Experiences – Life – Inspiration 🇨🇭🇯🇵

Yesterday later afternoon my mother and I headed out to visit the Royal Christmas Market in the Hague. It was horribly rainy weather, but when you have lived long enough in the Netherlands like us, you go out anyway come hurricanes, thunderstorms and floods and preferably on the bike too. Staying indoors simply is not an option here. You either adapt or surrender, and surrendering is not really part of the Dutch vocabulary.

The Dutch sometimes like to say Je bent toch niet van suiker gemaakt. It is their sarcastic way of telling you that you are not made of sugar and therefore will not melt if you step outside in the rain. Or maybe it is Dutch stubbornness at its finest, a mental defiance against whatever the sky throws down. I am not entirely sure anymore. After a while it becomes the air you breathe and you, too, pretend it is all perfectly normal.

Despite the rain we made the wise choice to leave the bikes at home. We grabbed our umbrellas and took the tram to the Christmas Market instead. It saved us the frustration of cycling through winds strong enough to push your soul two meters sideways. Arriving dry is a small victory one should celebrate in this country.

We had planned to eat Swiss raclette at one of the food stalls because nothing smells more comforting on a cold winter day than melted cheese. But when we saw the weather conditions we both knew this was not going to work. The idea of rainwater dripping into freshly melted raclette was a firm no. So we skipped that and walked through the market anyway. The stalls looked lovely and festive despite the miserable sky. Christmas somehow always manages to shine through the gloom.

After a slow wander through the market we decided to head to our go to Greek restaurant Irodion in the city center. Something I had been craving ever since arriving in the Netherlands. Rain or not, there is always room for a good old mix grill platter. Lots of grilled meat, tzatziki, veggies, potato fries and a Greek beer to complete the plan B celebration.

So the Christmas Market will have to wait for its redemption arc. We will return on a dry winter day without a hurricane so that I can finally get that Swiss raclette and a warm Glühwein. Under a peaceful sky if possible. But if not, we are trained well enough here. After all, we are not made of sugar.