We arrived around 15:30 just as many people, mostly families, were heading home.

I nursed any tension built up over the week from the comfort of a sun-bed. The lady renting out sun-shades, beds and windbreaks gave to me for half-price, horrified that I was prepared to pay the full five euros for the remaining two hours of rental time.

Both children complained about the sand getting everywhere. I explained that this was because we were on a sandy beach.  They ran down towards the sea and were back within three minutes having cut their feet on the sharp little bits of razor and clam shell lying on a ribbon of wet sand preceding the sea.

After examining the cuts and reassuring them that sea-water is a natural antiseptic, they recovered rapidly and joined up with some kids collecting crabs and jelly-fish eggs from shallow pools of warm, murky water.

By 17:17 the beach was nearly empty and the view from my beach-bed to the sea was unbroken.   A soft breeze had struck up and I finally smelt the sea – that tangy 'seaweedy' smell that moves down from the nostrils and leaves a taste of salt in your mouth.

I thought about ice-cream and wondered, considering that the Dutch produce such a profusion of quality dairy products, why they hadn't developed the production of ice-cream into an art-form like the Italians.

I remember reading that ice-cream was probably first introduced into Europe through Sicily and Venice by Marco Polo, who had brought it back from China (the recipe I imagine, as the substance would surely have melted).

I tried to find out some facts about the history of ice-cream in the Netherlands and found practically nothing. Only that in the Netherlands, king Willem V first ate ice-cream on a visit to Zwolle in the late 18th century.  Like most new things at that time, only the rich and noble could enjoy such luxuries – ice-cream was scarce particularly because machines hadn't been invented to keep the ice cool.

Seemingly, the most popular ice-cream in the Netherlands nowadays is the water ice, namely "the rocket" manufactured by Ola, a national brand of Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever, which is the world's biggest ice-cream manufacturer. Hertog Ola is another Unilever brand.

I asked some Dutch friends of mine about their views on Dutch ice-cream to share with Expatica readers and I am afraid I have failed you miserably.

I came up with: "There is no view on Dutch ice-cream because there is no Dutch ice-cream," and "There is no such thing as Dutch ice-cream, we have bitterballen."

Editor's note: I didn't expect such an enthusiastic response from readers on the subject of Dutch ice-cream. It seems that you can buy good Dutch ice-cream, you just need to know where.

Re Dutch ice-cream shops:

I have already started compiling a list based on readers' feedback, so please continue sending in your suggestions.

15 April 2007

Some deeper thoughts on going back.

Natasha Gunn
Editor
Expatica Netherlands

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[Copyright Expatica 2007] 

 Natasha Gunn
Editor Ex