Episode 16 of Maastricht Minutiae

Episode 16 of Maastricht Minutiae is ready for your listening pleasure. Its been a couple of real nose to the grindstone kind of weeks. So instead of having a tale of travel to share, we decided to celebrate Sinter Klaas’ arrival in Maastricht with a taste test of traditional holiday sweets. That does mean we recorded the episode on the same computer, so the sound quality is a bit off. Click here to listen to Episode 16 or download it using your favorite podcatcher.
 
 
 
In Episode 16 we talk about:

Dutch Language Class at Maastricht University

NaNoWriMo & other projects

My continued adventures with Dutch Healthcare

The dryer gets fixed! (Finally)

The Sinterklaas Sweets Taste Test

Kruidnoten: Tiny crunchy spice cookies traditionally handed out by Sinter Klaas.

Speculaas Cookies: Spiced cookies with almond slices typically shaped as windmills but also made into holiday shapes this time of year. (Dan’s Favorite)

Marzipan Sinter Klaas: A fondant like candy.

Amandelstaaf: Creamy almond paste baked in a staff with a flaky, butter crust around it like a roll. Sometimes shaped into letters.

Speculaasslofje: An inch-thick speculaas-flavored bread filled with almond paste. (Amanda’s Favorite)

 
Do you have questions or comments for the podcast? Please feel free to e-mail them to me at maastrichtminutiae@gmail.com or fill out the contact me form.
 
This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

Places around Maastricht: Amazing Oriental Aziatische Supermarkt

Type of Place: Asian Grocery Store
Location: Mosae Forum, underground
Website
 
Brand-new in October, Amazing Oriental, is a moderately sized (for the Dutch) Asian grocery store located near the Markt square in the underground level of the Mosae Forum. The new shop is clean and bright with a “fast food” stand at the entrance for lunch on the go. They have a nice selection of prepackaged, frozen, and fresh foods, and the vegetables tend to be ones you won’t see in your regular Albert Heijns. Many of the products appear to be Indonesian in origin, but there is also a variety of food from any other Asian country you can think of. Of course you can get a great deal of rice in bulk and Amazing Oriental carries some beer and wine as well.
 
In addition to the food and drink aspects of the store, an aisle of cookware and dishes will ensure that you have all the right tools to prepare a small feast. The prices are reasonable and probably comparable to what you might find in the regular grocery stores.
 

Being a fan of Asian cuisine and a cook that likes to try new things occasionally, I was pretty excited about Amazing Oriental opening up here in Maastricht. I was spoiled in Boston by having a large Asian grocery store just a 15 minute walk from home. It was a great store, but fishy smelling. Amazing Oriental does not have a fish or meat counter, so it ought to stay a pretty pleasant shopping experience. In fact the strangest item I found in the store is only shaped like a fish. Once you have picked up everything you can there, you can swing by Jumbo next door and wrap up the rest of your grocery shopping. I look forward to shopping more at Amazing Oriental and maybe even making my super miso soup in the near future.
 
This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Sinterklaas…

If you’re an American, you are probably looking forward to Thanksgiving right now while still eating the last of your Halloween candy. Here in the Netherlands, we don’t have Thanksgiving and Halloween is a ghost of its US self. Instead as soon as it started to get cool the holiday garlands, lights, and candy comes out for the winter holidays. Of course it isn’t as early as it seems to me because in actuality everyone is preparing for Sinterklaas on December 5th and 6th.
 
Since this holiday is new to me as well as some of the people reading this blog, I wanted to share a little bit about what I’ve read and witnessed.
 
 
About the Holiday
Sinterklaas is traditionally the celebration of St. Nicholas’ birthday and it is celebrated in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the tradition of Dutch birthdays where the celebrant provides the cake to share with his or her colleagues, St. Nicholas (Sinter Klaas in Dutch) has decided to give gifts to children who have been good for the whole year. Starting on November 14th, he travels around the Netherlands with his entourage of helpers, Zwarte Piet (Black Peters), to make sure the kids have been good before delivering a bag of gifts on December 5th. On December 6th he heads home to Spain by steamboat where he resides the rest of the year in his castle.

