As you may know I have been traveling with my wife, Terry, for the last little while and have landed in Holland and stayed put for a bit. Holland has been marvelous and I have seen some wonderful things here. It is great seeing things coming alive, the smells and the sights have been breath taking. Some special things I have seen are the flower market and the botanical garden. The flower market just made my mouth water. Imagine being able to purchase 100 bulbs for 10 Euro. I wanted to fill bags and bags with bulbs and roots but I have a backpack.
The Botanical Garden or to be proper, the "Hortus Botanicus" has been around for more then 200 years, Imagine a garden older than Canada is! There were 200 year old specimen and I saw a semi-evergreen oak tree. This oak loses about 1/3 of its leaves in the fall and the rest stay green and on the tree until next years buds break. It is a graft and has a cultivar but I failed to retain it. It was interesting reading descriptions about plants that are suppose to be reacting to spring but seeing nothing. Spring is very late here and there are only a few bulbs that have flowered. It was a wonderful tour none-the-less. Another interesting thing I saw here was the grocery stores.
In North America we are into convenience foods, packaged everything and all kinds of RTS food products. This usually translates out to processed foods containing loads of sugar, salt and modified starches, among other things. Things that are not good for our bodies. You will be surprised to know that Holland is into convenience also but a different kind of convenience. In the grocery stores here you will find all kinds of prepared packaged foods that are fresh. You can find any kind of combination package on the shelf, stir fried vegetables, fresh, cut up and ready to cook. Salads of every description, ready to be mixed and served. Meats pre-portioned and seasoned, ready to go in the oven or on the grill. You can even get meats ready for soup, some small meat balls, some cubed meat and a bone for the stock all in one convenient package. I really cannot describe something that must be seen to be understood, and believed but it seems to me they have a healthy, fresh outlook towards convenience. My intention is to take this idea to my local grocery store when I return home, I'm hoping the idea will be appealing to them. I wonder what might happen if we all did? Enjoying the new things of Holland. Wes
The Botanical Garden or to be proper, the "Hortus Botanicus" has been around for more then 200 years, Imagine a garden older than Canada is! There were 200 year old specimen and I saw a semi-evergreen oak tree. This oak loses about 1/3 of its leaves in the fall and the rest stay green and on the tree until next years buds break. It is a graft and has a cultivar but I failed to retain it. It was interesting reading descriptions about plants that are suppose to be reacting to spring but seeing nothing. Spring is very late here and there are only a few bulbs that have flowered. It was a wonderful tour none-the-less. Another interesting thing I saw here was the grocery stores.
In North America we are into convenience foods, packaged everything and all kinds of RTS food products. This usually translates out to processed foods containing loads of sugar, salt and modified starches, among other things. Things that are not good for our bodies. You will be surprised to know that Holland is into convenience also but a different kind of convenience. In the grocery stores here you will find all kinds of prepared packaged foods that are fresh. You can find any kind of combination package on the shelf, stir fried vegetables, fresh, cut up and ready to cook. Salads of every description, ready to be mixed and served. Meats pre-portioned and seasoned, ready to go in the oven or on the grill. You can even get meats ready for soup, some small meat balls, some cubed meat and a bone for the stock all in one convenient package. I really cannot describe something that must be seen to be understood, and believed but it seems to me they have a healthy, fresh outlook towards convenience. My intention is to take this idea to my local grocery store when I return home, I'm hoping the idea will be appealing to them. I wonder what might happen if we all did? Enjoying the new things of Holland. Wes
yellow orchards
evergreen oak
I'm right there with you Wes! We're 95% free of the yucky bad-for-you processed foods. I'm still looking for healthy replacements to the ones we still aren't free of.
ReplyDeleteWe just bought a huge meat order from mennonite farmers who believe in raising their animals the natural old fashioned way. Free range, no growth homones, no anti-biotics, no cages... it's a good feeling knowing that we're eating healthy meat!
Thanks for this update. I'm glad you're enjoying your travels! The pictures are great!
Brie*