eat like the dutch

Den Haag, The Netherlands

den haag, the netherlands

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Sarah S.

Den Haag– the Netherland’s third largest city after Amsterdam and Rotterdam– was a stark contrast to Delft, the small town I visited just a day before. Whereas much of Delft was accessible by foot, Den Haag, also known in English as “The Hague,” required the use of pubic transportation to make good use of the city. Thankfully, as so often is the case when I travel, I was lucky enough to have a very kind bus driver-turned-tour-guide.

Den Haag, The Netherlands #100DaysofMiaPrima Coffee Shop in Den Haag, The Netherlands

The two main attractions in Den Haag that I was set on seeing were the Mauritshuis, where Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring is located, and the Louwman Museum, a classic car museum that rivals Turin’s Nazionale Dell’automobile.

Below are some of my favorite shots from the Louwman Museum and a few of my favorite paintings from Mauritshuis. Overall, the day trip to Den Haag proved to be a good one– full of diversity: from swan cars and royal chariots to creamy coffee and Vermeer’s strokes of daylight.

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Mauritshuis, Den Haag

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer

My favorite paintings from the Mauritshuis

Tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #51 of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

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The Miniaturist

the miniaturist

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Sarah S.

Despite being a praised bestseller, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton eluded my knowledge until my sister suggested I read it. It was a timely suggestion given I had just packed away my life in Pittsburgh to spend two months in Holland before beginning business school. I finished the novel the other day, quite fittingly during a day trip to Amsterdam– where the story takes place. Albeit more than three hundred years ago.

The Miniaturist in Amsterdam #100DaysofMiaPrima

With its magical storytelling, suspenseful plot, and host of well-rounded female characters– all set within the Dutch Gold Age of the seventeenth century– the novel is as much a mirror of the Dutch society years ago as it is of our modern society today. The story reveals how far we have come (and how much farther we have to go) to achieve equality for women, people of color, and the LGBT community.

Grave on the floor of the Old Church in Delft, Holland

I never expected a book about a 1600s Dutch doll house to enliven such subjects. But it does. And eloquently so, supported by almost flawless storytelling (My sister, a writer, claims that parts of the novel are overworked– a byproduct of an author’s first novel, and I don’t disagree. But I’d be lying if I said I disliked Burton’s style.).

For me, the novel was brought to life even more with a trip to Amsterdam’s Hermitage museum, where I visited an exhibit of Dutch guild portraits that expanded my understanding of Dutch society during the Golden Age represented in The Miniaturist. As in the book, the museum revealed a society driven by the desire for wealth (not an inherently bad trait) in which the power of nobility was transferred to merchants and men who could prove their economic worth. Vanity and abuse of power notwithstanding.

Werner van den Valckert, Four Regents and the Patriarch of Amsterdam Lepers’ Asylum, 1624 // Hermitage Museum

There are few contemporary novels that strike me as so layered, so moving, and so poignant as The Miniaturist. If you are planning a trip to Holland (and even if you aren’t!), this book must be on your list.

Tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #50 (halfway there!) of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

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cookie butter (need i say more?)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Sarah S.

Ah, cookie butter! The Netherland’s greatest edible invention (second only maybe to stroopwafels). For a mere two euros, you can indulge in what is essentially cookies ground up into a spreadable paste. With speculoos (Dutch for this marvelous concoction) a plenty, I just had to use it for baking. And what better use for cookie butter than to make…cookies!?

I used Averie Cook’s delicious Softbatch Cookie Butter Brown Sugar Cookie recipe and was not disappointed.

photo credit // averie cooks

Surprisingly, I’ve only used cookie butter for baking once before (as the filling in these monstrous Christmas cookie sandwiches).

Any suggestions for more cookie butter recipes? Let’s hear ’em!

Tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #49 of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

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delft, holland

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Sarah S.

The day trip was a last minute idea of my sister’s. I had planned to spend more time in s’-Hertogenbosh, but admittedly, I have already more or less exhausted much of what that charming (but small) town has to offer. I knew I wanted to buy a bit of the famous Dutch Delft blauw, so a trip the earthenware’s birthplace made a lot of sense.

Not only did I find some sweet little pieces of Delft ware for my home, but I also found a very sweet Dutch town that charmed me instantly with its venerable churches, princely abodes, and narrow canals. I can see how Johannes Vermeer (who hails from Delft) was inspired to paint his masterpieces in this quaint Dutch town.

tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #48 of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

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Torino, Italia

Genova, Italia

amc loop 10k amsterdam

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Sarah S.

Since I had to miss this year’s Pittsburgh half marathon (for a good reason: this Europe trip!), I haven’t actually participated in a race of any kind since my last triathlon last September. For me, that’s a long time to go without! So I asked my sister to help find a race in the Netherlands that we could run together. We ended up at the AMC Loop 10k, running with some of Dutch coworkers.

There was one obvious Dutch-specific peril to this race: a near-constant, serious risk of being nailed in the face by an elbow. Life can be rough when everyone is an good foot taller than you… And while it was raining and I was experiencing the awful beginnings of an upper-respitory infection, the race was super fun. Angie and I ran an absolutely perfect negative split (each mile time gets faster and faster throughout the race) and a nine minute mile average. We celebrated with a fantastic healthy lunch in Utrecht (and soon I imagine also lots of cookie butter…).

tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #47 of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

Waterfalls + Covered Bridges

hallo, holland!

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Sarah S.

I’ve spent the last couple days (and soon tomorrow too) taking day trips to various Dutch cities. Amsterdam was a must, of course, but today I spent hours in Delft (of “Delft blauw” fame) and tomorrow I’ll be in Den Hague. I’ve got lots of photos to share, but in the meantime, here’s a snippet:

tot ziens!

Sarah

This post is #46 of the #The100DayProject. For more updates on my progress, be sure to follow me on Instagram and look for the hashtage, #100DaysofMiaPrima.

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Bonjour, Paris!

Ciao, Italia!