Got Melk?

Just a few of the milk products we found at the Albert Heijn Supermarket in Maastricht

Going to the supermarket here in Maastricht is always an adventure. We can't read any of the labels, so we spend a lot of time standing in front of shelves, guessing what the packages/bottles contain. Even buying milk is a trial! The world melk is usually on the label, or a picture of a cow, which helps. But beyond that, all is confusion. There are SO MANY different kinds of milk and cream- it's obvious that the Dutch love their dairy products! Some of the bottles and cartons are displayed on non-refrigerated shelves. Other cartons and bottles are in refrigerated cases. ??? The first time we shopped together we bought a variety of the mysterious milk products to try them out. That's how I discovered that koffieroom is what works best for me to lighten my coffee, while Jim prefers halvamel. We're not sure what's in either of these, but they work.

It's a 15 minute walk to the nearest supermarket so it's important to limit the number of heavy items we buy on each trip, like milk, juice, water, beer, and Orangina. And we must try to remember to bring along our plastic shopping bags, or we'll have to buy new ones to take the groceries home in (shopping bags aren't free here, like in the USA). We often forget, so we've bought about 10 supermarket bags so far! Another different thing we've encountered in the Dutch supermarket is a plastic shopping basket on wheels that can be pulled through the aisles. This is what I need back home. Back home I always load up my supermarket carry basket with too much stuff (I HATE to push those big carts) and the basket becomes way too heavy. Our little American supermarket carry baskets need wheels :)

Jim pulling a handy wheeled basket