New Years.. Dutch style

Dennis and I left Michigan on the 28th to spend a few days and New Years with his family.  I am really thankful he agreed to spend Christmas in the states with my family and I was equally excited to spend my first New Years in the Netherlands celebrating with him.

We shared a whole bunch of American goodies with his family and Dennis was sure to keep plenty for himself as well. When asking them about what to expect for my first New Years there, I always received the same answer: lots of fireworks.

And they were not lying. I think we heard the first few pops and cracks already on the 30th and on the morning of the 31st, the sounds became even more regular.

Our first stop was Dennis' brother's girlfriend's neighbor's house for a party. It wasn't cold and snowy like Michigan, but it was very wet and chilly so everyone was crowded into the garage- which for American standards was really more like a garden shed. But, it was fabulously decorated and cozy inside.
I got to try my first oliebol - which is like a fried dough ball. Imagine an elephant ear but in ball form.  It was delicious. Dennis and his brother were also quite excited to get started with some fireworks despite the fact it was only 3 or 4 in the afternoon. They did a small presentation since the really good stuff was for later, and then Dennis and I were on our way.

Our next stop was his parents' house. We joined them for a dinner of assorted fried snack foods- french fries, fried cheese, frikandel, etc. After our fill of fried foods, it was back to the cabin for dessert. When we were stocking up on the celebratory goods earlier Dennis had also grabbed tompouce - a pastry / cake-like treat. It is tricky to eat, but delicious!

The cabin we stay in is outside of the city and it didn't appear that anyone was staying in the nearby cabins either. So the rest of our night was board games and music.

It was pretty quiet until about 11:45. Then we started to hear the first few pops and bangs. Then at 11:59 we started to hear even more. By 12:03 it sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone. We ventured out to light off a few sparklers and it smelled of gunpowder outside! We were able to see a few fireworks the houses down the road were shooting off. For the next 45 minutes, there were consistent sounds of fireworks being shot off. Again, they were not lying!

The next day, Dennis rode down to the airport with me and two days later I was back at school. 2018 had gotten off to a great and quick start, with a lot of bang!