Drool and Dream of “Dreams”…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Now there’s a building that’s pretty hard to miss whilst passing through Maungaturoto…

…even when I first saw it out of the van passenger window and it was persisting down with rain, it was still a head turner.

Luckily we have the opportunity to come back on a sunnier day and Kiwi Daughter and I take a look inside.

Dreams is a gift shop and is like an emporium of amazing bits and pieces.

Kiwi Daughter’s two “bestest” friends would each celebrate their birthdays whilst she was away in New Zealand so she was shopping for something to post to them as a surprise.

I was shopping for some cute baby things for a good friend who’s baby was due pretty much the same time our plane was due to touch the tarmac as we headed back in The Netherlands and since babies have a habit of being unpredictable in their arrival schedules I thought it wise to already have something in my hand luggage in case he arrived in The Netherlands sooner than we did.

And yes, shopping for a new arrival is fun at any time, in any country so  hey what a brilliant excuse to go shopping here!  It’s a hot and humid day when we visit and stepping into the cavernous cool of this building is refreshing and relaxing.

Naturally I also saw a ton of stuff that I would have carted home if  ”home”  had been closer than 16.000,– kms away, as I instantly fell in love with lots of  ironwork items, and beautiful things in glass, wood and stone.

Sadly I would need my own jumbo-jet to lug it all back to the Hague and oh,… the small technical detail of an abode that would need to be at least three times as big as our present apartment to fit it all into.

Oh well seems I’ll just have to drool from afar and dream of Dreams.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Whole is Made of Two Very Different Halves… A Very Holistic Approach.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are still in the Cafinate Coffee and Tea House in Rotorua, New Zealand.  There’s a great idea in place here, because the premises is shared by two separate businesses so can obviously both benefit from this dual purpose arrangement in having reduced overhead costs.

When you walk in the door you are in the Café section, but immediately to your right is “Simply Holistic” , a holistic gift shop, so you can browse a little whilst you are waiting for your lunch to be served, or in our case waiting for the slow ones to finish their lunch and for the rain to abate just enough to make the walk to the car parked a little distance away just a little less hazardous.

I’ll be honest, I’m not really into rock crystals and the like,  so those bits were of less interest to me personally, but the handmade soaps and natural products did grab my attention and I knew that someone we would be seeing later in the trip would love these too so we picked up a few nice things as gifts.

I love it when two businesses join together to make a partnership, it was relaxing to  be able to look around quietly and had the added bonus  that we hadn’t had to go and find a large shopping centre to go find gifts in.

And… if  this place hadn’t been incorporated into our late lunch hunt, I never would have discovered the item in my next post…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…Conned by a Cod? Bullied by A Bass?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

As we leave  Wainuiomata the next morning we pass by (what I think) is the Petone shopping centre  …where I spy this shop : “Fish with Attitude“

Is this an instruction to go fishing with attitude? …or do the fish themselves have attitude?

Might customers here be in danger of being mugged by a Mullet?

…bullied by a Bass?

…terrified by a Tarakihi?

…gipped by a Gurnard?

…knocked out by a Kingfish?

…teased by a Trevally?

…conned by a Cod?

… mocked by a Mackerel?

…or snapped at by a Snapper?

We have places to go, things to see, so we didn’t stop…  but I am curious, so if any readers know the story behind this sign  then please drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s take a Spin and look at a Farmhouse Wheel…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Here are some more of my archive photos from one of the Netherlands best Specialist Cheese Shops: Ed Boele’s in the Fahrenheitstraat in The Hague.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, there are about 600 dairy farms in The Netherlands where the milk is made into cheese on the farm itself.  This cheese is called “Boerenkaas‘ (farm cheese) and the place it is made is called ‘de kaasboerderij”  (a dairy,  but translates literally  as ‘cheese farm’)

I have inquired about the possibilitiy of being able to visit one of these farms so that I could document the process but it’s harder than it sounds due strict health and hygiene regulations that require that the general public be separated from the manufacturing process of food by glass or perspex screens and other regulations to protect the public from themselves or others around various heavy machinery.

