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Zaanse Schans windmills seen across the water

Zaanse Schans: windmills, museums and a village of moved houses

The Zaanse Schans was built in the twentieth century from buildings that once stood elsewhere in the Zaan region. What you see points back to a region where more than six hundred windmills turned in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Aerial view of Naarden-Vesting with ramparts and moats

Naarden-Vesting: six bastions around a town on a sand ridge

Naarden sits on a sand ridge on the former Zuiderzee shore and is shaped like a star with six bastions. The Dutch Fortress Museum occupies the casemates of bastion Turfpoort. Since 2021 the Water Line has been a World Heritage Site.

The Devil Wanted to Resign

On the Waal, near Waardenburg in Gelderland in the middle of the Netherlands, stands a castle linked to stories about Doctor Faust. Zaltbommel lies across the river, called simply Bommel in the tale. According to this tradition, a scholar hired the devil—and drove even that servant to despair.

Photo: Drielandenpunt bij Vaals.

Vaals: walking at three borders

The Vaalserberg, the village centre and the Three-Country Point each offer a different view of the border region.

Golden oat crumble with soft apple visible beneath the topping.AI-generated image

Apple crumble with oats: leave a few bigger crumbs

Do not rub the mixture too finely. The larger crumbs are part of the pleasure of spooning through the topping to the soft apples below. Oats give the top a coarser texture, while cinnamon goes in with the fruit.

Chunky apple and potato mash topped with golden onions in a white bowl.AI-generated image

Apple and potato mash with golden onions

Apples need not wait for dessert. In this chunky mash they bring a fresh, sweet note to the potatoes, while the onions take their time turning golden in a separate pan. Spoon them over at the table to keep the two textures distinct.

The Sister Who Kept Waiting — colour illustration

The Sister Who Kept Waiting

In Deventer, on the IJssel in Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, the Bergkerk has two towers. According to an old story, they are linked to two sisters: Martha and Beatrix. Martha was a little taller, and so, people said, were the towers: side by side, one just a little higher than the other.

The Minister Who Tried to Move the Future — colour illustration

The Minister Who Tried to Move the Future

In Pietersbierum, a village near Harlingen in Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, people told of a woman who saw her own funeral before she died. Such a vision was called a voorloop, a forewarning. Her husband was a minister, and he wanted none of it.

The King Who Wanted Silence — colour illustration

The King Who Wanted Silence

In Limburg, in the southeast of the Netherlands, people told of the giant king Halichem. His people wanted him to marry. He wanted them to stop bringing it up.

The Day That Came Back Every Year — colour illustration

The Day That Came Back Every Year

Knight Allaert had the hermit drowned because the man told him something he did not want to hear. The hermit reproached him for his sinful life. Allaert could answer a reprimand with an order; he expected the water to take care of the rest.

One Word Too Many — colour illustration

One Word Too Many

Near Echt, in Limburg in the southeast of the Netherlands, people told of a headless woman who wandered by the ruins of Sleutje. In wartime, local people had killed her before she received the church’s forgiveness. Her ghost had sworn vengeance on the people of Echt.

Five Marks for a Quiet Conscience — colour illustration

Five Marks for a Quiet Conscience

Near Maastricht, on the Meuse in Limburg in the southeast of the Netherlands, people knew an old story about the owner of the Black Mill. It takes place during the Crusades, when preachers called on men to travel to the Holy Land for their faith. The miller Godeslas listened to one such sermon and worked out what it would cost him.

Death Fit Through a Small Hole — colour illustration

Death Fit Through a Small Hole

In Twente, in the province of Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, people told that the plague travelled like a little cloud past the farms near Enschede. People called the feared disease the Black Death. In this tradition, an entire farmstead could perish while almost nothing could be seen from outside.

A Son-in-Law of Pure Gold — colour illustration

A Son-in-Law of Pure Gold

Near Lochem and Barchem, in the Achterhoek region of Gelderland in the east of the Netherlands, people told of the witte wieven: mysterious women who appeared over the land like mist. According to this old story, three lived in a hollow near the Koerbelt. The eldest had nails sharp enough to peel a potato without a knife. She ruled the witte wieven as far as the Veluwe.

Bowl of orange pumpkin soup with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.AI-generated image

Pumpkin soup with toasted seeds

Roast the pumpkin first; only then add it to the stock. Keep the seeds separate until serving.

Sliced golden mushroom and leek tart on a plate.AI-generated image

Mushroom and leek tart with thyme

Cook off most of the mushroom moisture first so the pastry stays crisp. Then the filling only needs to set.

