery mailing is actually an effort to promote travel using the city’s Veolia bus system. In light of the popularity of Maastricht shopping and the immanent holiday season, that seems pretty sensible.
 
A Free Buslijnkaart
First on the docket is an apparently new bus line map that indicates all the routes and connections in Maastricht to make it easier for you to plan your trip on the fly. Those of you without smart-phones anyway. One was included in my letter. It didn’t indicate where you could find these maps, so I’m assuming they are on the buses themselves or available at the train station.
 
1 Euro Koopzondagretour Ticket
The second bit of bus news is the introduction of an experimental Sunday return ticket for shoppers on the first Sunday of each month (the only time the shops are open on Sundays). Starting on November 1st, shoppers can purchase a “Sunday Shopping Return” ticket on the bus for a 1 Euro return trip to anywhere in Maastricht. If I’m reading this correctly, you can purchase the ticket from your bus driver when you get on to head into town and then use it on the way home. Be sure to use the Dutch name: Koopzondagretour or, if you have trouble with pronunciation like I do, write it down for the driver. I believe this program will continue until July 4, 2010.
 
Disclaimer: My Dutch comprehension is the pits so I use Google Translate to muddle my way through. If you think I’ve gotten anything wrong please let me know.

Pannenkoeken or Pancakes?

“The Dutch invented the pancake you know.” my Dutch acquaintance told me while Dan and I road in the back of his car. I had to admit that I didn’t know nor had I ever considered the origins of one of our favorite breakfast foods. Pancakes conjure up a lazy Fall morning in my parent’s Vermont home with fresh fruit and light arguments about the virtues of real vs. fake maple syrup. We even use to tap maple trees and make our own syrup; a very rural New England activity. I was surprised to find that pancakes are more of a snack or dinner food here in the Netherlands and that they don’t eat them with maple syrup (shock!) but with sugar, fruit, meat, and a myriad of other things.
 
Pancakes: Dutch-Style
The Netherlands most readily boasts two types of pancakes: the thin, wide pannenkoeken and the small, fluffy poffertjes. Pannenkoeken are a bit thicker than crepes, but have a similar appearance and texture. Everything I read says that they are baked, but I haven’t actually made them myself yet. Frequently a pannenkoek (you only need one) will have apple slices or bacon embedded in it; but pretty much any fruit or even cheese can be used. I had one with feta cheese & spinach at one of the ubiquitous pannenkoekenhuis (pancake house) the dot the Netherlands.
 
Poffertjes are probably eaten more frequently as dessert since they appear to be exclusively served with sweet things: powdered sugar, spices, chocolate sauce, etc. These little pancakes are made with a special pan on the stove top. Each has to be muddled and flipped to create the empty space inside that marks a poffertje. The ones I’ve had were sweet and a bit chewy, but certainly filling. I wouldn’t mind picking up a pan so we can make our own.
 
Besides selling pans and grills for making pancakes, you can also buy pre-cooked pancakes and poffertjes. I’ve had the premade pannenkoeken and they are ok, but like most foods they are better fresh. The so-called “American” pancakes give me the giggles. They are easily a half inch thick, way thicker than any pancake I’ve ever made. Actually American-style products here crack me up in general.
 

Apple Pancakes

Pancakes to me also mean my mother’s apple pancakes, thick and fluffy with lots of butter and made in an electronic skillet. We use to eat them for dinner when I was a child. Recently I was trying to find a similar recipe online since I lost my copy of the original. What I found instead was something the Web hailed as the Dutch (or sometimes German) Puffed Apple Pancake. I haven’t seen pancakes like this one in the Netherlands yet, so maybe the German moniker is more accurate. Using the recipe above, the resulting pancake was similar to my childhood food, but not quite right. I usually leave the apple skins on when I make these pancakes, but only if the apples are pretty fresh.
 
Did the Dutch really “invent” the pancake?
I really don’t know if you can say any one group of people invented the pancake. Flat griddle cakes in some form are eaten the world over and were eaten well before distinct groups ever met each other. How hard could it be to come up with a flat and sweet bread with three or four ingredients? Pancakes became an important part pre-Lent food in Europe during the Medieval period, so it make sense that a traditionally Christian country like the Netherlands would have a strong pancake tradition.
 
What’s your favorite way to eat pancakes? Share with us in the Comments.

"I'm Not a Tourist" No, Really…

On Sunday, Dan and I attended our first Expatica “I am Not a Tourist” Fair in Amsterdam. This, free if you get your tickets online, yearly event is a one-day conference with workshops, talks, and exhibitors all oriented towards helping expats get settled in the Netherlands. Held in the Beurs van Berlage, the event was very busy with probably over 400-500 people (I’m awful at guesstimating people). The vendors covered a wide variety of subjects, from expat finances, employment firms, and movers, to life coaches, non-profits and food. We listened to short talks on starting a business in the Netherlands and expat investing, and attended a whiskey tasting workshop. We also spoke to many vendors and organizations, most of which were great to chat with even if they remain difficult to access for expats living in Maastricht.

The Floor

I’ve been to several large conferences in a variety of fields, so the size of the conference floor wasn’t particularly impressive. It was, however, outrageously busy and I’ve come to the conclusion that people just don’t say “excuse me” (or pardon) here. I was a little surprised to see several moving/relocation companies, if you’re in Amsterdam chances are you’ve already made your move, but I suppose they are necessary for the next move or moving home. I was very happy to see several organizations represented that I have had to pleasure of finding online. Expat Women was there and we had a nice chat. I also got to meet the archive assistant from the Expat Archive Centre and extend my interest in volunteering for them (more on that at a later date). Given the fair’s location, I didn’t try to speak with any employment agencies (they’re mostly Amsterdam-oriented), but we spoke with a couple of tax and finance advisers who helped us frame some of our money challenges better. Democrats Abroad was also quick to sign us up for their notices and assistance with absentee voting.
 