As you might imagine, Sinterklaas is the primary gift-giving holiday in the Netherlands and it is heavily focused on gift-giving for children. Between November 14 and December 5, children will leave out wooden shoes with snacks for Sinter Klaas’ horse and wine or milk for the man himself. In the morning the shoe is filled with small treats. On December 5 the family spends the day together and enjoys a holiday feast. Then a mysterious knock comes on the door and gifts are left in a bag for the children. Adults typically will exchange gifts through a sort of “Secret Santa” method and will usually go out of their way to wrap the gifts fancifully and write a short, rhyming poem about the recipient. Children’s gifts also have a poem attached.
 
Sinter Klaas is quite different in appearance from the Santa Claus I grew up with. He is typically shown to be tall and slim, and dressed as a bishop in red and white. He carries a staff in one hand and his book of names in the other. Images I’ve seen always include a large flowing and frequently curly beard. His helpers, Zwarte Piets, are said to be assistants who came with him from Spain, which explains their renaissance-esque garb, and are the ones who go down the chimney to deliver gifts, which is why they are blacken with soot. The tradition of people dressing up as Zwarte Piet, which includes black face paint and colorful costumes, was shocking to me when I first learned about it. The practice is considered to be all in good fun, but a heated debate over the origins of Zwarte Piet exists.
 
Candy & Decorations

Although Sinterklaas is considered to be less commercial than Christmas in the United States, the candy and decorations are the most prominent aspects of the holiday for those of us not living in a Dutch family. Traditional Sinterklaas candy includes chocolate letters, marzipan, sugar animals such as mice and frogs, and geld (chocolate coins). Like the chocolate Easter bunnies, you can also buy huge chocolate versions of Sinter Klaas and Zwarte Piet. Since Maastricht has many chocolate shops, there is no excuse not to find something fun and made from high-quality candy.
 
Non-candy foods for the holiday include speculaas cookies (windmill cookies in the US), almond paste breads, and Oliebollen (which are actually a New Year’s treat). I have even been able to buy holiday cereals with speculaas cookie bits and cranberries.

The decorations for the holiday primarily mirror what I am accustomed to seeing for Christmas. The Brusselsepoort has green garlands with upside down “trees” decorated with bulbs. The city has decked out the large shopping streets with garlands hung between stores. Of course there is also the addition of Zwarte Piet figures everywhere much like the elves who work for Santa. Sinter Klaas himself has shown up a few times in the decor but it does not seem to be common to hang his image as frequently as that of his helpers.
 
Activities In & Near Maastricht
I think a big event in Maastricht will be Sinter Klaas’ arrival by steamboat on November 14th at 11 AM followed by a parade through the city. Then from 12:30 to 1:30 PM parents can bring their children to meet Sinter Klaas and his helpers at the Stadhuis. Later he will be meeting kids at the Brusselsepoort shopping center from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. More information about this is available at the Sinterklaas in Maastricht website (Dutch) and at Crossroads (English).
 
Another activity you may be interested in is the Christmas Market held at the Velvet Caves in Valkenburg. Each year a different themed Christmas market is held underground in their marl cave with various foods and handmade crafts. This year the market runs from November 20 through December 22nd which allows plenty of time to find Sinterklaas gifts as well. I am hoping to visit just to see what it is like.
 
Not an activity but something to keep an eye on is the Sinterklaas Journal maintained by NPS (a news station). Here they will be updating news on Sinter Klaas’ travels through the Netherlands leading up to the holiday. (Thank you Ron for the link via Mtricht.com)
 
What About Christmas?
As a primarily Christian country, the Netherlands also celebrates Christmas which is the time when most Americans are accustomed to exchanging gifts. But according to what I’ve read, only about half of the Dutch double dip into the gift-giving practices of both holidays. A tree is still put up and decorated, but Christmas is reserved as a family gathering and religious holiday that doesn’t necessarily need to include gifts.
 
Do you have special activities you participate in for Sinterklaas? Feel free to share them in the comments section. And of course, if I’ve gotten anything wrong, please feel free to comment or e-mail me and I will do my best to correct my error.
 