Firm dark brown spiced loaf with walnuts and almonds, with several slices cut off.AI-generated image

Groningen nut loaf with a spiced crumb

The nuts go underneath and on top of the dough. A low oven temperature gives this firm spiced loaf time to cook right through.

Sliced beetroot tart with a pink egg-and-cream filling, goat cheese and thyme.AI-generated image

Beetroot tart with goat cheese and thyme

Precooked beetroot makes this tart manageable on an ordinary cooking evening. A thin pastry base holds a pink filling, soft goat cheese and a little thyme.

Warm pearl barley with roasted carrot pieces, parsley and green pumpkin seeds.AI-generated image

Warm barley salad with roasted carrots

Roast the carrots until their edges colour, then toss them with chewy barley. Mustard, lemon and pumpkin seeds give this warm salad a fresh, crunchy finish.

Golden frittata with potato slices and leek rings in a black ovenproof pan.AI-generated image

Potato and leek frittata with farmhouse cheese

Thin potato slices give this frittata substance, while gently cooked leeks add flavour. The oven does the final part; there is no need to turn the filled pan over.

Pale beige celeriac soup with a spoonful of yogurt and finely snipped chives.AI-generated image

Celeriac soup with apple and chives

The apple goes into the pan too, adding a fresh note to this smooth celeriac soup. A spoonful of yogurt and a few chives finish each bowl.

The knight who needed someone after all

At Haarzuilens, close to Utrecht in the middle of the Netherlands, stands Castle de Haar. About the medieval stronghold on that spot, people tell the story of a knight who needed nobody. That was his own opinion, at least.

A deep bowl of thick green pea soup with pieces of carrot, leek and celeriac, sprinkled with chopped leaf celery, next to a slice of rye bread.AI-generated image

Thick split pea soup: the spoon almost stands up

Split peas need no soaking. They slowly cook down into a thick base, in which leek, carrot, celeriac and potato then cook through. This soup becomes even thicker and tastier the next day.

Three homemade Bossche bollen about 7 cm wide, with glossy dark-chocolate caps on a plate; one is cut open to show the whipped cream.AI-generated image

Bossche bollen at home: eight choux buns capped with dark chocolate

The familiar bakery Bossche bol is large; this home version makes eight smaller choux buns about 7 cm across. Bake them thoroughly or they will collapse. Dip only the tops in dark chocolate and fill with whipped cream just before eating.

About six golden-brown, hand-knotted white buns with visible anise seeds on a cooling rack; one is split and topped with butter and a speculaas biscuit.AI-generated image

Anijskrollen: knotted white buns full of anise

A krol is a soft white bun with a knot in it and enough anise to scent the kitchen when the oven opens. In Veghel and the surrounding area, it is spread generously with butter and topped with a crisp speculaas biscuit.

A small stack of small, round golden-brown biscuits with visible pieces of hazelnut and aniseeds in an earthenware dish.AI-generated image

Fryske dúmkes: aniseed, ginger and hazelnut

Dúmke is Frisian for little thumb, although nobody knows for sure where the name comes from. The dough goes into the fridge as a log and is then cut into slices. In this version, aniseed and ginger provide the aroma and finely chopped hazelnuts the bite.

A round Frisian orange cake with pale pink icing on a ceramic plate on a wooden table; one slice has been cut out, showing a pale yellow crumb with small orange pieces of candied orange peel.AI-generated image

Frisian orange cake (oranjekoek): pink on top, orange inside

Order an oranjekoek and you get something pink. The name is hidden inside: slivers of candied orange peel baked into the batter. This home version is a flat 24 cm cake with a pinch of aniseed and an icing of icing sugar and orange juice.

An ovenproof dish of potato gratin browned golden on top, in which thin potato slices, green leek rings and melted cheese with dark specks of clove are visible.AI-generated image

Potato gratin with leek and Frisian clove cheese (nagelkaas)

You taste nagelkaas straight away: cloves and cumin are in the cheese itself. In this oven dish it melts between thin slices of potato and soft leek. That is why the rest of the seasoning stays modest: a clove of garlic, a pinch of nutmeg and some pepper in the milk.

Whole peeled cooking pears with stalks, deep red, in a white earthenware dish with a dark red syrupy sauce, a cinnamon stick and lemon zest.AI-generated image

Stewed pears with Limburg syrup

A cooking pear does not soften on its own; it needs hours in the pan. A spoonful of apple and pear syrup gives the liquid a dark, fruity depth. The longer the pears stew, the redder they become.

An earthenware dish of dark brown, tender shredded braised beef in a glossy, thickened sauce, with a portion of chips beside it.AI-generated image

Zuurvlees: vinegar in, sweetness out

The vinegar does its work overnight in the fridge. Then the meat braises gently for hours until gingerbread and syrup thicken the sauce and turn the sourness into something deeper. Taste it and you look for the sour, but mostly find sweetness.