I will endeavour to keep looking to see if it’s possible to find a Dutch dairy that will give me a tour and let me take photos, you never know I may hit the jackpot one day.

Surprisingly even though the Netherlands is not a large county and the farms are small, the cheeses made in the farmhouses vary considerably in taste. texture and quality.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Each farm has their own way of making the cheese, the recipes differ, the type of rennet used, the amount of salt, as do the methods of ageing,  the fat percentages in the milk,  the strength of the taste is often to the regional preference and even what the cows ate for breakfast yesterday makes a difference.

In general farmhouse cheeses are made with full whole fat, non-pasteurized milk  that in turn produces  a young,  a medium aged, old or very old cheese, and so if you only wanted to compare the most basic of the 200 farmhouse cheeses you would be looking at at least 5. 000 cheeses without even beginning to consider the goat milk, sheep milk and other varieties.

Ed told me that he visits  farmhouses all over the Netherlands and tastes the cheeses for himself.  Slowly over the years he has built up a selection of some 20-30 favourites, and there are usually at least 20 of these in the selection of  ”farmhouse cheeses” in his shop at any one time.

We can attest we, like his other customers agree with his selection: there is always a queue for these cheeses and little plates with cut cubes for tasting are popular. Not that it would matter if there was no little plate… it’s standard practice in The Netherlands to ask to taste these cheeses before buying, they will expertly slice off a sliver of cheese with a cheese-knife and you may compare several before  making  choice.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A word of warning to the newbie cheese taster: It’s  entirely possible to taste so many fantastic cheeses that you end up exiting the shop with three or four of the  five cheeses you tasted instead of just the one you intended to buy.

More than once in the past after a cheese shop dalliance  have Himself and I ditched the evenings planned meat and salad menu and instead bought some crusty bread,  pâté, crackers, cherry tomatoes on the vine and settled down on the sofa that evening with our decadent cheeseboard dinner.

At the farmhouse the cheeses are put into  round wooden forms that are called  ”wheels”  and are made into these flat rounds because this shape ensures that  the ageing process is nice and even throughout the cheese.  All hand made cheeses are turned regularly so that the moisture inside evaporates evenly as possible as the cheese matures.

The shop also sells a few of the 15 Dutch factory made cheeses,  which are generally made from pasteurized, skimmed milk  instead of the unpasteurized full milk of the  Boerenkaas  and often has a higher salt content.

Factory cheeses have the bonus of  being cheaper and melting at more consistent temperatures, useful in the food industry and in cooking.  There’s a factory cheese called  Cantenaaer that Himself and I think rivals the handmade cheeses for taste, so it’s not necessarily about first or second rate quality, they are just different and  there is plenty of room for both.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Dutch Kaaswinkel …Smile and Say “Cheese!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Himself and I have grand ideas and dreams of living back in New Zealand when we retire. We like the idea of a more relaxed lifestyle in a smaller city or town and a lot more space. Who knows what life will bring and if we will ever get there, but if we do, then there is is a list of typically Dutch things I will certainly painfully  miss.

Near the top of this list will be some of the fabulous speciality cheese shops.  You’ll find a kaaswinkel  (cheese shop) in most  neighbourhoods and they are well used because  Dutch families have grow up with ready access and a plentiful supply of cheese… … and not content with a large cheese section of the supermarkets, the Dutch therefore expect not just average cheeses, but brilliant cheeses.

Cheeses to choose from come from approximately 200 dairy farms in the Netherlands who keep cows and make their own farmhouse cheeses on site,  plus the added bonus of having  the  ”back yard called Europe”  with each members countries amazing specialist cheeses too.

Even the boring common garden supermarket can give me a selection of  seven or eight feta cheeses, all Greek, all different, all good (and cheap!)

