Maasricht Carnival 2008

Carnival in The Netherlands is a cross between Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Halloween in the States--which provides a backdrop for one heck of a party! This annual celebration in the charming Dutch town of Maastricht packs the streets with elaborately costumed celebrants, fantastic compilations of pop hits and traditional folk music blasting from venues scattered about town, and miles and miles of parade floats. For me, this was a weekend to remember and trip that I'll look forward to repeating sometime in the near future!

Watch my homemade video...

Greetings from The Netherlands! - Part Two

I never made it to Gouda last night as it was freezing cold and pouring rain, so I'll go ahead and share a quick photo from Delft! Beautiful...wish you were here!

Greetings from The Netherlands! - Part One

City: Delft
Meal: pankcake met bacon en kaas

Loyal Cakeplow readers will know, I love to report on strange foods and customs I discover on my MindComet journeys. This week I am back in the Netherlands, and more enamored with the country than ever. I am lucky enough this trip to have a little more time than usual outside of the office, so I've tried to visit every town and village I can get to for exploring.

Yesterday a local friend and I found our way to Delft, about 15 minutes from Den Haag by train. The chilling winter sunset held off just long enough to allow for a quick walking tour of the churches and canal streets before ducking into a cafe for shelter. As I sat and thawed, I was thrilled to see one of my favorite Dutch snacks on the menu--big savory pancakes! We ordered a bacon and cheese pancake served with butter and powdered sugar on the side. Het verbazen! (Amazing!)

Tonight I'm on my own and plan to visit Gouda. Look for my report tomorrow and each day this week, and as a special treat, I'll post a video montage of my trip to Carnival in Maastricht this weekend!