Pascuals in Europe Pt. II

One of the major disadvantages of living abroad is that you see your family on average once per year, depending on how far away you are from them. I've accepted and lived with this fact for a few years now, but saying goodbye after spending time together has not gotten easier. It never does. Who likes goodbyes, anyway?! I hate 'em. But so ist das Leben.

I'm thankful and blessed to be able to have spent my summer hols with my family in Europe just this past month. In 2012, we visited Rome and Paris together. This year, on Mama Pascual's request, we visited London, Amsterdam, BS and Berlin. The obvious highlight for me was showing my family the city where I live, Braunschweig aka BS, and Germany in general. After all, I've come to call Germany home. Though it felt absolutely surreal while my family was in town, I loved every minute of it. Now whenever I talk about my life, they'll actually be able to picture it, which makes me genuinely happy beyond words.

I received the biggest surprise of my life earlier this month when we hopped in a car and André drove us straight to Amsterdam! Ill-prepared but super stoked, we spent 3 glorious days in the city and biked our arses around for 2 of them... hittin' up Vodelpark, food/flea markets, little cheese shops, the Anne Frank Museum, the Red Light District, mysterious coffee shops (bahaha)... enjoying every minute of exploring through all the narrow cobblestone streets in the “bike capital of the world!“ It's funky, it's a mixed bag of people, it has a liberal kinda laid-back ‘tude... I've straight–up fallen in ♥ with Amsterdam.

MUST-EATS: Amsterdam 2012

When in the Netherlands, do as the Dutch do and stuff your face with stroopwafels 24/7! André and I shared this Super Stroopwafel* while strolling through Dapper Market (Amsterdam East) earlier this month. Soooo much better than the store-bought kinds. Not too sweet with a hint of cinnamon in it... with a tad bit of bite... served up hot and fresh... a definite market must-eat while in Amsterdam.



MUST-EAT Dutch Foodstuffs* / Foodstuffs that I enjoyed while in Amsterdam

1 — Dutch-style chips/fries* (served with mayo, diced onions & special ketchup) @ 3am on a Fri night
2 — microwaved Poffertjes from Albert Heijn supermarket were disgusting so stick to the fresh kinds
3 — Vanille-ijs from HEMA ‘cause a cone is only €0,50 cents and soft serve is a rarity in Deutschland
4 — Febo fast food just for the freakish fun of buying food out of a coin dispenser contraption thingy
5 — superb praliné-filled (almond & hazelnut) chocolate eggs from chocolate shop Metropolitan
6 — Broodje Haring* (raw herring & diced onions in a bun) is typical Dutch snack food at its finest!
7 — Pindakaas is just peanut butter but I went buckwilddd 'cause I've missed Kraft PB so much
8 — Roasted Duck from Nam Kee was tooooo rad! But PS. They're more famous for their oysters.
9 — Amsterdam cheese* because they're internationally known for it, duh! Shoutouts to Old Gouda
10 — store-bought Stroopwafels* are a must-try in order to really appreciate the freshly-made ones