Not all Specialist cheese shops are created equal…  good ones there are aplenty, but great ones have customers who come from further afield just to stock up on wares that are not just good, but divine. This is why I’m taking you on a photo tour of  one of the Hague’s best Specialist cheese shops.

Located at Fahrenheitstraat 625,  owner Ed Boele has built up an amazing range of cheeses.  I talked to him and his staff last year and took photos in the shop… and if you think it looks fabulous in these photos I have to warn you that he had recently had the entire shop refitted and everyone who’s been says that it’s now even better.

Sadly my lack of mobility has prevented me from seeing the new shop yet for myself,  but I will get there eventually. In the meantime let’s take a look around at various parts of  the old version of Ed’s shop and smile as we say “cheese!”".

Fahrenheitstraat 625    /   2561 DC DEN HAAG   /   Tel.: 070 – 3631819     /    
http://www.kaasspeciaalzaak.nl/

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Making the Most of every single Millimeter…

Space is limited in the Netherlands. The country is (in)famous for having one of the highest populations densities in the world.  This has a knock-on effect that land prices are expensive. Naturally houses are compact, gardens tiny, staircases steep,  shops try and make best use of the small space they have. for some of them it’s an art form.

Last summer, whilst out walking I spied a flower shop on the Weimarstraat that certainly takes the award for the most pavement conveniently commandeered for business promotion  purposes… it’s neat and tidy, and smelled of the perfume of many flowers. Ingenious!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just Stopping In for a Quick One (to take Home)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

One of our last stops on our Amsterdam  adventure last summer was a place that Himself has had his heart set on going to for a while now.

Actually it’s the main reason we bought the car and didn’t take the train here.

It’s a specialist Beer shop called “de bierkoning” (The Beer King).

http://bierkoning.nl/

Noooo,  Himself wasn’t drinking any beer here, but he was selecting some unusual Stout Beers for one of our Beer tasting evenings.

The lighting in the shop (and in some parts lack of it) made it hard to get any photos in focus, but at least you get the idea.

What’s brilliant about this place is the knowledge of the staff and the massive, nay, humongous number of beers on offer. Name a beer producing nation and I’m sure there are some bottles  from there somewhere!

They have Stouts, Lagers and since that’s where my personal beer knowledge ends, many many many more that I’ve never heard of.

Himself drooled  and grinned as he picked out our bottled candidates for upcoming tastings.  His eyes sparkled and his grin got even bigger when I said ” Well, since we are here, and have the car to get them home with, might as well pick out a few more, do this properly…“

(Yes, he’s well worth spoiling)  Therefore we returned to the car heavily laden and for Himself, starting the day in Amsterdam with a Guinness and ending it by bringing home some unusual Stouts to try was the icing on the cake of a brilliant day out, weather issues or not.

De Bierkoning  /  Paleisstraat 125   /  1012 ZL Amsterdam   / Tel: 020 6252336

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Did I see that right or am I going Quackers?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I like the way that some small businesses try and make themselves more visible on big city main thoroughfares, to catch the eye of the passing public and to entice them to stop.

This shop on the Hague’s longest street, The Laan van Meerdervoort, certainly caught my eye as I passed by in the car.
Later, on one of my walks I  made sure  I went past there so that I could grab some photos.

Rather poetically this Florist shop is located in the “Bloemenbuurt” which literally means the “Flower neighbourhood”, (where all the streets are named after flowers) and is on the corner of the Ribesstraat and Laan van Meerdervoort, almost opposite the Azaleaplein.

I love their sense of humour and style… and they certainly caught both my eye and my camera lens, …wonderful!

I also like the fact they have use not only the shop window but also pavement to display their wares.

Bloemenmagazijn de Iris // Laan van Meerdervoort 594  // 2563 BM Den Haag  // Tel:070 3651183

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Emmaus, a kringloopwinkel with a difference… Beeklaan 315.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A few posts ago, on March 10th , I wrote about the main and more well known Dutch “kringloopwinkels”.