Workshops & Talks

There were a variety of talks and workshops throughout the day, although everything was scheduled in such a way that you probably wouldn’t be able to attend more that 4 or so. We went to a talk on Starting a Business in the Netherlands and another on Expat Finances. The business talk was given by Suzy Oge from the Women’s Business Initiative in the Hague. It was a pretty basic 30-minute talk about starting a business, not bad if you’re just starting to plan, but less useful for those of us trying to dig into the meat of the issue. She promised to talk us out of starting a business and I was disappointed that she didn’t try very hard. Its the hard questions that make a sound business plan. WorldWideBroker‘s Expat Finance talk was likewise basic, but since I have less knowledge in the area of investing and retirement savings, I found it more useful.
 
After the talks, Dan & I attended the Whiskey Tasting & Nosing workshop lead by the owner of the North End English Pub in Leiden (for an extra 15 euros). I’ve been enjoying whiskey and scotch ever since I lived in Ireland for a semester and Dan is equally enamored, so we rarely miss the chance to sample new scotches. Our usual choice is Oban, but we like to keep our options open. The workshop was very good. The speaker explained a lot about how whiskey is made, the difference between a blend and a single malt, and even talked about the shady side of the whiskey industry. All in all the one hour tasting stretched almost into two and we ended up closing out the conference. All the vendors left before we did!
 
Socializing
I was surprised that the conference had very little in the way of opportunities to network with the other expats attending. Maybe it has to do with it being a one-day events, but open coffees or post-conference drinks organized around other common interests would have been a great way for people to focus on each other instead of just the vendors on the floor.
 
Fortunately the workshop turned out to be a good alternative and we ended up meeting a friendly couple currently living in Amsterdam (she’s from Ireland and he’s from France). We ended up going out to eat at a tasty Chinese restaurant in Amsterdam before Dan & I caught the train back home. Meeting them make the entire day trip worth it.
 
 

Ultimately I think attending the I Am Not a Tourist Fair was a good use of our time and I was happy to be able to talk to a variety of people and share the blog a bit. Of course being in Amsterdam, most of the organizations did not have counterparts in Maastricht (or anywhere near Maastricht for that matter). When/If I start volunteering with the Archive I will have to attend a special training session and there are no meetings of Democrats Aboard near us. Toastmasters even asked if I wanted to lead a new branch here in Maastricht! If you know me at all you know how unlikely that is. Can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I do understand. I would love to see something similar to the expat fair happen in Limburg (or, be still my heart, in Maastricht). I wonder if there are enough organizations, companies, and expats in the area to make such an event a success.
 
Bottom line, if you live (or will live) in and around Amsterdam I would call the “I Am Not a Tourist” Fair a must-see since it can put you in touch with a variety of services. If you live elsewhere in the Netherlands, you may be like us and find it useful to attend once or twice, but a local event would be more valuable. Hopefully Expatica will try and include some actual networking options in the future to make the fair worth attending every year.
 
And stay tuned for a possible video. We took a little video of the fair and if it is good enough we’ll get it online. Otherwise the podcast will no doubt be filled with Expat Fair news.

Worst Wrist Ever

I’ve been back to see my huisart and she kindly told me in no uncertain terms to stop using my wrist until my thumb has a chance to heal. I was hoping to be better by today but it feels like I’ve relapsed a bit so its going to be a reading rather than a writing day. To keep you entertained, here are a few links relevant to events this week.

PechaCucha Videos: Tuesday’s Pecha Cucha event was fun, interesting and weird. The videos are up now and there’s a place to discuss them on the My.Mtricht site here.

Jazz Maastricht Promenade: Through this weekend (starting yesterday) there is a large jazz event going on all over Maastricht. Check out the website for more details. Many of the events are being held in individual cafes and bars. The website does have an English version.

“I Am Not A Tourist” Fair: This Sunday is the “I Am Not a Tourist” Fair in Amsterdam. We’ll be there with bells on (ok, not literally). We hope to meet you there too. Don’t forget to download and print your free ticket so you can get in.

Places Around Maastricht: Fietspecialist "Aon De Stasie"

Type of Place: Bike Rental
Location: Maastricht Train Station
Website
 
There are a number of places in Maastricht to rent a bike, but the one we’ve used the most is the Fietspecialist “Aon De Stasie”. The number one reason? Location. This rental shop is located just to the right the train station. It is also reasonably priced, which is important when you need bikes for a day or two for visitors.

Aon De Stasie rents a variety of bikes, from no-gear city bikes to electric-assisted options. I recommend you get at least a 3-gear rental. Unlike a lot of Holland, Limburg is pretty hilly and you’ll kill yourself if you try and bike all over the place without gears. Rentals for a 3-gear bike start at 7,50 per day with a 50 euro cash deposit. As with most rental places, the bikes can sometimes be hit and miss so I recommend testing your ride thoroughly before heading anywhere remote. Most of our rentals have been fine, but my father-in-law’s handlebars came loose the last time we rented bikes and he took a tumble because of it.

Aon De Stasie also offers bike repair, sells equipment, and offers protected bike stalls for when you need to leave your bike someplace safe for a while. They are open Monday to Friday from 5:15 AM to 1:15 AM. Saturday they open at 6 AM and Sunday they open at 7:15 AM. They only accept cash.

Bike Rentals are:

- City Bike (no gears): 7,50/day with 50 euro deposit

- 3-Gear Bikes (not listed on their price sheet): 7,50/day with 50 euro deposit

- Luxury/Hybrid Bike (24 gears): 10/day with 100 euro deposit. (No idea what makes them Lux)

- Electric Bikes: 35/day with 200 euro deposit

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