Bibliography Not Linked Above
Wikipedia: Sinterklaas
Christmas in the Netherlands, 19/12/2008
Sint Comes To Town, 16/11/2008
Sinterklaas Survival Guide, 05/12/2009
 
This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

Places Around Maastricht: Maastricht Train Station

The Maastricht train station is such an important landmark that I probably should have written about it first. Unless you come by car, the train station will probably be your first and last impression of Maastricht. Fortunately, it cuts quite the memorable figure from its centuries-old stone construction to its brilliant stain glass windows. In addition to the station itself, there is also a bus station, mini-Albert Heijns, café, bookstore, and information desks for both the trains and buses.

Of course a train station is really only as good as the service it provides and, like most places in the Netherlands, the Maastricht station is more than adequate. We can typically show up 10 minutes before our train arrives, pick up tickets, and be settled into our seats with a bit of time to spare. There are only 8 tracks and they are all handicap accessible, so it is unlikely that you’ll miss a quick switch over. Outside is the main bus station with easy to read signs and both free (open) and paid (protected at Fietspecialist “Aon De Stasie”) bike parks.

Don’t expect the trains’ overhead speakers to make announcements in English unless you are on an international train. Fortunately, most staff speaks English and will help you identify your train. You also will need to be very proactive if you have questions for the help desk. The staff won’t try to guess what you need; they’ll just give you the basic answer. Bathrooms cost 50 cents and the café (which makes decent coffee) opens at 7:30 AM.

Need to work out a train and/or bus trip in the Netherlands? You can use 9292ov.nl website. I recommend pre-plotting out your route because the ticket machines won’t tell you what switches you need to make.

This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

NaNoWriMo 2009: The Blogger Rebellion

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I was planning to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. Well, I’ve made the commitment elsewhere so it is time to make it official here. 50,000 words by midnight, November 30th or else I turn into a pumpkin. Or something.

NaNoWriMo, for those who don’t know, is a yearly challenge to write a minimum 50,000 word novel during the month of November. What started 10 years ago with 21 participates in the US has grown into an international event with over 150,000 participants! For the month of November, I am dedicating my blog to NaNoWriMo. I urge you to visit the website, sign up, and/or make a donation to the Office of Letters and Light to help them make this and other great writing events possible. I have set up a sponsorship link in the sidebar if you are so inclined.

The Messy First Act
This is my second year fighting for NaNoWriMo glory. In fact the predecessor of this blog (Single Stitch Studio) was where I first starting writing about the activity. It gave me an outlet besides the forums to express my struggles and elation at this new and strange artistic endeavor. For the first time in a long time I was positively vibrating with the pleasure of writing a novel and I lead my steampunk archivist on a winding adventure of pirates, archaeology, and mad scientists in search of a legendary airship. I won the competition by writing 50,000 words and by the end of December had a 80,000-something word manuscript of really terrible prose and poorly planned plot points. The novel now languishes in a drawer somewhere, but I must have liked the blogging part or else you wouldn’t be reading this.

And Now?
For NaNoWriMo 2009, I was torn between writing fiction and my blogging obligations so I’ve decided to cut down the middle and join the NaNo Rebellion. “Rebels” are simply people who commit to writing 50,000 words in a month (still a lot of work), but chose to write something besides a novel.

For fiction this year I thought I would try my hand at some shorter fictional prose in the form of six short stories about Dashiell, a cat detective who solves the animal crimes the humans of his world miss. I’m not the sort of person who is overflowing with plot ideas, so I take what I can get. I think its cute.

For the blog I hope to commit about 25,000 (edited) words. If my average blog post is about 500 words long, I should be able to get about 40-50 blog posts out of the activity. Either that or a bunch of very long articles. We’ll see. Hopefully these posts will give me a bit of a buffer going into the holiday season so Maastricht Minutiae will continue to update even while I’m busy with family.

Are you interested in National Novel Writing Month? You can find me on the website as Locusta. Also, Scrivener, a novel writing software for the Mac, is offering a 50% discount to all winners. I’m testing it out the month and will be buying it weather or not I “win”. It makes organizing my blog posts and research easier.

Ok, off to write the next post. See you all soon.

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