Well, to fully inform you I need to take you a step further into this subject and tell you about “Emmaus” and what they do.

First, you need to learn this new Dutch word, it’s  pronounced “em-mouse”, and they too are a type of Kringloopwinkel (second-hand/recycling shop).

There are only 30 of them in the Netherlands (compared with 220 of the other “kringloopwinkels”) and two Emmaus’s in The Hague (compared with 19 of the other kringloopwinkels in The Hague/Den Haag).

So ? Competition? well, kind of, but also not. Emmaus is also fulfills a very important role in Dutch society and are a very special business indeed.

Firstly it might be helpful to know that you can’t just have a “garage sale/yard sale” in The Netherlands.  You need a permit or a license from the City Council.  There is an exception to this rule only for one day per year: Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day on the 30th April) when the whole country goes flee market mad, and whole streets are filled with kids sitting on blankets selling toys etc.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Yes we do have a Dutch “Ebay” and our own local version of Ebay called “Marktplaats”  but all in all you will find that in most areas of town Kringloopwinkels of one sort of the other are very well patronized.

So what’s the big difference with Emmaus?  Well, they are an organisation that helps in particular two types of people:  the first we call in Dutch ” daklozen” which literally means ” without a roof” (read: people who sleep on the street) and the second are the ” thuislozen” which literally means ” without a house” (read: people who sleep under a roof, but in temporary, transient situations and who have no fixed abode of their own).

Emmaus opening hours also differ massively from the more regular open 5-6 days a week Kringloops.

This Emmaus is open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 13.00 to 16.00.

The one  on the Beeklaan  is a bit of a puzzle.. its a shop of two halves,  the first half being on the corner of the Beeklaan and Daguerrestraat,  and consists of a lot of kitchen equipment, clothes,cloth, toys and books, and if you continue down the Beeklaan until you reach the other corner of the same block (corner Beeklaan and Galileistraat) then you find the other half of it, and there you will find more bric-a-brac, hardware and household items. Together the two are one.

I tried several times to take photographs inside these shops, but to be honest it was a waste of time, every time I tried the paces were so full of people looking for a bargain that you couldn’t get any decent shots of the merchandise.  To say it was a “squeeze” inside was an understatement !

There is so little space inside that lots of stuff is parked on the street for the few hours that they are open…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Here is part of the Emmaus  manifesto ( and the English translation I’ve made after it):

Emmaus, meer dan tweedehands alleen

U kent Emmaus misschien van de winkels en markten met tweedehands artikelen, maar onze organisatie is meer dan dat. In negen woonwerkgemeenschappen bieden we onderdak aan wie dat om welke reden dan ook nodig heeft, met name dak- en thuislozen. Daarnaast wonen er mensen die uit idealisme voor Emmaus hebben gekozen. De winkels voorzien in het onderhoud van deze groepen. Ook zijn er vrijwilligersgroepen, waar mensen een leuke en zinvolle dagbesteding kunnen vinden. Voor de meeste groepen geldt, dat ze van de omzetten projecten op het gebied van armoedebestrijding in en ver buiten Nederland kunnen steunen. We zetten ons graag in voor diegenen, die het minder hebben dan wij.

“Emmaus, more than just Second Hand

You may know Emmaus as the market for second-hand goods, but our organization is far more than that. In nine living and working communities we offer a roof to anyone who wishes or needs one, for whatever reason, especially to those without a home. Aside from this there are people who have also chosen to live here for idealistic reasons. The Emmaus shops provide a livelihood for these people as well as our groups of volunteers, and are places where people can spend their time in nice and useful manner. Most of these groups can support other projects in the field of fighting poverty with their turnover, not only in the Netherlands but also outside the Netherlands. We love to support those who less prosperous than we are.”

What an excellent idea… I can support that one too.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Emmaus Den Haag, Kringloopwinkel. / Beeklaan 315,  / 2562 AJ  Den Haag. / Tel: 070-3457477

(photograph © Kiwidutch)