This post is also available in Greek

There are numerous things that I would take with me from Greece if i only could. Whenever a friend happens to ask me what I would like him to bring back, i am always dreaming of bags full of edible treats and other things, that i have missed. Tomorrow i'm going to get another package from a friend who landed in Amsterdam, bringing the necessities from Mom, with love.

Club sandwich

While in Greece you can find a club sandwich, anywhere, even on kiosks, for some strange reason, the Dutch have not discovered it yet. Maybe you can find it in 1 or 2 places, but I bet that nobody can reach the flawless club sandwich of our "proudly" greek fast food chain...!

Sokofreta, Kiss, LACTA & golden Derby from ΙΟΝ

The truth is that in the Netherlands you can find all kinds of chocolate, even from Switzerland & Belgium. But you cannot find yummy wafers or strange combinations!

Coffee Frappe & greek coffee

You might be able to find Nescafe here in the Netherlands, but not the classic Nescafe Frappe and this simply is not acceptable. This coffee makes NO foam even if you are trying to make it with a whisk. And in the one case you find it, you are forced to pay it dearly!

My car

It is a true story that if you live in Amsterdam and want to have a car, you will pay dearly if you don't get organized. Yet, not a day goes by that I do not miss my car, which I was using 24/7 visiting friends for coffee or even just to go to the kiosk for cigarettes! Yes, I’m guilty!

Good olive oil in normal price

My mom is constantly thinking of ways to send me cans of olive oil. Olive oil, from Greece, that isn’t sparse and tasteless because even the worse olive oil from Greece has at least flavor, color, density and stays on the bloody salad, without going straight to the botton when you pour it in.

Bread

Before moving to the Netherlands, i did not know how great of an art it is to make bread and how much money my grandmother could have earned if she had a bakery here! If you want, good bread, you should go to a Turkish bakery or you should try and bake some yourself. The bread from the supermarkets here, will disappoint you completely.

Easy solutions

Being able to jump over the balcony of your neighbor back into your house, if you happen to get locked outside, is one example. Come on, who has not done it? But if that happens in the Netherlands, you will probably pay it dearly, again. Jumping back from the balcony is not an option here since everybody locks their windows because of this damn cold.

Kiosk 24/7

You forgot to buy cigarettes and it’s late? Not too late, let's say 23:00. If you are not lucky to have a night shop near you, you will probably not going to smoke. In Greece, there are kiosks and shops, open 24/7 everywhere, that are bigger than those “Albert Heijn to go”.

Getting a free drink

In the Netherlands, alcohol and bottled water are forbidden luxuries, even if you are thirsty. How I miss the nights that we were leaving from the bars in the morning and we were "paying" the bill with smiles and love.

Hairdresser

My boyfriend can state with pride that he knows how to bleach, cut and straighten my hair! Learn an art and use it when necessary (expression in greek). Honestly who can pay these crazy amounts to hairdressers!

Attending the football match every Sunday

Every Sunday, I was waiting my friends Iakobo and Taso, to come and pick me up and escort me to our favorite football field, get our coffee and along with another 10,000 like us, to curse the referees and enjoy watching the match. Me and my friends, drinking coffee with the best view in town.

What have you missed the most?

Photos by: poolie, KYRIAKOPOULOS, avlxyz