Sunday 9 November 2014
Lots of bikes, not many chillies
I haven't found a lot about the history of the chilli or its consumption in my two days at in The Hague in the Netherlands. Having high tea in a nearby bakery cafe was further evidence on the other hand that bread is very big here, however, as the six different breads that came with the cheeses and the meats and salads, before the cakes, were a feature of the event. That was late in the day after the oliebollen - donuts - and the applecake (very delicious.) Anyway the point of the high tea discussion was that the pumpkin soup in a glass that kick started the meal was light and delicious, and spiced up with chilli.
I am surprised there isn't a stronger chilli visibility here given the Dutch history of colonisation and trade in both the East Indies (where the chilli was being picked up in a flash from the Portuguese, around the same time as the Dutch were taking over) and the West Indies, where they still have a colony or so, very close to the original home of the chilli in Mexico.
I'm sure there is actually a stronger chilli presence, but I am only here for a couple of days, and while The Hague might have once been known as the widow of the East Indies, these days the most obvious cultural qualities seem to be the bread, art museums, the International Court of Justice, and the community and commuter commitment to bicycling.
That's the most obvious difference here to me in a society in many ways quite similar to Australia. The number of non sporty serious every day child and shopping carrying bicycles is huge. It makes life as a pedestrian, and presumably as a car driver, quite quite different.
One might imagine a lot of people are pretty fit as a consequence. They look it. Still the lack of bike helmets might impact on the health outcomes to some cyclists. And the smoking over beer and coffee, while fun for the smokers, might have a few health impacts to redress just a little the imbalance back in favour of big non cycling Australia.
I am surprised there isn't a stronger chilli visibility here given the Dutch history of colonisation and trade in both the East Indies (where the chilli was being picked up in a flash from the Portuguese, around the same time as the Dutch were taking over) and the West Indies, where they still have a colony or so, very close to the original home of the chilli in Mexico.
I'm sure there is actually a stronger chilli presence, but I am only here for a couple of days, and while The Hague might have once been known as the widow of the East Indies, these days the most obvious cultural qualities seem to be the bread, art museums, the International Court of Justice, and the community and commuter commitment to bicycling.
That's the most obvious difference here to me in a society in many ways quite similar to Australia. The number of non sporty serious every day child and shopping carrying bicycles is huge. It makes life as a pedestrian, and presumably as a car driver, quite quite different.
One might imagine a lot of people are pretty fit as a consequence. They look it. Still the lack of bike helmets might impact on the health outcomes to some cyclists. And the smoking over beer and coffee, while fun for the smokers, might have a few health impacts to redress just a little the imbalance back in favour of big non cycling Australia.
Monday 30 June 2014
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