People watching! I'm doing it again. I think I'm incurable - not that I'm looking for a cure - it's too much fun! The cafe has a double aspect so I get the best of both worlds: a view out the front to the market square with all its brightly coloured, canopied stalls, bustling with people on market day and, at the back, a view over the canal, the shopping street opposite and the rows of bikes leaned up against the railings.
There's a winter chill in the air, the first of the year really, which somehow inevitably turns my thoughts towards bright, crisp mornings, Sinterklaas and Christmas. The market stalls are so reminiscent of those colourful Christmas markets, so popular in northern Europe, their stalls overflowing with wooden decorations, toys, candles, hot chocolate and gluhwein! But for the moment I'm content with my mug of hot coffee - it's too early still for all that.
A couple of women are sitting by the back window, relaxing together over a cup of tea and catching up on the gossip. The conversation is animated and I do my best to eavesdrop. But they are speaking in Dutch and it's too difficult, so after a while I give up and let their words drift over my head, blending with the soft and innocuous music that fills the air, typical of cafes everywhere. Nothing to get excited about musically, but it covers the silence and provides the gently chilled-out atmosphere we're all looking for. 'Gezelligheid' (a kind of cosiness) the Dutch call it and for that there always have to be candles and soft lighting, together with the music.
Snatches of conversation drift over to me and I catch the word 'lekker' repeated over and over. 'Gezellig' (cosy), 'lekker' (delicious, good) - such familiar words - just a few of those Dutch cliches we joke about. 'Hartstikke leuk!' (fantastic!), 'Uitstekend!' (outstanding!), 'Fijne dag verder!' (enjoy the rest of your day) they exclaim. I am building up a stock of these handy sayings; there is one for every situation. My Dutch is poor but my ever-growing treasure store of cliches ensures that I have something to say on every occasion!
I joke about it, but these are the things I shall miss when one day I return home to my native country. I shall also miss the coffee, the 'patats' (chips) and the cheese (I won't miss the windmills and the clogs). It's a game we play at home: "what will you miss when we go home?" I will miss the market. I will miss the way passers-by wish me 'eet smakelijk' (enjoy your meal) as I tuck into my picnic. I will miss my favourite bars and the cafes where the owners recognise me as 'the English lady who writes'.
The waitress has just arrived with a little tray full of flowers in simple glass vases. A white freesia and a purple iris for each table. She smiles and we exchange a few words. I'm a regular here. I shall miss that too. But, for now, I just drink it all in because there's so much to see and so many stories to invent about the people around me. People watching is not on the menu but it's free of charge.
There's a winter chill in the air, the first of the year really, which somehow inevitably turns my thoughts towards bright, crisp mornings, Sinterklaas and Christmas. The market stalls are so reminiscent of those colourful Christmas markets, so popular in northern Europe, their stalls overflowing with wooden decorations, toys, candles, hot chocolate and gluhwein! But for the moment I'm content with my mug of hot coffee - it's too early still for all that.
A couple of women are sitting by the back window, relaxing together over a cup of tea and catching up on the gossip. The conversation is animated and I do my best to eavesdrop. But they are speaking in Dutch and it's too difficult, so after a while I give up and let their words drift over my head, blending with the soft and innocuous music that fills the air, typical of cafes everywhere. Nothing to get excited about musically, but it covers the silence and provides the gently chilled-out atmosphere we're all looking for. 'Gezelligheid' (a kind of cosiness) the Dutch call it and for that there always have to be candles and soft lighting, together with the music.
Snatches of conversation drift over to me and I catch the word 'lekker' repeated over and over. 'Gezellig' (cosy), 'lekker' (delicious, good) - such familiar words - just a few of those Dutch cliches we joke about. 'Hartstikke leuk!' (fantastic!), 'Uitstekend!' (outstanding!), 'Fijne dag verder!' (enjoy the rest of your day) they exclaim. I am building up a stock of these handy sayings; there is one for every situation. My Dutch is poor but my ever-growing treasure store of cliches ensures that I have something to say on every occasion!
I joke about it, but these are the things I shall miss when one day I return home to my native country. I shall also miss the coffee, the 'patats' (chips) and the cheese (I won't miss the windmills and the clogs). It's a game we play at home: "what will you miss when we go home?" I will miss the market. I will miss the way passers-by wish me 'eet smakelijk' (enjoy your meal) as I tuck into my picnic. I will miss my favourite bars and the cafes where the owners recognise me as 'the English lady who writes'.
The waitress has just arrived with a little tray full of flowers in simple glass vases. A white freesia and a purple iris for each table. She smiles and we exchange a few words. I'm a regular here. I shall miss that too. But, for now, I just drink it all in because there's so much to see and so many stories to invent about the people around me. People watching is not on the menu but it's free of charge.
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