Lets go Dutch! The Netherlands is a nation known to have a good framework for sustainability. Elsie Gabriel

Lets go Dutch!

Orange it is! The Dutch are painting the town Orange alright in Mumbai!! The Holland meets Mumbai festival 2015 is bringing in a lot of culture, dance and food. Truly a good exchange of ideas and  events. I was happy to witness and  kick start the Holland festival in Mumbai with Consul General of Netherlands, Geoffrey van Leeuwen at Foodhall, India’s premium lifestyle food superstore– enabling its patrons to experience the culinary flavours of Dutch.!

Dutch foods of the Netherlands may not be as well-known as French or Chinese cuisines but it is worth experiencing the delight at least once. The Dutch cuisine has gained popularity amongst food connoisseurs across the globe owing to its simple and straightforward flavours. This food festival will take you to the Orange land with some of its most enjoyable savouries such as StroopWaffles - a waffle made from thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-like syrup filling and world famous cheeses such as Edam and Gouda.

The ever popular Stroopwaffles, delectable Dutch apple tart, bread and butter pudding and Dutch pancakes with blueberries were some of the delicasies laid out .The Dutch pea soup that serves as a substantial and healthy meal in this cuisine was added.Cross Maidan Garden from 5th-7th June and experience what the Netherlands has to offer you! One of the attractions is a live clog demo conducted by  Dijkman Klompen-atelier.

 

The mouth watering Stamppot which is a delicacy made out of mashed potatoes, chopped kale and carrots were sighted as the consul genrals favourite.You can indulge in some exotic Heksenkaas (a flavoured cream cheese or sandwich spread) with Rye bread toasties and White Asparagus with Hollandaise saucealong with mashed potatoes at the demo counter and of course say  Cheese with varieties such as Edam and Gouda.

The Holland Village at the Cross Maidan Mumbai  brought Holland to Mumbai, also hosted  a performance of Kleintje Pils , a very popular Dutch group!  You simply have to check out their footwear. Visit Holland in Mumbai and travel to the land of tulips, windmills and Dutch food.

The street art tucked away in a small bilane in Dharavir Mumbai was striking, so orange to say the least,wish the art works adorned more accessable streets, frequented by the appreciative public and art entusiasts.

Standing below the treet art in Dharavir Mumbai.

The country boasts of  pro-active environment friendly industry-led advocacy groups. Public civic awareness is also high, with sustainability issues integrated into the college and school curriculum. The Netherlands is a nation known to have a good framework for sustainability. The country’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and investing in renewable energy sources is very high and consistent. A conscious and active civil society, coupled with consistent business-friendly government departments help the Dutch keep sustainable actions on top priority.

I have visited Holland and know first hand, living in the most eco friendly hotels, large tulip gardens and parks, miles of green cover,windmills and water management are just some of the areas which a common tourist is witness to, but Netherland has a powerful commitment to check pollution in every aspect of life, which are also unseen by the travel and tourism industry, like legislation and green policies.

Lets go Dutch,for a change right here in Mumbai.

Ruby Khan helps me revisit Holland’s Keukenhof in full bloom! Summer of 2004!

Ruby Khan, am thankful to you for helping me revisit Holland’s Keukenhof in full bloom!

Summer of 2004!

Elsie Gabriel

 

Intellectually vivacious and dynamic, Ruby Khan, known her for almost 18 years, is like a second daughter to me. A young lady now whom am very proud of, to say the least. Well now she is a world citizen, literally! Having a fantastic record of studying worldwide,  Boston, Massachusetts,Yunnan University ,Class of 2012 · Chinese · Kunming Shi, Yunnan, China and Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts.Recently she shared with me pictures of the Worlds largest flower garden in Holland, which brought back so many beautiful colourful memories of the thousands of Tulips at the Keukenhof, which I had visited almost ten years ago or more.

 I thank Ruby for bringing these pictures alive once again for me to enjoy through her recent visit and beautiful eyes! Being a nature enthusiast and outdoor addict,I simply couldn’t resist writing about it. Ahhh what a joy to re-live stunning moments through appreciative souls like you!

 

Well if must know the year 2015 is a vital milestone date for the Dutch, Tulip gardens, as it is exactly 125 years since the death of Vincent van Gogh. This moment was seized by Keukenhof to honour the famous Dutch artist. This season there is a great deal that links Van Gogh and Keukenhof. Willem van Gogh, a relative of Vincent van Gogh, officially opened the 66^th edition of Keukenhof today. This year is the Van Gogh year at Keukenhof. The most beautiful spring garden in the world is open from Friday 20 March up to and including Sunday 17 May. Keukenhof is already in full bloom.

The highlight of the Van Gogh year is a flower bulb mosaic of Vincent van Gogh covering an area of 250m2 and made up of thousands of tulips. The flower shows display wonderful combinations of thousands of tulips and his paintings. this year specially there is a lovely new Selfie garden inspired by the self-portraits of Van Gogh in a modern setting. Even 125 years after his death Van Gogh is still inspiring plenty of people. Says Ruby, “It's the biggest flower garden in the world and true to Dutch culture it's remarkable but not ostentatious.It's very well planned -- the paths across the flower fields are big enough to not run into the thousands of tourists it attracts everyday but it's small enough for you to feel intimate with the beautiful flowers around you. There are cafe's and open spaces for adults and a petting zoo and park for children, if you need a break from all the walking. "   Adds Ruby further describing details of how one could reach there, “One should definitely plan on visiting this garden when the weather's nice out because I don't think one can take in the beauty of the garden when it's raining out. You can buy tickets directly from their official website. There's a shuttle that picks you up and drops you off to/from Schipol AMS Airport and Keukenhof. That shuttle leaves every 5 mins from the Schipol airport.”  Keukenhof has reached a new record with 1.175.000 visitors in 2015. 2015 is the second consecutive year that Keukenhof has attracted more than 1 million visitors. The beautiful, cool spring enabled the flowers to bloom for the complete 8 weeks. The large number of visitors is the result of the publicity around the Van Gogh theme and the increasing popularity of Keukenhof by Americans, Germans, Chinese and visitors from South-East Asia. The average age of the visitors was noticeably lower than in previous years. More Dutch families have visited Keukenhof this year mainly because of all the new events and extra children’s activities. Ruby Khan,am thankful to you for helping me revisit Holland’s Keukenhof in full bloom! Summer of 2004!