Guus Bosman

Today I brought some drop to my work.

"Drop" is Dutch for liquorice, and it's quite popular in the Netherlands, with many different flavors.

The reaction of my colleagues was mixed. Most of them were very polite, and there were three people who actually enjoyed it (I was one of them).

A couple of weeks ago I found Grolsch in Wholefoods, a supermarket nearby. I bought a six-pack but a week later they didn't have it in stock anymore.

So, when I saw last week that Safeway had a stack of Grolsch beer I bought a supply that will last for longer.

Safeway is half-way on my way home from work and it was very warm the day that I found it, so it was quite a sacrifice.

But now I'm happy with my "own" beer in the fridge. Many people say that there is a difference in taste between Dutch beer in Holland and their export-variants but I must say I have not noticed such a difference, if there is one.

The United States has a large amount of beers to offer, by the way. The Ommegang brewery that I mentioned before is very promising, but there are also many small, local breweries that are called micro-breweries. A beer that I particularly like is Sam Adams, a large beer brand from Boston, as well as Sierra Nevada from California.

What's the difference between a canoe and a Dutchman?

A canoe tips sometimes.

Yesterday I went to my favorite lunch place around work, a daily called Tivoli. They have a large variety of meats and cheese, and most importantly they always have great fresh bread.

When I walked back from lunch I passed a newspaper stand with a pile of Washington Posts. On the frontpage a picture of Mr. Balkenende with President Bush. The latter was a day in Holland to commemorate the end of World War II.

The local beer on Puerto Rico is Medallah, a pretty good beer with a nice refreshing taste.

"El Presidente Cerveza", from the Dominican Republic, is a popular import beer too, as well as Corona and some American brands.

However, the most popular non-local beer around here in my opinion -- and I am writing this with some pride -- is Heineken from Amsterdam. Even though it's not the best beer that Holland is offering the world, it is nice to be able to drink a familiar taste everywhere you go.

ING Bank is a Dutch bank that started an intensive marketing campaign in D.C. for their internet savings account a few months ago.

It's nice to see a familiar name in the metro: I did a project for ING bank at my previous employer. In December they sponsored the commuters in the metro by paying for everybody's ticket in the morning.

Their product is called the Orange Savings Account -- the color of their logo here, probably not related to the fact that the Dutch national color is orange.

The book Girl with the pearl earring is a bestseller here. This is a picture of the window of a bookstore close to my work.

September last year Sasha and I went to see the original painting in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, after seeing the movie with Steven in the Toneelschuur.

It's nice to see the old 'skyline' of Delft in a bookstore's window.

Two Dutch brands that you'll find a lot in the U.S. are Douwe Egberts and Philips.

A few years ago they combined their marketing efforts and started selling "The Senseo".

This is a picture taken in Macy's, a department store in Pentagon City.

Douwe Egberts coffee at Burger King, the third-largest hamburger chain in the United States.

Douwe Egberts is an old Dutch brand of coffee producers, that was bought by Sara Lee a couple of years ago.

Last April we visited the Douwe Egberts museum with my grandmother.

The ingredients and food of the American kitchen are not that different of those you'll find in Holland, so most things I'm used to cook with are available. You can even get boerenkool (kale) in some supermarkets.

The other day we found a specialty store with a lot of imported things from Europe. Truffels and vinegar from Italy, special wines, things like that. They also had a few Dutch items, such as drop and Droste chocolate. We bought a package of caramel wafers: stroopwafels!

It's easy to find Dutch beer and cheese, although they're expensive. There's also quite a collection of Belgium beers available here, but I haven't found my personal favorite Grimbergen triple yet.

The only thing that I really miss so far is real Dutch bread: a freshly baked volkorenbrood would be very nice. The bread in Wholefoods comes close, but is not quite the same.