Well, quarantine seems officially over. I’m vaccinated, as is A, and we have even left the state on a small trip! However, just because we can travel for real doesn’t mean travel themed date nights aren’t still fun. So we are going to keep doing them, albeit less frequently and with a bit less urgency.
A and I have both been to Amsterdam, but that’s our whole experience with the Netherlands. It’s a culture full of tall people, a language that to me sounds like German singing, and the best pancakes ever (seriously). None of those things help plan a date night, though, so it was internet research for me. Here is what we did!
If you enjoy this, click here to read all of our travel themed date night itineraries.
Dutch-Themed Date Night
Eat: Stamppot and Dutch Apple Cake
The Dutch are not known for their food. Like much of Northern Europe, Dutch cuisine tends toward heavy meals to keep out the cold. Stamppot is a mixture of potatoes and kale served with the Netherlands’ ubiquitous smoked sausage and brown gravy, which I made from the drippings of pan-sautéing my sausages. I topped mine with some amazing aged Gouda because cheese makes everything better. And yes, I cheated and bought sausage. Making my own is a bit out of my comfort zone and skill set.
A made Dutch apple cake for dessert. Shockingly, a Google search for a name in Dutch turned up empty, with all recipes just having the name in English. Anyway, apples are mixed into the cake itself, which is a pretty moist sponge. A added a beautiful apple decoration on top because she had me peel and slice more apples than she needed and she felt bad.
We also had a Heineken, the country’s most famous drink.
Learn: The Animated History of the Netherlands
Another date night, another dinner documentary. This one really skipped around, as it was very short. Not the best effort by someone who truly excels at these short animated history films. I still recommend it and linked to it, but you’ll find the others from past date nights to largely be better.
Visit: Virtual Netherlands
In doing my research, I stumbled across this awesome website that links to all sorts of virtual experiences in the Netherlands. We did a walk through Utrecht, but skimming through others before deciding on that really had us excited by many. You could spend a full evening on here and be done that way! (But we had a full length movie to get to.)
Watch: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Sharing a title with Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s 1665 masterpiece, the film is – unsurprisingly – about Vermeer and a fictional woman who inspired his painting. While the story itself may be completely made up, the film is good, featuring a terrific cast. No, it’s not an action movie, so some may think it moves a bit slowly, but I really liked it. Plus it’s free on Amazon Prime!
So that was our Dutch date night. I hope it inspires you to plan your own. Remember, travel activities can be done from the comfort of your own home!
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