A round Limburg rice vlaai with a golden crust and a golden-speckled rice filling, one slice cut out and served on a plate beside it.AI-generated image

Rice vlaai: rice pudding on a thin yeasted base

First the rice slowly turns into pudding in the milk; then it goes into the oven on a thin base of yeasted dough. The result is a creamy vlaai with a firm crust you can eat from your hand if need be, saving the crust for last.

Roughly mashed potatoes with fine green runner bean strips and golden onion rings.AI-generated image

Runner bean mash with golden onions

The runner beans remain visible here: fine green strips through roughly mashed potatoes, with soft fried onions on top. A small spoonful of mustard gives the mash a little bite.

A loose stack of thin, flat, light-brown kniepertjes with a fine waffle pattern on a plate.AI-generated image

Flat kniepertjes: let the waffle iron do the work

You do not need an oven for these thin wafers. A small ball of dough goes between the hot plates; a few minutes later, a light-brown biscuit is resting on the rack.

Folded buckwheat pancakes with mushrooms, crème fraîche and chives on a plate.AI-generated image

Buckwheat pancakes with a savoury filling

No syrup today: these thin pancakes are filled with fried mushrooms and a spoonful of crème fraîche. Buckwheat gives the batter an earthy flavour; the wheat flour helps when you turn the pancakes.

The burgomaster and his council sit close to the fire while Jan notices the burgomaster’s smoking trousers.AI-generated image

The burgomaster who stayed seated

The burgomaster’s trousers begin to smoke. The council sets out to find a solution that requires nobody to stand up.

Emma looks out at the besiegers while her husband is served a shrivelled onion.AI-generated image

Her most precious possession

The lord of the castle has made his subjects pay one time too many. Emma may leave with whatever she can carry herself.

Job guards the captured mermaid while her partner swims beside the boat with their child.AI-generated image

The man who wanted the sea to pay

Skipper Job catches something that isn’t his. He sees even grief at sea as a business opportunity.

A vegetated dune in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen.

Why dunes store drinking water

Beneath the sand of the Dutch coast, fresh water lies on top of salt water. Drinking-water companies use this reservoir as both a filter and a reserve.

Willow trees painted by Piet Mondrian.

Pollard willows: trees you keep small

Along ditches in river-clay landscapes stand willows with a thick knob and a crown of twigs. That knob is not a disease. It is a pollard head.

Kersenvlaai met een rooster van gistdeeg en een royale kersenvulling — eigen AI-beeldAI-generated image

Limburg vlaai: thin crust, generous filling

A Limburg vlaai is not a pie made with puff pastry. It is yeast dough, fruit from a fruit-growing region, and a festive bake that was already known by that name in the nineteenth century.

The church and detached tower on the terp of Ezinge.

Groningen wierden: trade on a man-made mound

In the clay landscape of Groningen, a village rises above the surrounding ground. That mound is not a push moraine. It is a terp, known here as a wierde: earth piled up to provide a dry place to live when the sea could still flow freely in and out.

A rising path to the terp of Hegebeintum.

Frisian terps: layers in a changing coast

A Frisian terp is not merely a Groningen wierde with a different pronunciation. It is the same trick — living higher up — but here you can read it as a cross-section of a coast that continually changed shape.

The Raveleijn set at Efteling.

Efteling: the craft of making something new look old

The fairy-tale houses in Kaatsheuvel look as though generations have already lived in them. Behind that impression lie drawings and craftsmanship: new buildings are given a story in their façades.

The lady of Stavoren orders the sailors to tip grain into the sea while an old woman holds up her empty bowlAI-generated image

The woman who fed the sea

A ship full of grain is not precious enough for her. So the sea gets it. Only, the sea has kept something for her too.

An astonished cobbler wakes up in a huge palace bed while courtiers bow deeply before himAI-generated image

The duke with the dirty feet

The court wants a good laugh at a cobbler on the throne. But the cobbler has a few jobs for the court.

A stubborn captain grips the helm as the sailing ship battles huge wavesAI-generated image

The captain who was never late

He sets sail when every sensible person stays in port. Turning back is not on his list.

The sheriff and an armed crowd keep a great distance from a small ray on the square in WeertAI-generated image

The battle against the fish

There’s a monster lying in the street. Fortunately, Weert has a sheriff who knows exactly where he is safe.

Three self-satisfied gentlemen at a lavishly laid table; a blacksmith holds an iron belly band at the readyAI-generated image

Four villages and three bright sparks

The gentlemen have come to think up names. First they want to eat. Then a ditch turns out to be wiser than the whole committee.

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